Henrik Karlsson

Henrik Bjorn Karlsson (born 27 November 1983) is a Swedish-Kazakhstani former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 26 games in the National Hockey League with the Calgary Flames during the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. The rest of his career, which lasted from 2002 to 2021, was spent in Sweden and then in the Kontinental Hockey League. Internationally Karlsson, who was born in Sweden, played for the Kazakhstani national team at two World Championships.

Playing career A player undrafted in the NHL, Karlsson spent the majority of the 2008–09 season in the HockeyAllsvenskan with the Malmö Redhawks, but appeared in seven games in the Elitserien with Södertälje. He was signed as a free agent by the San Jose Sharks before the 2009–10 season, but was returned to Sweden and took up starting duties with Färjestad. He finished fourth in the league save percentage and tied for second in shutouts.

Facing bleak prospects of playing with the Sharks in 2010–11, he contemplated signing with a team in the Kontinental Hockey League before his NHL rights were dealt by the Sharks to the Calgary Flames for a sixth-round pick at the 2010 NHL entry draft. The Flames quickly signed Karlsson to a new one-year contract, and was expected to compete for the backup role to starter Miikka Kiprusoff. Karlsson struggled early in the 2011–12 NHL season, failing to win his first five decisions before suffering a torn medial collateral ligament in a game against the Vancouver Canucks on 4 December that caused him to miss two months of play. When he returned to action, he was often passed over for third goaltender Leland Irving when the team wanted to rest Kiprusoff and consequently appeared in only nine games during the season. He started the final game of the year, a 5–2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. It was his only win of the season, and his first since 21 January 2011.

On 21 January 2013, Karlsson was traded by the Flames to the Chicago Blackhawks for a seventh-round pick in the 2013 NHL entry draft. The Blackhawks immediately assigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. He was recalled that season during the playoffs. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup that season, but he did not qualify to have his name on the Stanley Cup even though he dressed for the first 5 playoff games. He was awarded a Stanley Cup for his efforts.

On 25 June 2013, Karlsson left North America and returned to Sweden signing a one-year contract with Skellefteå AIK of the SHL. However, he left during the 2013-14 season and accepted an offer from Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), where he stayed for the remainder of the campaign. Karlsson then embarked on a two-year stint with fellow KHL side Jokerit of Helsinki, Finland. After the conclusion of the 2015–16 season, he moved on to Barys Astana, also competing in the KHL.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2000–01 Hammarby IF J18 SWE U18 2 — — — — 120 7 0 3.50 .883 — — — — — — — — 2000–01 Hammarby IF U20 SWE U20 13 — — — — 706 56 0 4.76 .893 — — — — — — — — 2001–02 Hammarby IF U20 SWE U20 23 — — — — 1356 97 0 4.34 .886 — — — — — — — — 2002–03 Botkyrka HC SWE-3 — — — — — — — — 2.58 .913 — — — — — — — — 2003–04 Botkyrka HC SWE-3 21 — — — — — — — 2.49 .914 — — — — — — — — 2004–05 IK Oskarshamn SWE-2 11 — — — — 613 25 1 2.45 .914 — — — — — — — — 2004–05 Olofströms IK SWE-3 1 — — — — 60 0 1 0.00 1.000 — — — — — — — — 2005–06 IK Oskarshamn SWE-2 1 0 1 0 — 25 2 0 4.54 .850 — — — — — — — — 2006–07 IF Hammarby SWE-2 35 11 17 — 4 1893 111 1 3.52 .895 — — — — — — — — 2007–08 IF Hammarby SWE-2 29 4 24 — 1 1692 109 1 3.86 .902 — — — — — — — — 2007–08 Malmö Redhawks SWE-2 3 3 0 — 0 180 8 0 2.67 .913 — — — — — — — — 2008–09 Malmö Redhawks SWE-2 32 16 15 — 0 1888 77 4 2.38 .923 — — — — — — — — 2008–09 Södertälje SK SWE 7 3 3 — 0 410 17 0 2.49 .929 — — — — — — — — 2009–10 Färjestad BK SWE 34 18 15 — 0 1934 79 3 2.45 .914 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 Calgary Flames NHL 17 4 5 — 6 838 36 0 2.58 .908 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 Calgary Flames NHL 9 1 4 — 2 455 24 0 3.17 .900 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 Abbotsford Heat AHL 4 2 2 — 0 239 9 0 2.26 .903 — — — — — — — — 2012–13 Rockford IceHogs AHL 18 11 5 — 0 1007 48 0 2.86 .898 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Skellefteå AIK SWE 19 11 5 — 0 1044 37 3 2.13 .917 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Avangard Omsk KHL 8 2 4 — 0 357 13 0 2.18 .917 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Jokerit KHL 39 24 13 — 2 2340 82 3 2.10 .922 9 4 5 549 20 1 2.18 .924 2015–16 Jokerit KHL 45 25 14 — 4 2579 89 4 2.07 .924 6 2 4 360 17 0 2.83 .894 2016–17 Barys Astana KHL 46 25 19 — 1 2604 110 7 2.53 .920 10 4 6 638 28 0 2.64 .917 2017–18 Barys Astana KHL 45 18 22 — 3 2437 110 4 2.71 .912 — — — — — — — — 2018–19 Barys Astana KHL 45 25 13 — 4 2549 86 5 2.02 .928 11 4 5 565 24 0 2.55 .911 2019–20 Barys Nur-Sultan KHL 20 12 5 — 0 1014 37 2 2.19 .925 1 0 0 20 0 0 0.00 1.000 2020–21 Barys Nur-Sultan KHL 29 16 10 — 3 1674 64 3 2.29 .927 2 0 1 77 6 0 4.72 .854 NHL totals 26 5 9 — 8 1292 60 0 2.79 .905 — — — — — — — —

International Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2018 Kazakhstan WC IA 5 3 2 0 300 10 1 2.00 .937 2019 Kazakhstan WC IA 4 4 0 0 244 6 0 1.48 .916 Senior totals 9 7 2 0 544 16 5 1.76 .930