Henrik Bjorn Karlsson (born 27 November 1983) is a Swedish-Kazakhstani 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 ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

. He played 26 games in 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 ...

with the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

during the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

and 2011–12 seasons. The rest of his career, which lasted from 2002 to 2021, was spent in Sweden and then in the Kontinental Hockey League. Internationally Karlsson, who was born in Sweden, played for the Kazakhstani national team at two World Championships.

Playing career

A player undrafted in the NHL, Karlsson spent the majority of the 2008–09 season in the HockeyAllsvenskan with the Malmö Redhawks, but appeared in seven games in the Elitserien with Södertälje. He was signed as a free agent by the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

prior to the 2009–10 season, but was returned to Sweden and took up starting duties with Färjestad. Karlsson appeared in 34 games, posting four shutouts and a 2.45

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on s ...

. He suffered an injury late in the season that prevented him from playing in the playoffs as Färjestad was eliminated in the first round. He finished fourth in the league save percentage and tied for second in shutouts. Facing bleak prospects of playing with the Sharks in 2010–11, he contemplated signing with a team in the Kontinental Hockey League before his NHL rights were dealt by the Sharks to the

for a sixth round pick at the

2010 NHL Entry Draft The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was the 48th NHL Entry Draft, held on June 25–26, 2010 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL Entry Draft. An unofficial re ...

. The Flames quickly signed Karlsson to a new one-year contract, and was expected to compete for the backup role to starter

Miikka Kiprusoff Miikka Sakari Kiprusoff (; born October 26, 1976), nicknamed "Kipper", is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames during his National Hockey League (NHL) career. He was selected in ...

. He described the chance to play in the NHL as "a dream come true". Karlsson made his NHL debut on 22 October 2010, a 6–2 victory over 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, ...

. He became only the third goaltender in Flames' franchise history (after Jim Craig and

Tyler Moss Tyler Moss (born June 29, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Moss played for the Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Moss played junior for the ...

) to win his first game. He appeared in 17 games as the Flames' backup, finishing with a 4–5–6 record and a goals against average of 2.38. Following the season, he re-signed with the team, agreeing to a two-year deal worth $1.725 million. Karlsson struggled early in the

2011–12 NHL season The 2011–12 NHL season was the 95th season of operation (94th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Los Angeles Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Final four games to two to win the team's first Stanley ...

, failing to win his first five decisions before suffering a torn medial collateral ligament in a game against the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

on 4 December that caused him to miss two months of play. When he returned to action, he was often passed over for third goaltender

Leland Irving Leland Bruce Irving (born April 11, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender, currently playing for the HC Bolzano in the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL). He was a first round selection of the Calgary Flames, 26th overall at the 200 ...

when the team wanted to rest Kiprusoff, and consequently appeared in only nine games during the season. He started the final game of the year, a 5–2 victory over the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

. It was his only win of the season, and his first since 21 January 2011. On 21 January 2013, Karlsson was traded by the Flames to the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

for a seventh round pick in the

2013 NHL Entry Draft The 2013 NHL Entry Draft was the 51st NHL Entry Draft. All seven rounds of the draft took place on June 30, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The top three selections were Nathan MacKinnon going to the Colorado Avalanche, Alek ...

. The Blackhawks immediately assigned him to their AHL affiliate, the

Rockford IceHogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...

. He was recalled that season during the playoffs. The Blackhawks won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

that season, but he did not qualify to have his name on the Stanley Cup. On 25 June 2013, Karlsson left North America and returned to Sweden signing a one-year contract with Skellefteå AIK of the SHL. However, he left during the 2013-14 season and accepted an offer from

Avangard Omsk Hockey Club Avangard (russian: ХК Авангард, links=no, Vanguard), also known as Avangard Omsk, is a Russian professional ice hockey team from Omsk. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Eastern Conference of the Kontinental H ...

of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), where he stayed for the remainder of the campaign. Karlsson then embarked on a two-year stint with fellow KHL side

Jokerit Helsingin Jokerit (English: Jokers or Jesters) are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga (1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002). Jokerit plays its ...

of Helsinki, Finland. After the conclusion of the 2015–16 season, he moved on to Barys Astana, also competing in the KHL.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karlsson, Henrik 1983 births Living people Abbotsford Heat players Avangard Omsk players Barys Nur-Sultan players Calgary Flames players Färjestad BK players Hammarby Hockey (1921–2008) players Ice hockey people from Stockholm Jokerit players Kazakhstani ice hockey players Malmö Redhawks players Naturalised citizens of Kazakhstan Naturalised sports competitors Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players Skellefteå AIK players Södertälje SK players Swedish ice hockey goaltenders Undrafted National Hockey League players