Adrian Kempe (born 13 September 1996) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player for the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). Kempe was selected by the Kings in the first round (29th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

MODO Hockey

Kempe made his

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (officially SHL; sv, Svenska Hockeyligan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, an ...

debut playing with

Modo Hockey Modo Hockey (or MoDo with uppercase letters) is a professional ice hockey club in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The team plays in Sweden's second-tier league HockeyAllsvenskan. The club was founded in 1987 and has won one SHL championships; in 2007. ...

during the 2013–14 season. At the end of the season, Kempe was selected in the first round (29th overall) by the

in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. He returned to Modo for the 2014–15 season.

Los Angeles Kings

On 15 April 2015, the Kings signed Adrian Kempe to a three-year, entry-level contract. He was then immediately assigned to their

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) affiliate, the

Manchester Monarchs Manchester Monarchs may refer to: *Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–2015) *Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Manchester, New ...

for the

postseason The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. The Monarchs defeated the

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated wit ...

in five games to win the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

. In 17 games, Kempe recorded nine points. Kempe spent the entirety of the 2015–16 season in the American League with the Kings' new affiliate, the

Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Ontario, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings, the team plays i ...

. He recorded 28 points in 55 games. Kempe began the 2016–17 season with the Reign, but was recalled by the Kings on 15 February 2017. He made his NHL debut the following day against the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

. He recorded his first NHL point on 21 February by assisting on

Tyler Toffoli Tyler Toffoli ( ; born April 24, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round, 47th overall, of the 2010 NHL Ent ...

's goal against the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

and scored his first goal on 11 March against the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

. Prior to Kempe's first full season with the Kings, he switched from No. 39 to No. 9. He recorded his first NHL

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 5–1 win over the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

on 19 October. On 4 September 2019, the Kings re-signed Kempe to a three-year, $6 million contract extension. Entering his sixth season with the Kings, 2021–22 would be a breakout year for Kempe, who posted new career highs scoring 35 goals and 54 points. He would also participate in his first

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...

, held in Las Vegas; he is the only player from the Kings named to the All Stars this season. On July 8, 2022, Kempe signed a four-year, $22 million extension with the Kings.

Personal life

Kempe was born in

Kramfors Kramfors () is a locality and the seat of Kramfors Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It had a population of 5,990 inhabitants in 2010. The town grew on the western bank of the Ångerman river in the 19th century as harvested logs we ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, where he also grew up. His older brother,

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

, is also a professional ice hockey player in the Kings organization, and has also played for the

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* 1996 births Living people Los Angeles Kings draft picks Los Angeles Kings players Manchester Monarchs (AHL) players Modo Hockey players National Hockey League first-round draft picks Ontario Reign (AHL) players People from Örnsköldsvik Municipality Swedish ice hockey forwards Sportspeople from Västernorrland County 21st-century Swedish people {{Sweden-icehockey-winger-stub