Erik Ersberg

Erik Ersberg (born March 8, 1982) is a Swedish retired professional ice hockey goaltender. During his playing career, he made a total of 54 appearances in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings. He is currently serving as the goaltending coach to the Vienna Capitals of the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL).

Playing career

Ersberg started his ice hockey career playing for VIK Västerås HK in HockeyAllsvenskan (tier two in the Swedish league structure). For season 2005–06 he joined the Jönköping based elite club HV71. As a backup goalie behind Stefan Liv, Ersberg guarded the net for ten games in his rookie season, ending the regular season with a save percentage of .929. In the Elitserien playoffs 2006 he played in two games with a .857 save percentage.

The following season he got his breakthrough and became starting goaltender for HV71 and was also selected for the Sweden national team in the 2006 Karjala Tournament and Channel One Cup. He is somewhat of a late bloomer as he has never before played for the national team, including youth and junior tournaments. In season 2006–07 he was nominated as the second candidate for the title Elitserien Rookie of the Year. On March 22, 2007 he was awarded the Honken Trophy, which is awarded to the Swedish goaltender of the year. On May 31, 2007, Los Angeles announced on their web site that they have signed Ersberg to a one-year entry-level deal. He started the 2007–08 season playing for Manchester Monarchs in the American Hockey League.

On February 21, 2008, the Kings recalled Ersberg from Manchester, becoming the first Swedish-born goaltender in Los Angeles Kings franchise history.

February 23, 2008, Ersberg made his NHL debut against the Chicago Blackhawks at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. He replaced Dan Cloutier, who was pulled in the second period with the score 5-1. The Kings scored four goals in the third period to tie the game 5-5 and send it into overtime, where the Blackhawks scored for the 6-5 victory. Ersberg allowed only one goal on 19 shots, but earned the overtime loss.

On March 6, 2008, Ersberg recorded his first career NHL win and shutout. He made 40 saves to defeat the Ottawa Senators 2-0. Ersberg became the first NHL rookie to make at least 40 saves in a shutout since November 14, 1996. He also broke the Kings' franchise single game record for saves by a rookie, breaking Gary Edwards' previous mark of 38 saves during the 1971–72 season.

For the 2010–11 season, Ersberg was assigned to the Manchester Monarchs. He proceed to leave the team without permission and on October 22, 2010, Ersberg was placed on waivers. He has since been playing for the Russian club Salavat Yulaev in KHL, before moving on to fellow KHL side Donbass Donetsk. After spending the 2013–14 season in Germany, representing the Iserlohn Roosters, Ersberg returned to Sweden and spent two years with HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He announced his retirement in July 2016.

International play

Ersberg made his international debut for Sweden in a single game at the 2007 World Championships. He later competed in two games at the 2011 World Championships, helping claim the silver medal.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%2001–02 Västerås IK Ungdom Div.1 37 — — — — — — — .930 10 — — — — — 2.19 .919 2002–03 Västerås IK Ungdom Allsv 32 — — — — 91 1 2.84 .901 — — — — — — — — 2003–04 Västerås IK Ungdom Allsv 20 — — — — 79 3 2.45 .914 — — — — — — — — 2004–05 Västerås IK Ungdom Allsv 37 — — — — 76 3 2.08 .909 5 — — — — — 1.56 .946 2005–06 HV71 SEL 10 7 2 1 601 18 2 1.79 .929 2 0 2 78 4 0 3.05 .857 2005–06 VIK Västerås HK Allsv 2 — — — — 4 0 2.02 .913 — — — — — — — — 2006–07 HV71 SEL 41 22 12 7 2455 98 4 2.39 .908 14 7 7 776 35 0 2.81 .888 2007–08 Manchester Monarchs AHL 30 10 13 2 1540 75 1 2.92 .897 — — — — — — — — 2007–08 Los Angeles Kings NHL 14 6 5 3 798 33 2 2.48 .927 — — — — — — — — 2008–09 Los Angeles Kings NHL 28 8 11 5 1477 65 0 2.64 .900 — — — — — — — — 2009–10 Los Angeles Kings NHL 11 4 3 2 551 22 0 2.40 .906 1 0 0 13 2 0 9.23 .500 2010–11 Manchester Monarchs AHL 2 1 1 0 119 4 0 2.02 .926 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 Salavat Yulaev Ufa KHL 18 11 5 1 991 35 4 2.12 .926 20 — — 1118 36 3 1.93 .933 2011–12 Salavat Yulaev Ufa KHL 24 11 5 4 1363 56 3 2.47 .921 6 2 4 367 13 1 2.13 .920 2012–13 HC Donbass KHL 21 5 10 6 1247 55 1 2.64 .912 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Iserlohn Roosters DEL 24 10 12 2 1298 54 3 2.50 .921 4 1 3 235 11 0 2.81 .925 2014–15 HV71 SHL 17 9 8 0 926 36 1 2.33 .907 — — — — — — — — 2015–16 HV71 SHL 13 5 6 0 653 36 0 3.31 .897 — — — — — — — — NHL totals 53 18 19 10 2827 120 2 2.55 .910 1 0 0 13 2 0 9.23 .500

International Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2007 Sweden WC 4th 1 0 1 0 59 4 0 4.06 .871 2011 Sweden WC 2 0 2 0 125 8 0 3.84 .904 Senior totals 3 0 3 0 184 12 0 3.92 .897 Statistics complete.

Awards and honors Award Year SHL Honken Trophy (Swedish Goaltender of the Year) 2007 Rookie of the Year nominee 2007 KHL First All-Star Team 2011 Gagarin Cup (Salavat Yulaev Ufa) 2011