Espen Knutsen (born January 12, 1972) is a
Norwegian former 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 and currently the general manager of
Vålerenga in the Norwegian
GET-ligaen
Eliteserien, known as Fjordkraftligaen due to sponsorship, is the premier Norwegian ice hockey league, organised by the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association. It comprises 10 clubs and works on the premise of promotion and relegation, in which the t ...
. He played five seasons in the North American-based
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), and is to date the only Norwegian to have played in the
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 ...
. In his native Norway, Knutsen is also known by the nickname "Shampoo" because his father is a
hairdresser
A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be refe ...
, and also a former hockey player whose nickname was "The Soap" (Såpa in
Norwegian).
In 2021 he resigned from Vålerenga's
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
.
Playing career
Early career
After being drafted by the
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to 19 ...
in the 10th round (204th overall) in
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
, Knutsen remained in Europe until 1997, playing for his hometown team
Vålerenga, and later
Djurgården
Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, ''Kungliga Djurgården'' (), is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum ...
of the
Swedish Elitserien. In 1996, the
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Mighty may refer to:
* ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album)
* ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album)
* ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film
*''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film
* ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title
*Th ...
acquired his rights, and he made his debut with the Ducks in 1997. After a disappointing season (playing in part for the
American Hockey League (AHL)
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks were a professional ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They were members of the American Hockey League, and played their home games at the Cincinnati Gardens. Throughout their existence they were the primary m ...
), Knutsen returned to Djurgården. During the 1999–00 season, he was the highest paid player in the Elitserien, earning a salary of $280,000.
NHL career
Knutsen got a second chance in the NHL in 2000, when he signed with the
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...
on the recommendation of assistant coach
George Kingston, who had previously coached the
Norwegian national team. In a very good first season, Knutsen tallied 53 points (11 goals, 42 assists) in 66 games. His numbers dropped a little the next season, but he was nonetheless named to the World Team (as an injury replacement) in the
2002 All-Star Game (making him the first Norwegian ever to play in the NHL All-Star Game). The 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons were disappointing for Knutsen, who spent large parts of the seasons on the injured list. He left the NHL in early 2004, shortly after being assigned to Columbus' AHL affiliate, the
Syracuse Crunch
The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tam ...
, and once again returned to Djurgården.
Retirement
Knutsen retired because of injury in July 2005. At the news of his retirement, the general manager of Djurgården, Tommy Engström, called him one of the greatest players in the history of the club. After his retirement, Knutsen moved back to his native Oslo, where he lives with his family. He was appointed head coach of his childhood club Vålerenga in 2006, a position he held until the summer of 2016 when he became the club's general manager.
Fan death
In a March 2002 game against the
Calgary Flames in
Nationwide Arena
Nationwide Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Since completion in 2000, the arena has served as the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is one of two facilities in Columbus, alon ...
, Knutsen took a shot that deflected off Flames defenseman
Derek Morris' stick and accidentally struck 13-year-old Brittanie Cecil in the head, which resulted in her death 48 hours later.
Knutsen later helped set up a charity in Columbus to honor Cecil's memory. Also as a result of the tragedy, the NHL made it mandatory to install protective nylon mesh nets above the glass behind both goals. In December 2010, Knutsen met with Cecil's family, bringing some closure to both parties.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knutsen, Espen
1972 births
Columbus Blue Jackets players
Djurgårdens IF Hockey players
Hartford Whalers draft picks
Ice hockey players at the 1994 Winter Olympics
Living people
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players
National Hockey League All-Stars
Ice hockey people from Oslo
Vålerenga Ishockey players
Vålerenga Ishockey coaches
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks players
Syracuse Crunch players
Olympic ice hockey players of Norway
Norwegian ice hockey coaches
Norwegian ice hockey centres
Norwegian expatriate ice hockey people
Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden
Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in the United States