Simon Edvinsson (born 5 February 2003) 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 hock ...

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 la ...

currently playing for the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

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). Considered a top prospect for the

2021 NHL Entry Draft The 2021 NHL Entry Draft was the 59th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on July 23–24, 2021, delayed by one month from its normally scheduled time of June due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the later-than-normal finish of the 2020–21 NHL se ...

, Edvinsson was selected in the first-round, sixth overall, by the

Playing career

Edvinsson had six points in 14 games playing for

Frölunda HC Frölunda Hockey Club, previously known as the Frölunda Indians, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Gothenburg. They currently play in the highest Swedish league, the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), formerly the Elitserien, where th ...

's junior team in the

J20 SuperElit J20 Nationell is a junior ice hockey league composed of 20 teams in Sweden. Previously known as the J20 SuperElit, it is the highest-level junior ice hockey league in Sweden. The teams are divided in two groups, or divisions, ''Norra'' (North) ...

, before making his professional debut in the

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 ...

(SHL) during the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season, posting 1 assist in 10 games for Frölunda. Following the season, Edvinsson was the top ranked European defenseman by the

NHL Central Scouting Bureau The NHL Central Scouting Services (CSS) is a department within the National Hockey League that ranks prospects for the NHL Entry Draft at specific times during the hockey season. Players are ranked based on how well they will translate to the profe ...

. Behind Luke Hughes, Edvinsson was the second defenseman selected in the

, chosen sixth overall by the Detroit Red Wings on 23 July 2021. In the 2021–22 season, his first full season in the SHL, Edvinsson has recorded 19 points in 44 regular season games from the blueline for Frölunda HC. He was named a finalist for the SHL Rookie of the Year Award and led all league rookies with an average of 19:46 time on ice. His 19 points were fourth-most all time for a defenseman under the age of 19 in the SHL. Following a semi-final defeat in the playoffs, Edvinsson was signed by Red Wings to a three-year, entry-level contract on 25 April 2022. After participating in the Detroit Red Wings 2022 training camp, Edvinsson was re-assigned to begin his first North American season in with AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. In transitioning to the North American smaller rink, Edvinsson was immediately deployed in a top-pairing role with the Griffins, contributing offensively from the blueline. While leading the team amongst defenseman in scoring, Edvinsson received his first recall to the NHL by the Red Wings on 17 March 2023. He made his NHL debut with the Red Wings the following day, registering 2 penalty minutes in a third-pairing role alongside fellow Swede

Robert Hägg Robert Hägg (born 8 February 1995) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round (41st overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry D ...

, during a 5–1 defeat to 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 ...

Personal life

Edvinsson's father, Tobbe is a police officer, and his mother, Åsa, is a personal trainer. He has a younger brother, Hannes. During the offseason, Edvinsson trains in

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

, which he credits for helping him to control his body. He cites

Victor Hedman Victor Erik Olof Hedman (; born 18 December 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenseman and alternate captain for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hedman was selected second overall by the Lightning in the 20 ...

Miro Heiskanen Miro Heiskanen (born 18 July 1999) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ranked in the top ten eligible European skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau ...

, and

Cale Makar Cale Douglas Makar (born October 30, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected with the fourth overall pick by the Avalanche in the 2017 NHL Entry Draf ...

as role models.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 2003 births Living people Detroit Red Wings draft picks Detroit Red Wings players Frölunda HC players Grand Rapids Griffins players National Hockey League first-round draft picks People from Kungsbacka Municipality VIK Västerås HK players Sportspeople from Halland County {{Sweden-icehockey-defenceman-stub