Tomas Holmström

Tomas Holmström
Born	23 January 1973 (1973-01-23) Piteå, SWE
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position	Left/right wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Detroit Red Wings Luleå Hockey (SEL)
National team	Sweden
NHL Draft	257th overall, 1994 Detroit Red Wings
Playing career	1994–present

Tomas Holmström (born 23 January 1973) is a Swedish professional ice hockey left winger currently playing for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL), where he has won four Stanley Cup championships. He is widely considered as one of the best in the game at screening goalies and causing havoc in front of the net.

Playing career

Holmström was first noticed by Red Wings scout Håkan Andersson in 1993 during a national team selection camp, where Holmström missed the cut, then again the next year while playing with Boden where his coach, Niklas Wikegård, told Andersson that Holmström was the team's best player. He was drafted 257th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft and has played for the Red Wings since 1996 with the exception of the season lost to the 2004–05 NHL lockout where Holmström returned to Sweden to play for his old team, Luleå HF in the Swedish elite league Elitserien.

On April 7, 2007, Holmström scored his 30th goal of the 2006–07 season against the Chicago Blackhawks, achieving the first 30 goal season of his career.

Holmström scored 12 points during the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs as the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in 11 years. On his day with the Cup, he had his cousin's daughter baptised in it.

He was inducted into the Piteå Wall of Fame in 2006.

From the beginning, it was decided that Tomas Holmström would play in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. However, due to a knee injury Holmström got on February 13, 2010, in a game between his Detroit and Ottawa in the NHL, it was announced on February 14, 2010, that he would be replaced by Johan Franzén. That announcement came from Tre Kronor's head coach Bengt-Åke Gustafsson.

In 2009-10, he scored 25 goals (2nd to Pavel Datsyuk's 27, including a team-high 13 on the power play), and 45 points in 68 regular-season games. On Jun 4, 2010 he agreed on a two year deal to remain in Detroit.

Playing style

Holmström is known for standing in front of the goal to screen the opposing goaltender. Because he has to withstand hits from pucks as well as his opponents in this position, he wears several extra pads to protect his body. During a playoff series against the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009, Detroit coach Mike Babcock said of Holmström, "I think there's (defencemen) out there who think they might actually get to him. That's just not possible."

Holmström is known to many fans in Detroit by the nickname of "Homer." He acquired the nickname "Demolition Man" while playing in Sweden (where he was also called "Holma").

Personal life

Tomas is married to Annelie and has 3 children.

Awards

• Elitserien gold medal with Luleå Hockey in 1996.
• Named to the Swedish All-Star Team in 1996.
• Gold medal at the Winter Olympics in 2006.
• Stanley Cup (Detroit Red Wings) in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008.

Career statistics

				Regular season							Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
1994–95	Luleå HF	SEL		40	14	14	28	—	56		8	1	2	3	—	20
1995–96	Luleå HF	SEL		34	12	11	23	—	78		11	6	2	8	—	22
1996–97	Adirondack Red Wings	AHL		6	3	1	4	-1	7		—	—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		47	6	3	9	-10	33		1	0	0	0	-1	0
1997–98	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		57	5	17	22	6	44		22	7	12	19	9	16
1998–99	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		82	13	21	34	-11	69		10	4	3	7	2	4
1999–00	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		72	13	22	35	4	43		9	3	1	4	3	16
2000–01	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		73	16	24	40	-12	40		6	1	3	4	-1	8
2001–02	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		69	8	18	26	-12	58		23	8	3	11	7	8
2002–03	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		74	20	20	40	11	62		4	1	1	2	1	4
2003–04	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		67	15	15	30	8	38		12	2	2	4	0	10
2004–05	Luleå HF	SEL		47	14	16	30	-10	50		4	0	0	0	-7	18
2005–06	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		81	29	30	59	14	66		6	1	2	3	-1	12
2006–07	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		77	30	22	52	13	59		15	5	3	8	2	14
2007–08	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		59	20	20	40	9	58		21	4	8	12	4	26
2008–09	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		53	14	23	37	18	38		23	2	5	7	-2	22
2009–10	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		68	25	20	45	5	60		12	4	3	7	3	12
2010–11	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		73	18	19	37	-6	62		—	—	—	—	—	—
SEL totals				121	40	41	81	—	184		23	7	4	11	—	60
AHL totals				6	3	1	4	-1	7		—	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				952	232	274	506	37	729		102	42	46	88	26	152

International play

Olympic medal record
Men's ice hockey
Gold	2006 Turin	Team

Holmström has played for Sweden in the following competitions:

• 1996 World Championships
• 2002 Winter Olympics
• 2004 World Cup of Hockey
• 2006 Winter Olympics (gold medal)

International statistics

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1996	Sweden	WC		6	1	0	1	12
2002	Sweden	Oly		4	1	0	1	2
2004	Sweden	WCup		4	3	2	5	8
2006	Sweden	Oly		8	1	3	4	10
Senior int'l totals				22	6	5	11	32

Statistics as of May 25, 2007.

External links

• Tomas Holmström's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database