Henrik Karlsson
Encyclopedia
Henrik "Calgary Tower" Karlsson (born November 27, 1983) is a Swedish
professional goaltender under contract to the Calgary Flames
of the National Hockey League
(NHL). He has played several seasons in the Swedish leagues, most recently for Färjestads BK
and Södertälje SK
in the Elitserien
.
, but appeared in seven games in the Elitserien with Södertälje. He was signed as a free agent by the San Jose Sharks
prior to the 2009–10 season, but was returned to Sweden and took up starting duties with Färjestad. Karlsson appeared in 34 games, posting three shutouts and a 2.45 goals against average
. He suffered an injury late in the season that prevented him from playing in the playoffs as Färjestad was eliminated in the first round.
Facing bleak prospects of playing with the Sharks in 2010–11, he contemplated signing with a team in the Kontinental Hockey League
before his NHL rights were dealt by the Sharks to the Calgary Flames
for a sixth round pick at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft
. The Flames quickly signed Karlsson to a new one-year contract, and he is expected to compete for the backup role to starter Miikka Kiprusoff
. He described the chance to play in the NHL as "a dream come true".
On October 22, 2010, Karlsson made his NHL debut, starting in net for the Flames in a road game
against the Columbus Blue Jackets
. Karlsson recorded his first NHL win by playing the full 60 minutes, and stopping 20 shots, to backstop Calgary to a 6-2 win over Columbus.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
professional goaltender under contract to the Calgary Flames
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL). He has played several seasons in the Swedish leagues, most recently for Färjestads BK
Färjestads BK
Färjestads Bollklubb is a Swedish professional ice hockey team based in Karlstad. Färjestad has had 18 Swedish Championship final appearances, winning nine times since Elitserien was started in 1975. The team plays in the highest Swedish league, and have done so since 1965...
and Södertälje SK
Södertälje SK
Södertälje Sportklubb is a Swedish professional ice hockey club playing in HockeyAllsvenskan. Södertälje were charter members of Elitserien when the league was founded in 1975 and have since played 24 seasons in the league...
in the Elitserien
Elitserien
Elitserien, is a professional ice hockey league composed of twelve teams in Sweden...
.
Playing career
A player undrafted in the NHL, Karlsson spent the majority of the 2008–09 season in the HockeyAllsvenskan with the Malmö RedhawksMalmö Redhawks
The Malmö Redhawks is an ice hockey club from Malmö, Sweden. The team is currently playing in the second highest league in Sweden, HockeyAllsvenskan. Malmö has played 16 seasons in the top Swedish league Elitserien .-History:...
, but appeared in seven games in the Elitserien with Södertälje. He was signed as a free agent by the San Jose Sharks
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
prior to the 2009–10 season, but was returned to Sweden and took up starting duties with Färjestad. Karlsson appeared in 34 games, posting three shutouts and a 2.45 goals against average
Goals against average
Goals Against Average is a statistic used in ice hockey, water polo, lacrosse, and soccer that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender....
. He suffered an injury late in the season that prevented him from playing in the playoffs as Färjestad was eliminated in the first round.
Facing bleak prospects of playing with the Sharks in 2010–11, he contemplated signing with a team in the Kontinental Hockey League
Kontinental Hockey League
The Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league in Eurasia founded in 2008. As of 2009, it is ranked as the strongest hockey league in Europe....
before his NHL rights were dealt by the Sharks to the Calgary Flames
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...
for a sixth round pick at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft
2010 NHL Entry Draft
The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was the 48th NHL Entry Draft, held on June 25–26, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL Entry Draft. An unofficial record of 11 American-trained players were selected in...
. The Flames quickly signed Karlsson to a new one-year contract, and he is expected to compete for the backup role to starter Miikka Kiprusoff
Miikka Kiprusoff
Miikka Sakari Kiprusoff is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League . He was selected in the fifth round, 116th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He has also played for TPS of the Finnish SM-liiga...
. He described the chance to play in the NHL as "a dream come true".
On October 22, 2010, Karlsson made his NHL debut, starting in net for the Flames in a road game
Road (sports)
Road game , more commonly known as an away game, is a reference to all cities and stadia/arenas/fields/venues where an athletic team plays games for which it is not the host. Most professional teams represent cities or towns and amateur sports teams often represent academic institutions...
against the Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio, United States. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
. Karlsson recorded his first NHL win by playing the full 60 minutes, and stopping 20 shots, to backstop Calgary to a 6-2 win over Columbus.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | W | L | T/OTL | MIN | GA | SO | GAA Goals against average Goals Against Average is a statistic used in ice hockey, water polo, lacrosse, and soccer that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender.... |
SV% Save percentage Save percentage is an ice hockey and lacrosse statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal a goaltender stops... |
GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2008–09 2008–09 Elitserien season The 2008–09 Elitserien season was the 34th season of Elitserien. It began on September 15, 2008, with the regular season ending February 28, 2009. The playoffs of the 85th Swedish Championship ended on April 8, with Färjestads BK taking the championship... |
Södertälje SK Södertälje SK Södertälje Sportklubb is a Swedish professional ice hockey club playing in HockeyAllsvenskan. Södertälje were charter members of Elitserien when the league was founded in 1975 and have since played 24 seasons in the league... |
SEL Elitserien Elitserien, is a professional ice hockey league composed of twelve teams in Sweden... |
7 | 410 | 17 | 0 | 2.49 | .929 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2009–10 2009–10 Elitserien season The 2009–10 Elitserien season was the 35th season of Elitserien. It started on September 21, 2009 and ended on March 13, 2010. The playoffs started on March 18, 2010 and ended on April 24, 2010. HV71 won the playoffs, beating Timrå IK 4–1 in the quarter final series, Skellefteå AIK 4–1 in the semi... |
Färjestads BK Färjestads BK Färjestads Bollklubb is a Swedish professional ice hockey team based in Karlstad. Färjestad has had 18 Swedish Championship final appearances, winning nine times since Elitserien was started in 1975. The team plays in the highest Swedish league, and have done so since 1965... |
SEL | 34 | 1934 | 79 | 3 | 2.45 | .914 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2010–11 2010–11 NHL season The 2010–11 NHL season was the 94th season of operation of the National Hockey League . It was the fourth consecutive season that opened in Europe with NHL Premiere . A record three events were scheduled, all in previous NHL Premiere cities: Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; and Prague, Czech... |
Calgary Flames Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
17 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 838 | 36 | 0 | 2.58 | .908 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Elitserien totals | 41 | — | — | — | 2344 | 96 | 3 | 2.46 | .917 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| NHL totals | 17 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 838 | 36 | 0 | 2.58 | .908 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
- Statistics complete to the end of the 2010–11 season