Adam Larsson

Nils Erik Adam Larsson (born 12 November 1992) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected fourth overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.[1] The youngest player on the Skellefteå AIK squad at the time of his draft, Larsson was the first defenceman and first European-trained player to be drafted in 2011.[2]

Adam Larsson
Larsson with the New Jersey Devils in 2014
Born	12 November 1992 Skellefteå, Sweden
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Right
NHL team Former teams	Edmonton Oilers Skellefteå AIK New Jersey Devils
National team	Sweden
NHL Draft	4th overall, 2011 New Jersey Devils
Playing career	2009–present

Professional career

Skellefteå AIK

The 2009–10 Elitserien season turned out to be a spectacular breakthrough season for Larsson. He scored two goals in an Elitserien game against Timrå IK on 15 October 2009.[3] By the end of the season, Larsson had tied the single-season record for the number of points in Elitserien among defencemen under age 18 with 17 points, a record that was set by Tomas Jonsson in 1977–78, who compiled 8 goals and 9 assists in 35 games.

Larsson fought Timrå IK forward Daniel Corso in a game on 2 November 2010, receiving a cut eyebrow during the altercation. Larsson commented that he kept his gloves on because removing them during a fight in the Elitserien leads to an automatic one-game suspension.[4] Although Larsson did not remove his gloves, both he and Corso were suspended for two games and received fines as a result of the fight.[5][6]

Larsson's play in the 2010–11 season earned him a nomination for the Elitserien Rookie of the Year award,[7] which Mattias Ekholm would eventually win.

Larsson with the Oilers in 2017 in a game against the Devils

New Jersey Devils

Larsson was selected in the first round, fourth overall,[1] by the New Jersey Devils in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Seen as a move towards rebuilding the Devils defence corps, Larsson was rated by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau as the top European-based prospect available in the draft.[8] Larsson, who has been compared to the Detroit Red Wings' defenceman Nicklas Lidström, signed a three-year, entry-level contract with no bonuses at the NHL maximum of US$925,000 per year with the Devils on 15 July 2011, due to general manager Lou Lamoriello's disapproval of performance bonuses. He made the team in training camp and became the first 18-year-old defenceman to dress for the Devils in the regular season since Scott Niedermayer in the 1991–92 season, only the sixth under-20 defenceman to play for the Devils, and the first 18-year-old defenceman in the NHL since 2008, when Drew Doughty, Zach Bogosian and Luke Schenn all made their NHL debuts.

Larsson's first NHL goal was scored on 11 November 2011 on a slapshot from the right slot against Tomáš Vokoun of the Washington Capitals.[9] He was selected to the NHL All-Star Rookie SuperSkills Competition on 12 January 2012, along with teammate Adam Henrique; however, he chose to pull out due to a minor injury.[10] He was replaced by Montreal Canadiens rookie defenceman Raphael Diaz.[10][11] On 1 May 2012, Larsson scored his first Stanley Cup playoff goal against the Philadelphia Flyers in Philadelphia in his first career playoff game, becoming the first Devils rookie defenceman to score a goal in his first playoff game.[12]

Larsson playing for his native Sweden.
Medal record
Representing Sweden
Men's ice hockey
World Championships
	2018 Denmark
World Junior Championship
	2010 Canada
IIHF World U18 Championships
	2010 Belarus

Following the 2014–15 season, Larsson became a restricted free agent under the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The Devils made him a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights and on 5 July 2015, he filed for salary arbitration under the CBA.[13] On 25 July, he signed a new six-year, $25 million contract with the Devils.[14]

Edmonton Oilers

On 29 June 2016, Larsson was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Taylor Hall.[15] Larsson was named an alternate captain for the Oilers during the 2017–18 season.[16][17]

International play

Larsson represented Sweden at the 2010 World Junior Championships, held in Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan. At the 2010 World U18 Championships, he was selected as the best defenceman of the tournament.[18] When Larsson played for Sweden at the 2011 World Junior Championships, he repeated his scoring of one goal and three assists from the previous tournament, which earned him the distinction of being Sweden's highest-scoring defenceman at the tournament.[19]

Larsson represented the Sweden senior team at the 2018 IIHF World Championship held in Denmark.[20]

Personal life

Larsson's father, Robert Larsson, played 249 games with Skellefteå AIK from 1985 to 1995. Robert Larsson was drafted in the sixth round, 112th overall, by the Los Angeles Kings during the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, but never played in North America.[21]

