Erik Johan Mattias "Notan" Norström (born 2 January 1972) is a Swedish former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

, currently working for the AIK organization. Norström began his

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

career with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

. However, he is most noted for his ten seasons as a member of the

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

for whom he served as

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

from

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

–

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

; he was the team's first non-North American-born captain and would represent the Kings twice in the NHL All Star Game. Norström played the final season of his NHL career for the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...

Playing career

AIK

As a youngster, he played for several years in the "talent factory"

Huddinge IK Huddinge IK (or ''Huddinge Hockey''), is a Swedish ice hockey team from Huddinge, a southern suburb in Stockholm County. The team is currently playing in the third highest league in Sweden, Hockeyettan. In the middle of the 1990s, a women's floo ...

although this original club was Mälarhöjden/Bredäng Hockey. In his teens he moved from Huddinge to AIK (Stockholm), where he started playing in the senior team from 1991. He was drafted in the second round, 48th overall, by the

in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft and began his NHL career in 1993 with that team.

NHL

Norström split his time in the Rangers organization between the parent club and their

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) affiliate, the

Binghamton Rangers The Binghamton Rangers were a former United States, American professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Binghamton, New York, USA at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. History The market was previously serv ...

. On 14 March 1996, he was traded with Nathan LaFayette, Ian Laperrière,

Ray Ferraro Raymond Vincent Ferraro (born August 23, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current broadcaster for ESPN/ ABC and select Vancouver Canucks games on CBC Sports/Sportsnet. He played for 18 seasons in the National Hocke ...

and a draft pick to the Los Angeles Kings for

Marty McSorley Martin James McSorley (born May 18, 1963) is a Canadian former professional hockey player, who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 2000. A versatile player, he could play both the forward and defense positions. He was also hea ...

Jari Kurri Jari Pekka Kurri (; born 18 May 1960) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. Beginning in 1980, he played Winger (ice hockey), right wing for five National Hockey League (NHL) teams: the Edmonton Oilers, the Los Angeles Kings, the N ...

and Shane Churla. In Los Angeles he developed into a solid stay-at-home defender and anchor of the Kings' blueline. On 1 October 2001, he was appointed team captain after

Rob Blake Robert Bowlby Blake (born December 10, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and executive who most recently served as the general manager of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally draft ...

had been traded to the

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

. During the NHL lockout in 2004–05, Norström played with his previous Swedish team, AIK. The team was playing in the third-tier league, struggling to advance, when Norström arrived. He helped lead them through the playoffs, and to secure a spot in the second tier league the following year. Norström was originally appointed to the Swedish national team for the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin but had to withdraw due to injury. When Rob Blake returned to the Kings on 1 July 2006, Norström called him and offered the captaincy back. Blake refused at his presentation press conference and told the media that he regarded "Matty" as the obvious captain and the "core and soul" of the Kings. Norström was acquired by the

through a trade with the Kings on 27 February 2007, which sent defencemen Jaroslav Modrý and Johan Fransson, a

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

first round draft pick, a

second round draft pick, and a 2007 third round draft pick to Los Angeles in exchange for Norström, forward Konstantin Pushkarev, a 2007 third round pick, and a 2007 fourth round pick. On 30 April 2008, he scored the game-winning goal (and first NHL playoff goal of his career) in the first overtime against the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

, allowing the Stars to take a 3–0 series lead. On 10 June 2008, Norström announced his retirement from hockey. On 20 June 2011, Norström joined the AIK organization as a sports manager and sounding board for Anders Gozzi.

Career achievements

* 1992

IIHF The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey tourn ...

– Silver medal

World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), sometimes referred to as World Juniors, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally ...

* 1997

– Silver medal

Ice Hockey World Championship The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the E ...

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

* 1998 IIHF – Gold medal

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

* 2003

– Silver medal

*2x NHL All-Star (1999 & 2004) *Los Angeles Kings Quarter-Century 2nd Team

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norstrom, Mattias 1972 births AIK IF players Binghamton Rangers players Dallas Stars players Huddinge IK players Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics Living people Los Angeles Kings players National Hockey League All-Stars New York Rangers draft picks New York Rangers players Olympic ice hockey players for Sweden Ice hockey people from Stockholm Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Swedish ice hockey defencemen 21st-century Swedish sportsmen