Victor Olofsson
Victor Olofsson (born July 18, 1995) is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward currently playing left wing for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Goalofsson", Olofsson was selected by the Sabres in the 7th round, 181st overall, at the 2014 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft. He is the younger brother of Jesper Olofsson, also a professional ice hockey player.
| Victor Olofsson | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
July 18, 1995 Örnsköldsvik, Sweden | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Buffalo Sabres Modo Hockey Frölunda HC | ||
| NHL Draft |
181st overall, 2014 Buffalo Sabres | ||
| Playing career | 2013–present | ||
Playing career
Swedish Hockey League
Olofsson made his Swedish Hockey League (SHL) debut playing with Modo Hockey during the 2013–14 season.[1] At the conclusion of the 2015–16 season, Olofsson was unable to prevent Modo from relegation to the HockeyAllsvenskan. On April 3, 2016, Olofsson signed a two-year contract to remain in the SHL with Frölunda HC.[2]
Buffalo Sabres
At the conclusion of his contract with Frölunda HC following the 2017–18 season, Olofsson was signed to a two-year, entry-level contract with the Buffalo Sabres on April 24, 2018.[3]
Olofsson made his NHL debut for the Sabres on March 28, 2019. He recorded an assist in a loss to the Detroit Red Wings.[4] He scored his first NHL goal on the power play in his second game two days later in a loss to the New York Islanders.[5] In the 2019–20 Buffalo Sabres home opener, on October 5, 2019, Olofsson scored two power play goals en route to a 7–2 victory over the New Jersey Devils. On October 14, 2019, Olofsson set a NHL record for scoring the first seven goals of his NHL career on the power play in a 4–0 shutout of the Dallas Stars.[6]
Olofsson's impressive shot and ability to score have earned him the nickname Victor Goalofsson by the Buffalo fan base and the national media.[7] He also began to put himself in the picture to be a candidate for the 2019–20 Calder Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL's rookie of the year.[8] However, he endured a lower-body injury in a game against the Edmonton Oilers and was set to be out for 5-6 weeks.[9]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2011–12 | Modo Hockey | J18 | 21 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Modo Hockey | J18 Allsv | 18 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Modo Hockey | J18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 36 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Modo Hockey | J18 Allsv | 18 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Modo Hockey | J20 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Modo Hockey | J20 | 44 | 32 | 21 | 53 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | Modo Hockey | SHL | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Modo Hockey | J20 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Modo Hockey | SHL | 39 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Timrå IK | Allsv | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Modo Hockey | SHL | 49 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Frölunda HC | SHL | 51 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 2 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Frölunda HC | SHL | 50 | 27 | 16 | 43 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 66 | 30 | 33 | 63 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 54 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| SHL totals | 200 | 60 | 57 | 117 | 20 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 2 | ||||
| NHL totals | 60 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| CHL | ||
| Champion | 2017 | [10] |
| SHL | ||
| Håkan Loob Trophy | 2017–18 | |
| NHL | ||
| All-Rookie Team | 2019–20 | |
References
- "Modo Hockey 2013–14 player statistics". Eliteprospects.com. March 2, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- "Olofsson to Frolunda" (in Swedish). Frölunda HC. April 3, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- "Sabres sign Victor Olofsson". Buffalo Sabres. April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
- "Victor Olofsson, young Sabres 'bring a spark,' but comeback falls short in OT loss". The Buffalo News. March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
- "Olofsson scores first NHL goal as Sabres fall to Islanders 5-1". WKBW-TV. March 30, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- "Buffalo Sabres' Victor Olofsson sets rookie power play scoring record". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
- "Victor Olofsson's game should translate well to the NHL". March 26, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
- LarkinOctober 2, Matt; 2019 (October 2, 2019). "Top 10 Calder Trophy candidates for 2019-20". TheHockeyNews. Retrieved October 18, 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- Ryndak, Chris (January 3, 2020). "Olofsson to miss 5-6 weeks due to injury". nhl.com. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
- Gustav Orbring (February 7, 2017). "Frölunda win CHL for second year running" (in Swedish). SVTSport.se. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database