Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Oliver Oscar Emanuel Ekman-Larsson (born 17 July 1991) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman was captain of the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ekman-Larsson was originally selected sixth overall by the Coyotes organization in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Seen by many as one of the NHL’s top offensive defenceman, Ekman-Larsson led the Coyotes in scoring in both the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons.
Playing career
Ekman-Larsson began his career at the Tingsryds AIF hockey club of the HockeyAllsvenskan during the 2007–08 season, recording 8 points in 27 games. He continued his career with Leksands IF, where he scored 44 points in two seasons in 2008–09 and 2009–10 in a total of 81 games. This season would be his last, as he would he drafted by the National Hockey League‘s Phoenix Coyotes.
Phoenix / Arizona Coyotes (2009–present)
Ekman-Larsson was selected sixth overall by Phoenix in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. On 24 May 2010, it was announced the Coyotes had signed Ekman-Larsson to an entry-level contract.[2] In the season following his draft selection, Ekman-Larsson produced the second most points among junior players in the Allsvenskan,[3] despite missing several games while competing in the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships for Sweden.
Ekman-Larsson recorded his first career NHL point through an assist on a Kyle Turris goal on 23 October 2010.[4] He scored his first career NHL goal on 17 January 2011, against goaltender Antti Niemi of the San Jose Sharks.[5]
For the duration of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Ekman-Larsson (on the last year of his entry-level contract) was assigned to Phoenix’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Portland Pirates.
On 6 March 2014, Ekman-Larsson scored his 100th NHL career point in a 5–2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. With Ekman-Larsson’s contribution, it was the first time since 9 December 1998 the Coyotes had defeated Montreal.[6] At the conclusion of the 2013–14 season, Ekman-Larsson finished seventh in balloting for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL’s top defenceman during the regular season. His votes included three first-place votes, one second-place vote and two third-place votes.[7] On 16 December 2014, during the 2014–15 season, Ekman-Larsson tied the Coyotes’ franchise record for overtime-winning goals by a player in a single season after scoring his third of the season with 0.03 seconds left in overtime in a 2–1 win over the Edmonton Oilers.[8] Ekman-Larsson represented Arizona in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, assisting on a goal by Bobby Ryan.[9] Ekman-Larsson finished the 2014–15 season with 23 goals and 20 assists. With this career milestone, Ekman-Larsson broke Nicklas Lidström‘s NHL record, becoming the first Swedish-born defenceman in NHL history to score more than 20 goals in one season.[10] Ekman-Larsson’s 23 goals were the most scored by an NHL defenceman that season and tied Phil Housley‘s franchise record for most goals scored by a defenceman in a season.[11]
On 29 January 2015, during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ekman-Larsson scored the fastest shorthanded goal to start a period in NHL history, against Jonathan Bernier five seconds into the third period.[12] On 19 December 2015, during a game against the New York Islanders, Ekman-Larsson scored the lone goal of the game, which proved to be the game-winning goal. With this goal, Ekman-Larsson surpassed Teppo Numminen‘s franchise record for the most game-winning goals by a defenceman with the 20th in his career.[13] On January 12, 2016, Ekman-Larsson assisted on all three goals of rookie Max Domi‘s first career hat-trick, and would later go on to set a career-high four-point night by scoring the overtime-winning goal against the Edmonton Oilers.[14] On March 24, 2016, Ekman-Larsson inadvertently scored the game-winning goal in a 3–1 win over the Dallas Stars. Initially credited to teammate Martin Hanzal, after further review the goal was shown to bounce off a Dallas player and into the net. With this game-winning goal, Ekman-Larsson set an NHL record for the most game-winning goals by a defenceman in a single season with eight, surpassing Tim Horton, Al MacInnis, Ray Bourque, Derek Morris and Dion Phaneuf.[15] He became just the second defenceman in franchise history to record 20 or more goals in consecutive seasons, after Phil Housley.[16] Ekman-Larsson finished the 2015–16 season ninth in balloting for the James Norris Memorial Trophy.[17]
In the 2016–17 season, on 18 March 2017, during a game against the Nashville Predators, Ekman-Larsson scored his 40th career powerplay goal (against Pekka Rinne), tying Fredrik Olausson for the most by a defenceman in Arizona Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets history.[18] On 3 April 2017, with the Coyotes out of playoff contention, Ekman-Larsson was granted a leave of absence for the remaining three regular seasons games in order to return to his native Sweden due to the death of his mother, following a prolonged battle with cancer.[19]