In the 2008–09 season, Larsson played with his older brother Hampus in the J20 SuperElit, Sweden's junior league.[22]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2007–08	Skellefteå AIK	J18		13	5	11	16	8		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Skellefteå AIK	J18 Allsv		11	0	4	4	22		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Skellefteå AIK	J20		3	0	5	5	6		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Skellefteå AIK	J18		5	2	3	5	2		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Skellefteå AIK	J18 Allsv		2	1	5	6	4		8	0	6	6	6
2008–09	Skellefteå AIK	J20		26	2	7	9	28		5	0	4	4	2
2008–09	Skellefteå AIK	SEL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Skellefteå AIK	SEL		49	4	13	17	18		11	0	1	1	31
2010–11	Skellefteå AIK	SEL		37	1	8	9	41		17	0	4	4	12
2011–12	New Jersey Devils	NHL		65	2	16	18	20		5	1	0	1	4
2012–13	Albany Devils	AHL		33	4	15	19	24		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	New Jersey Devils	NHL		37	0	6	6	12		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	New Jersey Devils	NHL		26	1	2	3	12		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Albany Devils	AHL		33	3	16	19	16		4	0	0	0	2
2014–15	New Jersey Devils	NHL		64	3	21	24	34		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Albany Devils	AHL		1	0	2	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	New Jersey Devils	NHL		82	3	15	18	77		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		79	4	15	19	55		13	2	4	6	4
2017–18	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		63	4	9	13	34		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		82	3	17	20	44		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		49	1	5	6	35		2	0	0	0	0
SEL totals				87	5	21	26	59		28	0	5	5	43
NHL totals				547	21	106	127	323		20	3	4	7	8

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2009	Sweden	WJC18	5th		6	0	2	2	4
2010	Sweden	WJC			6	1	3	4	0
2010	Sweden	WJC18			5	2	1	3	12
2011	Sweden	WJC	4th		6	1	3	4	4
2016	Sweden	WC	6th		8	1	3	4	4
2018	Sweden	WC			10	1	2	3	10
2019	Sweden	WC	5th		8	1	3	4	8
Junior totals					23	4	9	13	20
Senior totals					26	3	8	11	22

Notable awards and honors

• 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships All-Star Team[23]

References

1. Chere, Rich (24 June 2011). "Devils pick Adam Larsson fourth overall in 2011 NHL Draft". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
2. "2011 ISS Top 30". 18 November 2011. Archived from the original on 18 November 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
3. "Hockeyligan.se – Statistik". estat.hockeyligan.se. Svenska Hockeyligan AB. Archived from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
4. "Hockeysverige.se - "Det borde tillåtas mer"". 26 November 2010. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
5. "Hockeysverige.se - Två matcher för slagskämparna". 25 November 2010. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
6. "Fight with Timrå forward Corso". Youtube.com. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
7. "Svenska Ishockeyförbundet". 19 March 2012. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
8. Clark, Kevin (25 June 2011). "Devils Take Swede in First Round of NHL Draft". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
9. http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2011020222
10. Mike G. Morreale (25 January 2012). "Hagelin, Diaz in for Devils' duo Henrique, Larsson". NHL.com. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
12. Official Game Program of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final. pg. 60.
13. "Player elected arbitration cases announced". National Hockey League. 5 July 2015. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
14. "Devils sign defenseman Larsson to six-year contract". NHL. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
15. Wescott, Chris (29 June 2016). "BLOG: Oilers trade Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson". NHL. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
16. Matheson, Jim (4 October 2017). "Oilers snapshots: Adam Larsson gets a letter". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
17. Wilkins, Reid (4 October 2017). "Adam Larsson gets letter as Edmonton Oilers open season against Calgary Flames". Global News (Canada). Retrieved 6 October 2017.
18. "Best Players Selected By the Directorate" (PDF). iihf.com. IIHF. 23 April 2010.
19. "Player statistics by team, Sweden" (PDF). iihf.com. IIHF. 5 January 2011.
20. "Adam Larsson: "Jag tänker på pappa varje minut"". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 May 2018.
21. "Robert Larsson player profile". Eliteprospects.com. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
22. "Hampus Larsson player profile". Eliteprospects.com. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
23. "WJC All-Star Team". eliteprospects.com. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2012.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database