John Klingberg

John Andersson Klingberg (born 14 August 1992) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 131st overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Stars. He is the younger brother of Carl Klingberg.

Playing career[edit]

Klingberg started his career at an early age in Lerums BK; he was then signed as a youth to join the Frölunda HC program. He made his Elitserien debut for Frölunda HC on 21 September 2010, against AIK.^[1]

On 16 May 2011, the Dallas Stars announced that they had signed Klingberg to a three-year entry level contract.^[2] He was then loaned to the Finnish SM-liiga to play with Jokerit in the 2011–12 season before returning to Sweden midway through the campaign to Skellefteå AIK.

In the 2013–14 season, Klingberg opted to play on loan with Frölunda HC, and produced a career high 11 goals and 28 points in 50 games. After post-season elimination, Klingberg was assigned to the Stars’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Texas Stars, and played in three regular season games.

In his first full North American season in 2014–15, Klingberg remained with Texas to begin the year. After being recalled by the Stars, he made his NHL debut in a 4–3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on 11 November 2014.^[3] Klingberg scored his first NHL goal on 20 November 2014, against Mike Smith of the Arizona Coyotes.^[4] Klingberg finished first in points among all rookie defenceman in 2014–15 and was named to the NHL all-rookie team.^[5]

The Stars qualified for the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs. They defeated the Minnesota Wild in the first-round^[6] before falling to the St. Louis Blues in the second.^[7] Overall, Klingberg recorded one goal and three assists in 13 games.

After ranking first among NHL defencemen, Klinberg was named to the 2018 NHL All-Star Game, along with teammate Tyler Seguin.^[8] He finished the year with a career-high 67 points in 82 games.

On 9 November 2018, Klingberg underwent hand surgery, sidelining him for at least four weeks.^[9] He returned on 20 December in a 5–2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.^[10] Despite missing a total of 18 games, Klingberg recorded ten goals and 45 points.

During the Stars’ first-round match-up against the Nashville Predators in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, Klingberg scored the series-winning overtime goal in game six to advance.^[11]

Personal life[edit]

Klingberg was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, to Anders Klingberg. His father, Anders, is also active in hockey and is a head coach for Göteborg during TV-pucken, a Swedish ice hockey tournament.^[12] Klingberg also has two brothers, both of whom are active hockey players; Carl who currently plays for EV Zug of the National League (NL) and Olle, who currently plays with Lerums BK.^[13]

Career statistics[edit]

Regular season and playoffs[edit]

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2008–09	Frölunda HC	J18		16	3	8	11	8		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Frölunda HC	J18 Allsv		14	0	4	4	4		3	0	0	0	0
2009–10	Frölunda HC	J18		10	2	4	6	12		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Frölunda HC	J18 Allsv		10	1	9	10	10		7	2	9	11	10
2009–10	Frölunda HC	J20		27	0	5	5	32		5	1	0	1	6
2010–11	Frölunda HC	J20		13	3	14	17	29		7	1	10	11	6
2010–11	Frölunda HC	SEL		26	0	5	5	10		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Borås HC	Allsv		7	1	0	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Jokerit	FIN U20		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Jokerit	SM-l		20	1	2	3	8		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Kiekko-Vantaa	Mestis		6	1	4	5	0		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Skellefteå AIK	SEL		16	1	3	4	6		16	0	4	4	14
2012–13	Skellefteå AIK	J20		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Skellefteå AIK	SEL		25	1	12	13	6		13	1	3	4	8
2012–13	Texas Stars	AHL		—	—	—	—	—		1	0	0	0	0
2013–14	Frölunda HC	SHL		50	11	17	28	12		7	0	4	4	2
2013–14	Texas Stars	AHL		3	0	1	1	4		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Texas Stars	AHL		10	4	8	12	6		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Dallas Stars	NHL		65	11	29	40	32		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Dallas Stars	NHL		76	10	48	58	30		13	1	3	4	2
2016–17	Dallas Stars	NHL		80	13	36	49	34		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Dallas Stars	NHL		82	8	59	67	26		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Dallas Stars	NHL		64	10	35	45	12		13	2	7	9	6
2019–20	Dallas Stars	NHL		58	6	26	32	22		26	4	17	21	14
SHL totals				117	13	37	50	34		36	1	11	12	24
NHL totals				425	58	233	291	156		52	7	27	34	22

International[edit]

Medal record
Representing  Sweden
Ice hockey
World Championships
	2017 Germany/France
	2018 Denmark
World Junior Championships
	2012 Canada

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2011	Sweden	WJC	4th		6	1	1	2	0
2012	Sweden	WJC			6	0	3	3	4
2015	Sweden	WC	5th		7	2	4	6	0
2017	Sweden	WC			10	2	4	6	2
2018	Sweden	WC			10	1	5	6	4
2019	Sweden	WC	5th		5	2	2	4	2
Junior totals					12	1	4	5	4
Senior totals					32	7	15	22	8

Awards and achievements[edit]

Award	Year
SHL
Le Mat Trophy (Skellefteå AIK)	2013
NHL
All-Rookie Team	2015	[5]
All-Star Game	2018	[8]