Niklas Kronwall
| Niklas Kronwall | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | January 12, 1981 Stockholm, Sweden |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team | Detroit Red Wings |
| National team |  Sweden |
| NHL Draft | 29th overall, 2000 Detroit Red Wings |
| Playing career | 1999–present |
Niklas Kronwall (born January 12, 1981) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He started his career in Järfälla HC in Sweden, and has played for the Swedish National Team. In the NHL, Kronwall has gained notoriety for being an open ice hitter, and the phrase "being Kronwalled" was coined to describe his signature back-pedaling hits.
His younger brother Staffan plays for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
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Playing career [edit]
I know one scout who tried to bring up Niklas Kronwall's name with his team. They just laughed at him. They never even had a serious dialogue. They just stopped him. They said 'a 5-11 Swedish defenceman?' [The Red Wings] organization is more open-minded than that.
Kronwall was selected in the 1st round, 29th overall, in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings.[2] He continued to play for Djurgårdens IF until he came to North America in 2003. He played 20 games for Detroit in the 2003–04 season, scoring one goal and four assists for five points, to go along with 16 penalty minutes.
During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Kronwall played a complete season for the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Red Wings' top affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL). He notched 13 goals and 40 assists in 76 games while also playing a solid defense. For his efforts, Kronwall was awarded the Eddie Shore Award as the top defenceman in the AHL.
Kronwall was injured in an exhibition game against Colorado Avalanche in September 2005[3] and missed more than half of the 2005–06 season with a serious knee injury.
In late 2005, he was named member of the Swedish Olympic Team but dropped out in early 2006 because of his injured knee. When Mattias Öhlund was injured against Switzerland, Kronwall was called in to replace him.
He also played at the IIHF 2006 World Championship to win the other international gold medal. This makes him one of only eight players who have won both Olympic and World Cup gold the same year. He won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2008, making him a member of the Triple Gold Club. He also led all defencemen in scoring with 15 points in the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs. Kronwall scored six goals to go with 45 assists during the 2008–09 NHL season, and followed it up with two goals and seven assists during the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs as the Red Wings came within a game of repeating as Stanley Cup champions.
On December 27, 2010, he helped teammate and goaltender Chris Osgood get his 400th win by scoring the game-winning goal and lifting the Red Wings to a 4-3 overtime win over the Colorado Avalanche.
On October 31, 2011, Kronwall and Detroit agreed to a seven-year contract. Playing in all 82 regular season games during the 2011-12 NHL Season, Kronwall recorded a career high 15 goals for the Red Wings.
Upon the retirement of superstar defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom in 2012, Kronwall became Detroit's number one defenseman. During the lockout shortened 2012-13 NHL Season, Kronwall appeared in all 48 regular season games, usually paired with fellow Swede Jonathan Ericsson. Kronwall finished the regular season scoring five goals along with 24 assists as the Red Wings clinched their 22nd consecutive playoff berth.
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Ice hockey | ||
| Gold | 2006 Turin | Ice hockey |
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 2006 | Team |
| Silver | 2003 | Team |
"Kronwalled" [edit]
Kronwall has developed a reputation as one of the stronger hitters in the league. Fans refer to the frequently devastating hits as being "Kronwalled." The most famous incident stems from the 2009 Western Conference Finals when Kronwall delivered a strong finishing check to Chicago Blackhawks forward Martin Havlat which rendered Havlat unconscious. Though he was penalized on ice, no supplemental discipline was issued.[4] Further notable incidents of Kronwall's checking include Dany Heatley, Ales Hemsky, Ryan Kesler,[5] Jakub Voracek,[6] and Kaspars Saulietis.[7]
Achievements [edit]
- Elitserien champion with Djurgårdens IF in 2000 and 2001.
- Elitserien Junior Hockey Player of the Year in 2000.
- Silver medal at the World Championships in 2003.
- Awarded the Eddie Shore Award (Outstanding defenceman) in 2005.
- Named to the AHL First All-Star Team in 2005.
- Gold medal at the Winter Olympics in 2006.
- Gold medal at the World Championships in 2006.
- Named MVP and Best Defender in World Championships in 2006.
- Named to the World Championship All-Star Team in 2006.
- Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008.
Career statistics [edit]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998–99 | Huddinge IK | Swe-2 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Djurgårdens IF | Elit | 37 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 2000–01 | Djurgårdens IF | Elit | 31 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 32 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2001–02 | Djurgårdens IF | Elit | 48 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Djurgårdens IF | Elit | 50 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 46 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 18 | ||
| 2003–04 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 20 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 25 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 76 | 13 | 40 | 53 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 27 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2005–06 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 68 | 1 | 21 | 22 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 65 | 7 | 28 | 35 | 25 | 22 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 18 | ||
| 2008–09 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 6 | 45 | 51 | 50 | 23 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 33 | ||
| 2009–10 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 48 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 32 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 12 | ||
| 2010–11 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 77 | 11 | 26 | 37 | 36 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2011–12 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 82 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 38 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 48 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Elitserien totals | 166 | 12 | 33 | 45 | 128 | 35 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 34 | ||||
| AHL totals | 102 | 15 | 51 | 66 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| NHL totals | 515 | 54 | 192 | 246 | 342 | 79 | 4 | 36 | 40 | 73 | ||||
References [edit]
- ^ Rosenberg, Michael (2008-06-09). "Secret to success? Meet the Wings' super scout". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ "Niklas Kronwall". hockeydb.com. April 28, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
- ^ Ted Kulfan (2005). "Injury costs Wings' Kronwall". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2006-09-21.[dead link]
- ^ http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=423666
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrLhkntCs9c
- ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/07/niklas-kronwall-jakub-kronwall-hit-red-wings-flyers_n_1326657.html
- ^ http://offthebench.nbcsports.com/2012/05/19/niklas-kronwall-destroys-kaspars-saulietis-at-ice-hockey-world-championship-video/
External links [edit]
| Preceded by Jiri Fischer |
Detroit Red Wings first round draft pick 2000 |
Succeeded by Jakub Kindl |
- 1981 births
- Living people
- Detroit Red Wings draft picks
- Detroit Red Wings players
- Djurgårdens IF Hockey players
- Huddinge IK players
- Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics
- Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- Olympic gold medalists for Sweden
- Olympic ice hockey players of Sweden
- Olympic medalists in ice hockey
- People from Järfälla Municipality
- Stanley Cup champions
- Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Swedish ice hockey players
- Triple Gold Club
