Playing career

Persson was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the 2nd round, 23rd overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. Rather than join the Devils though Persson chose to stay in his native Sweden where he played in the Swedish Elite League. Persson played 7 years in the SEL, 5 with Leksands IF and 2 with Malmö IF. The 1994-1995 season finally saw Persson arrive to North America when he joined the Albany River Rats of the AHL for the playoffs after finishing the regular season in Sweden.

Persson then played the majority of the following season with the River Rats but also made his NHL debut with the Devils, appearing in 12 games. The 1996-1997 season saw Persson start the year off with the River Rats, along with one game with the Devils, before he was traded to the St. Louis Blues. With the Blues Persson had a chance to crack the starting lineup. He played the majority of his NHL career with the Blues but thanks to injuries and numerous stints with the Blues minor league affiliate Worcester IceCats never played more than 54 games in a season.

Prior to the 2000-2001 season Persson signed as a free agent with the Ottawa Senators. During his first year though he missed the majority of the games due to an ankle injury, and the following season he was a healthy reserve for the majority of the season. After taking a foolish penalty for a check on Tie Domi, he was widely blamed for the Senators' losing a playoff series to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and ending the Senators hope for a Stanley Cup that season.

Following his 2 years with the Senators Persson played in Germany with the Berlin Polar Bears for 3 years. He last plays with Oji Paper in Japan previously for Klagenfurt AC in Austria, a team he joined prior to the 2005-2006 season.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1987-88	Leksands IF	SEL		21	2	0	2	8		2	0	1	1	2
1988-89	Leksands IF	SEL		33	2	4	6	28		9	0	1	1	6
1989-90	Leksands IF	SEL		40	9	10	19	56		3	0	0	0	6
1990-91	Leksands IF	SEL		19	3	4	7	20		—	—	—	—	—
1991-92	Leksands IF	SEL		21	0	7	7	28		—	—	—	—	—
1992-93	Leksands IF	SEL		36	7	15	22	56		2	0	2	2	0
1993-94	Malmö IF Redhawks	SEL		40	11	9	20	38		11	2	0	2	12
1994-95	Malmö IF Redhawks	SEL		31	3	13	16	34		9	0	2	2	8
1994-95	Albany River Rats	AHL		—	—	—	—	—		9	3	5	8	7
1995-96	Albany River Rats	AHL		67	15	31	46	59		4	0	0	0	7
1995-96	New Jersey Devils	NHL		12	2	1	3	8		—	—	—	—	—
1996-97	Albany River Rats	AHL		13	1	4	5	8		—	—	—	—	—
1996-97	New Jersey Devils	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1996-97	St. Louis Blues	NHL		53	4	8	12	45		6	0	0	0	27
1997-98	Worcester IceCats	AHL		32	2	16	18	58		10	3	7	10	24
1997-98	St. Louis Blues	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1998-99	Worcester IceCats	AHL		19	6	4	10	42		—	—	—	—	—
1998-99	St. Louis Blues	NHL		54	1	12	13	94		13	0	3	3	17
1999-00	Worcester IceCats	AHL		2	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1999-00	St. Louis Blues	NHL		41	0	8	8	38		3	1	0	1	0
2000-01	Ottawa Senators	NHL		33	1	8	9	35		2	0	0	0	0
2001-02	Ottawa Senators	NHL		34	2	7	9	42		2	0	0	0	15
2002-03	Berlin Polar Bears	DEL		42	11	24	35	80		9	1	5	6	2
2003-04	Berlin Polar Bears	DEL		25	6	7	13	36		11	3	5	8	10
2004-05	Berlin Polar Bears	DEL		52	4	14	18	40		12	0	1	1	4
2005-06	Klagenfurt AC	EBEL		48	17	18	35	40		—	—	—	—	—
2006-07	Klagenfurt AC	EBEL		36	7	14	21	98		—	—	—	—	—
2007-08	Oji Paper	ALH		30	11	17	28	54		9	4	7	11	24
NHL totals				229	10	44	54	262		26	1	3	4	59

International play

Ricard Persson

Medal record
Representing Sweden
World Junior Championships
	1989 Anchorage	Ice hockey

Played for Sweden in:

• 1988 World Junior Championships
• 1989 World Junior Championships (Silver medal)
• 2000 World Championships

International statistics

Year	Team	Comp	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1988	Sweden	WJC	7	2	5	7	12
1989	Sweden	WJC	7	3	6	9	10
2000	Sweden	WC	7	0	0	0	6
Junior int'l totals			14	5	11	16	22
Senior int'l totals			7	0	0	0	6

[ Source: Wikipedia ]