On 14 October 2017, in a game against the Boston Bruins, Ekman-Larsson scored his first powerplay goal of the season against Anton Khudobin and moved ahead of Fredrik Olausson for the franchise record for powerplay goals scored by a defenceman with his 41st.[20] On 10 January 2018, Ekman-Larsson was selected as the lone Coyotes representative at the 2018 NHL All-Star Game.[21] On 10 March, Ekman-Larsson was fined $5,000 for slashing Sven Andrighetto.[22] After the regular season concluded and the Coyotes again failed to make the playoffs, Ekman-Larsson was nominated for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and gives back to his community.[23] On 1 July 2018, Ekman-Larsson signed an eight-year, $66 million contract extension with the Coyotes; he was set to become a free agent the following season.[24] He was later named captain of the Coyotes.[25]
International play
 |
||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Sweden |
||
| Ice hockey | ||
| Winter Olympics | ||
 |
2014 Sochi | |
| World Championships | ||
 |
2017 Germany/France | |
|
2018 Denmark | |
|
2011 Slovakia | |
 |
2010 Germany | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
|
2010 Canada | |
Ekman-Larsson represented Sweden at the 2010 World Junior Championships, where he was the highest-scoring defenceman on the team,[26] scoring five points in six games.
At the 2010 World Championships, Ekman-Larsson played in nine games for the bronze medalists and was deemed to be Sweden‘s best player in the game against Norway.[27]
In 2019, at the 2019 World Championships, Ekman-Larsson was named captain of Sweden’s international team.[28]
Personal life
Ekman-Larsson’s maternal grandfather, Kenneth Ekman,[29] also a defenceman, was selected to represent Sweden at the 1972 Winter Olympics. Swedish international footballer Amanda Ilestedt is Ekman-Larsson’s cousin.[30] Ekman-Larsson’s younger brother, Kevin, was previously signed with the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. He now plays in Sweden with second-tier club BIK Karlskoga.[31]
In 2013, Ekman-Larsson founded OEL, a luxury clothing line based in Sweden.[32]
Records
| Title | Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Most game-winning goals by a defenseman in a single NHL season | 8 goals | [33] |
| First Swedish-born defenseman in NHL history to score more than 20 goals in a single season | 23 goals | [34] |
| Fastest shorthanded goal to begin a period in NHL history | 5 seconds | [35] |
| Most powerplay goals by a defenseman in Arizona Coyotes franchise history | 41 goals | [20] |
| Most goals by a defenseman in Coyotes franchise history | 109 goals |
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2006–07 | Tingsryds AIF | J18 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Tingsryds AIF | J18 Allsv | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Tingsryds AIF | J18 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Tingsryds AIF | J18 Allsv | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Tingsryds AIF | SWE.3 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Leksands IF | Allsv | 39 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 32 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2009–10 | Leksands IF | Allsv | 42 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 98 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2010–11 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 48 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 15 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 82 | 13 | 19 | 32 | 32 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 2012–13 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 20 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 48 | 3 | 21 | 24 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 80 | 15 | 29 | 44 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 82 | 23 | 20 | 43 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 75 | 21 | 34 | 55 | 96 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 79 | 12 | 27 | 39 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 82 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 81 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 66 | 9 | 21 | 30 | 38 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||
| NHL totals | 723 | 125 | 239 | 364 | 450 | 25 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Sweden | WJC18 | 5th | 6 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2010 | Sweden | WJC |  |
6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | |
| 2010 | Sweden | WC | |
9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2011 | Sweden | WC |  |
7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Sweden | OG | |
6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2015 | Sweden | WC | 5th | 8 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 6 | |
| 2016 | Sweden | WCH | |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2017 | Sweden | WC |  |
8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2018 | Sweden | WC | |
10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | |
| 2019 | Sweden | WC | 5th | 8 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 12 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 14 | ||||
| Senior totals | 60 | 11 | 31 | 42 | 26 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| NHL | ||
| NHL All-Star Game | 2015, 2018 | |
| International | ||
| World Championship All-Star Team | 2015 | |
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