Anton Gustafsson

Carl Anton Gustafsson (born February 25, 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey centre, currently playing with EHC Biel of the Swiss National League (NL). He is the son of IIHF Hall of Famer Bengt-Åke Gustafsson.

Anton Gustafsson
Gustafsson with the SCL Tigers in 2017
Born	February 25, 1990 Karlskoga, Sweden
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Left
NL team Former teams	EHC Biel Frölunda HC Hershey Bears SCL Tigers HC Fribourg-Gottéron Färjestad BK
NHL Draft	21st overall, 2008 Washington Capitals
Playing career	2008–present

Playing career

Born in Sweden, Gustafsson spent parts of his childhood in Feldkirch, Austria, and Langnau, Switzerland, where his father was playing and then coaching.[1] He then moved back to Sweden where he developed into a top prospect, making his debut in the country's top-flight SHL with Frölunda HC during the 2007-08 season.

Gustafsson was selected in the 1st round, 21st overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Gustafsson was ranked fifth among European skaters by the NHL's Central Scouting Service. After being drafted by the Capitals in 2008, Gustafsson played the 2008–09 season with Bofors IK of the HockeyAllsvenskan. He then signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Capitals on May 15, 2009.[2] The Capitals assigned him to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, during the 2009–10 preseason, and on October 15, 2009, they loaned him to Borås HC for the remainder of the season in order to get him more playing time than was feasible in Hershey.[3]

Gustafsson returned to North America for the 2010 season, but did not make the Capitals team or the Bears team. After spending training camp in Washington and Hershey, he was assigned to the South Carolina Stingrays, the ECHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals on October 9, 2010.[4]

On October 18, 2010, after playing one game with the Stingrays, Gustafsson informed the Capitals that he no longer wished to continue his career in North America and returned to Europe. The Capitals immediately suspended his contract.[5][6] He played for Swiss NLA outfit SCL Tigers in the 2010–11 and 2011-12 season, followed by one year at Asplöven HC in his native Sweden. Gustafsson then returned to the SCL Tigers for a second stint, playing under his father and helping the club win the 2015 NLB championship and move back to the NLA. Midway through the 2015-16 campaign, which he again spent with the SCL Tigers, Gustafsson inked a two-year deal with fellow NLA side HC Fribourg-Gottéron, starting with the 2016-17 season.[7] He parted company with Fribourg-Gottéron in December 2016 due to personal reasons[8] and signed with Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League shortly after leaving Switzerland.[9]

At the conclusion of the 2016–17 season, Gustafsson moved back to Switzerland for a second stint with NLA side SCL Tigers, signing a two-year deal in April 2017.[10]

Personal

Gustafsson is the son of former National Hockey League player and former Swedish national team head coach Bengt-Åke Gustafsson.[11]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2005–06	Karlskoga HC	SWE.4			3	0	3			—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Frölunda HC	J18		4	1	1	2	6		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Frölunda HC	J18 Allsv		4	2	3	5	2		6	3	1	4	2
2006–07	Frölunda HC	J20		26	5	3	8	24		8	0	0	0	8
2007–08	Frölunda HC	J18 Allsv		1	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Frölunda HC	J20		33	15	17	32	55		2	1	0	1	2
2007–08	Frölunda HC	SEL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Frölunda HC	J20		2	0	0	0	4		5	3	4	7	4
2008–09	Bofors IK	Allsv		25	6	4	10	22		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Hershey Bears	AHL		1	0	2	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Borås HC	Allsv		34	6	12	18	20		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	SCL Tigers	NLA		11	0	1	1	2		1	0	0	0	0
2011–12	SCL Tigers	NLA		26	3	3	6	10		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Asplöven HC	Allsv		41	8	13	21	8		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	SCL Tigers	NLB		18	0	8	8	10		11	2	4	6	4
2014–15	SCL Tigers	NLB		13	2	8	10	4		17	16	4	20	4
2015–16	SCL Tigers	NLA		43	11	15	26	14		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	HC Fribourg-Gottéron	NLA		24	2	3	5	4		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Färjestad BK	SHL		18	0	0	0	2		6	1	0	1	0
2017–18	SCL Tigers	NL		46	7	11	18	45		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	SCL Tigers	NL		43	7	5	12	12		3	1	1	2	0
2019–20	EHC Biel	NL		36	3	1	4	16		—	—	—	—	—
SHL totals				19	0	0	0	2		6	1	0	1	0
NL totals				229	30	39	69	79		4	1	1	2	0

References

1. "Wie aus einem "Gus"". bernerzeitung.ch/. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
2. three-year entry-level contract Archived May 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
3. Aucoin Recalled, Erskine on IR, Gustafsson on Loan, 2009-10-15
4. October 9, 2010 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-10-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) stingrayshockey.com. Retrieved October 12, 2010
5. http://dumpnchase.com/?p=327 Retrieved October 18, 2010
6. October 18, 2010 http://dc.sbnation.com/2010/10/18/1759176/capitals-2008-first-round-pick-anton-gustafsson-is-going-home Retrieved October 18, 2010
7. "Anton Gustafsson wechselt zu Gottéron". bernerzeitung.ch/. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
8. "Gustafsson quitte FR Gottéron". lematin.ch/. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
9. "Anton Gustafsson till Färjestad BK - Färjestad BK". www.farjestadbk.se. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
10. Tigers, SCL (2017-04-05). "Anton Gustafsson wieder ein Tiger | SCL Tigers". SCL Tigers (in German). Retrieved 2017-04-05.
11. Tobias Sandblom; Åke Zetterström (4 May 2007). "Anton Gustafsson är ett av hockeyns framtidsnamn". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2010.

External links

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