Erik Gustafsson (ice hockey, born 1988)

For the Swedish ice hockey defenceman born in 1992, see Erik Gustafsson (ice hockey, born 1992).

Erik Gustafsson
Erik Gustafsson in April 2011
Born	(1988-12-15) 15 December 1988 (age 36) Kvissleby, Sweden
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
SHL team Former teams	Luleå HF Philadelphia Flyers Avangard Omsk EHC Kloten Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk
National team	Sweden
NHL draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2010–present

Erik Gustafsson (born 15 December 1988) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and captain for Luleå HF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

Playing career

Gustafsson played in the youth ranks of Timrå IK before enrolling at Northern Michigan University in 2007. He spent three years in college, before signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers on 31 March 2010.^[1] Gustafsson made his NHL debut on 26 February 2011, against the Ottawa Senators, subbing for Chris Pronger, who was out with a bruised right hand.^[2]

Gustafsson scored his first career NHL goal against Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres on 16 February 2012.

Following the 2013–14 NHL season, Gustafsson signed with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.^[3] In the 2014–15 season, Gustafsson immediately established himself amongst the blueline with Omsk, finishing second among defenceman with 22 points in 56 games.

Despite early interest in the off-season from the NHL, on 17 July 2015, Gustafsson left Omsk as a free agent to sign a one-year contract with Swiss club, Kloten Flyers of the NLA.^[4] After one year in Switzerland, he returned to Avangard Omsk, signing in May 2016.^[5]

On 2 May 2018, Gustafsson returned to his native Sweden in agreeing to a four-year contract with Luleå HF.^[6] In making his debut in the SHL in the 2018–19 season, Gustafsson as captain led Luleå HF from the blueline, playing top-pairing minutes in recording 6 goals and 27 points in 49 games. In the playoffs, Gustafsson increased his scoring rate with 9 in 10 games. He was awarded the Salming Trophy as the SHL's best defenceman to conclude the season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2004–05	Timrå IK	J18 Allsv		14	4	2	6	12		3	0	0	0	0
2005–06	Timrå IK	J18 Allsv		8	2	1	3	8		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Timrå IK	J20		38	3	4	7	26		1	0	0	0	0
2006–07	Timrå IK	J20		41	7	13	20	93		3	0	0	0	14
2007–08	Northern Michigan Wildcats	CCHA		44	0	27	27	12		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Northern Michigan Wildcats	CCHA		40	4	30	34	10		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Northern Michigan Wildcats	CCHA		39	3	29	32	26		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Adirondack Phantoms	AHL		5	2	5	7	0		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Adirondack Phantoms	AHL		72	5	44	49	14		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		3	0	0	0	4		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Adirondack Phantoms	AHL		28	1	16	17	14		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		30	1	4	5	2		7	1	1	2	2
2012–13	Adirondack Phantoms	AHL		39	5	17	22	37		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		27	3	5	8	2		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		31	2	8	10	6		2	1	0	1	2
2014–15	Avangard Omsk	KHL		56	6	16	22	18		12	0	3	3	6
2015–16	Kloten Flyers	NLA		48	3	26	29	18		4	0	0	0	2
2016–17	Avangard Omsk	KHL		50	3	16	19	20		12	0	5	5	4
2017–18	Avangard Omsk	KHL		23	1	9	10	6		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk	KHL		25	1	12	13	18		2	0	1	1	0
2018–19	Luleå HF	SHL		49	6	21	27	37		10	3	6	9	2
2019–20	Luleå HF	SHL		46	12	20	32	16		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Luleå HF	SHL		47	4	28	32	14		7	0	3	3	2
2021–22	Luleå HF	SHL		48	3	23	26	24		17	1	6	7	6
NHL totals				91	6	17	23	14		9	2	1	3	4
KHL totals				154	11	53	64	62		26	0	9	9	10
SHL totals				190	25	92	117	91		34	4	15	19	10

International

Medal record
Representing  Sweden
Ice hockey
World Championships
	2013 Sweden/Finland
	2014 Minsk

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2013	Sweden	WC			10	1	1	2	2
2014	Sweden	WC			8	0	1	1	6
2016	Sweden	WC	6th		8	0	0	0	4
2018	Sweden	OG	5th		4	0	0	0	2
Senior totals					30	1	2	3	14

Awards and achievements

Award	Year	Ref
College
All-CCHA Rookie Team	2007–08
All-CCHA First Team	2008–09, 2009–10
CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman	2008–09, 2009–10
AHCA West Second-Team All-American	2008–09, 2009–10
All-CCHA Tournament Team	2010
AHL
All-Rookie Team	2010–11
All-Star Game	2011
KHL
All-Star Game	2015
SHL
Salming Trophy	2019

References

1. "Flyers Sign Defenseman Gustafsson". Philadelphia Flyers. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
2. Tim Panaccio (26 February 2011). "Flyers squander early lead, fall to lowly Senators". CSNPhilly.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
3. Pettersson, Robert (16 May 2014). "Svenske VM-backen klar för Avangard Omsk" (in Swedish). hockeysverige.se. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
4. "Two new foreigners for the Kloten Flyers" (in German). Kloten Flyers. 17 July 2015. Archived from the original on 20 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
5. "Эрик Густафссон возвращается в "Авангард"!". www.hawk.ru. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
6. "Four year agreement with Erik Gustafsson" (in Swedish). Luleå HF. 2 May 2018.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Tyler Eckford	CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman 2008–09, 2009–10	Succeeded by Torey Krug