Jonathan Ericsson (born 2 March 1984) is a Swedish 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 h ...
defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...
who is currently an
unrestricted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...
. He most recently played for the
Detroit Red Wings 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). Ericsson was drafted in the ninth round, 291st overall, in the
2002 NHL Entry Draft
__NOTOC__
The 2002 NHL Entry Draft was the 40th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 and 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Two hundred and ninety-one players were drafted in total: 35 from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL); ...
, the final pick of the draft. He has played his entire NHL career with the Red Wings organization.
Playing career
Ericsson originally began his playing career as a
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
* Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
, playing all but one game of the 2001–02 season at the position for
HC Vita Hästen
HC Vita Hästen is a Swedish hockey club, based in Norrköping, which was founded following the bankruptcy of a previous club called IK Vita Hästen. The team plays in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier of the Swedish ice hockey system, as of ...
's junior team. However, after playing one game as a defenceman,
Detroit Red Wings scout
Håkan Andersson convinced Ericsson to permanently transition to defence.
Ericsson was drafted 291st overall in the ninth round of the
2002 NHL Entry Draft
__NOTOC__
The 2002 NHL Entry Draft was the 40th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 and 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Two hundred and ninety-one players were drafted in total: 35 from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL); ...
as the last player selected in the draft by Detroit.
Throughout his next four seasons, Ericsson played for several teams in his native Sweden, a period of time which also saw him switching between centre and defence as his teams saw fit. After his 2005–06 season, Detroit signed him to a two-year, entry-level contract and brought him to the United States to play for 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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
(AHL) affiliate, the
Grand Rapids Griffins
The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Leag ...
.
![Red Wings vs Ducks 050709 053 - Jonathan Ericsson](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Red_Wings_vs_Ducks_050709_053_-_Jonathan_Ericsson.jpg)
Ericsson then played his first career NHL game on 22 February 2008, against 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 ...
, and scored his first career NHL goal the following game, on 26 February, against
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...
goaltender
Mathieu Garon
Mathieu Carol Garon (born January 9, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue J ...
. Although he did not qualify under NHL rules to have his name engraved on the
Stanley Cup, Ericsson was nonetheless included on the 2008 Detroit Red Wings' Stanley Cup-winning team photograph, also being awarded a Stanley Cup ring for his efforts with the team. During the 2008–09 regular season, he recorded one goal and three assists.
On 16 April 2009, Ericsson played in his first
Stanley Cup playoff game with the Red Wings, in Game 1 of the first round of the
2009 playoffs against 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 recorded his first career playoff point in this game, a goal.
In Game 1 of the second round of the 2009 playoffs, against the
Anaheim Ducks, Ericsson recorded two assists and also fought Ducks winger
Corey Perry
Corey Perry (born May 16, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played the first 14 years of his career with the Anaheim Ducks. He then played for the Dallas Stars ...
. Ericsson would then score a goal and an assist in Detroit's Western Conference Final matchup with the team's division rival, 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 ...
, and recorded two goals with an assist in the
Stanley Cup Finals against the
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...
. Ericsson scored Detroit's only goal in Game 7 of their 2–1 loss to Pittsburgh. At the end of the season, he won the 2009 Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association (DSBA)-Detroit Red Wings Rookie of the Year Award.
In 2008, Ericsson signed a three-year contract extension with the Detroit Red Wings carrying an annual average of $2.7 million. In
2009–10 season, Ericsson scored four goals and nine assists for 13 points in 62 games. In 2011, he signed a three-year $9.75 million contract with the Red Wings.
On 27 November 2013, Ericsson signed a six-year, $25.5 million contract extension with the Red Wings.
During the
2016–17 season, Ericsson suffered a season-ending wrist injury in February, limiting him to 51 games in which he contributed 9 points.
On 23 October 2019, Ericsson was assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. During the
2019–20 season, he recorded two assists in 10 games for the Griffins. He was recalled by the Red Wings on 13 November.
International play
Ericsson's older brother,
Jimmie Ericsson, is a forward currently playing for
Skellefteå AIK
Skellefteå AIK is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Skellefteå, Sweden. They currently play In the Swedish Hockey League. They play their home games in Skellefteå Kraft Arena, which seats 6,001 spectators. The team has won the Sw ...
in the
Swedish Hockey League. The Ericsson brothers were set to play together professionally for the first time at the
2010 World Championships. Following Detroit's elimination in the
2010 playoffs, Jonathan joined
Sweden's national team at the World Championships. The brothers were originally in the lineup together, though Jimmie injured his knee on his first shift, missing the remainder of the tournament; the two were never on the ice together. In the tournament, Jonathan Ericcson finished the tournament with the most average minutes per game amongst Swedish skaters, and was also selected as one of the best players on the team as selected by the coach. The brothers eventually played together for the first time at the
2014 Winter Olympics in
Sochi, where they won a
silver medal after losing to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in the tournament final.
Personal life
Ericsson married long-time girlfriend Evelina Hedman in July 2014. In October 2013, Evelina gave birth to a daughter, Liv. She was named in memory of Ericsson's friend and former teammate
Stefan Liv.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards
* Named to the PlanetUSA
AHL All-Star Team in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
.
* Named as
Detroit Red Wings' "Rookie of the Year" by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association in
2009.
See also
*
List of Olympic medalist families
List of Olympic medalists families is a list of people grouped by family who are olympic medalists.
Summer Olympics
:
Winter Olympics
:
Summer and Winter Olympics
See also
* List of sport awards
* List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
...
References
External links
*
Red Wings Central prospects – Jonathan Ericsson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ericsson, Jonathan
1984 births
Living people
Almtuna IS players
Detroit Red Wings draft picks
Detroit Red Wings players
Grand Rapids Griffins players
Huddinge IK players
Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Olympic ice hockey players of Sweden
Olympic medalists in ice hockey
Olympic silver medalists for Sweden
People from Karlskrona
Södertälje SK players
Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Swedish ice hockey defencemen
Sportspeople from Blekinge County