that season, the Calgary Flames selected him with their first pick, 10th overall, at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Before turning professional, Nystrom completed his final three seasons of college eligibility, finishing with 111 points in 160 career games, and serving as the Wolverines' captain in his senior year of 2004–05. Calgary Flames Upon turning professional in 2005, Nystrom was assigned to the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was recalled by the Flames at the start of the 2005–06 season and made his NHL debut against the Colorado Avalanche on October 10, 2005. He played two games with the Flames before being returned to the AHL to complete the season. Nystrom missed most of the 2006–07 after suffering a tear in his right shoulder during a pre-season game. He attempted to rehab the injury and then play, before opting on surgery. The injury limited Nystrom to just 12 regular season games for Omaha, but he returned in time to play five playoff games for the Knights. Nystrom split the 2007–08 season between the Calgary and the Quad City Flames. He appeared in 44 regular season games for Calgary, and scored his first NHL goal on October 30, 2007, against the Nashville Predators. He scored a career-high four points, two goals and two assists, in the Flames final game of the regular season, a 7–1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Following the season, he signed a two-year contract extension with the Flames. Nystrom played his first full NHL season with the Flames in 2008–09, playing in 76 games and scoring five goals, three of them game-winning. He added a fourth game-winning goal in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Chicago Blackhawks. He more than doubled his career high in 2009–10, scoring 11 goals despite struggling through a groin injury for a large part of the season. He was invited to play with the American team at the 2010 IIHF World Championships. Minnesota and Dallas Nystrom chose to leave Calgary as a free agent, signing a three-year, $4.2 million contract with the Minnesota Wild on July 1, 2010. He scored four goals and eight assists in his first season with the Wild, a season which Nystrom admitted was not good, and "snowballed negatively" for him. The 2011–12 season posed early challenges for Nystrom. In a pre-season game against the Edmonton Oilers, his attempt to avoid an