| Erik Gustafsson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 14, 1992 Nynäshamn, Sweden |
| Height | 6 ft 0.5 in (1.84 m) |
| Weight | 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team Former teams |
Chicago Blackhawks Djurgårdens IF Frölunda HC |
| NHL Draft | 93rd overall, 2012 Edmonton Oilers |
| Playing career | 2011–present |
Erik Gustafsson (born March 14, 1992) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently under contract to the Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League (NHL).
He was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the 4th round (93rd overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing Career[]
Erik began playing hockey in Nynäshamns IF before moving to Djurgården's youth organisation. He represented team Stockholm in the 2008 TV-pucken, a national junior tournament, scoring four assists. He played the 2008–09 season with Djurgården's under-18 team.
The following season, Erik played for both the under-18 team and the J20-team. For the 2010–11 season, he had a permanent place in the J20-team which won their division and ended up third in the playoffs. In May of 2011, he extended his contract with Djurgården through the 2013–14 season.
Erik was called to make his Elitserien debut in the league premier against HV71 on September 15, 2011, but he did not receive any time on the ice.
In Erik's second game against Brynäs on September 27, 2011, he made his on-ice debut, playing six minutes of the game. He scored his first Elitserien goal on December 26, 2011 against Fredrik Norrena of Linköpings HC.
On April 4, 2013 (with Djurgården remaining in the Allsvenskan), he left to return to the top level SHL in signing a contract with Frölunda HC.
After two successful seasons establishing himself in the SHL with Frölunda and with his NHL rights from the Edmonton Oilers not retained, Erik signed a two-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on April 30, 2015.
During the 2016-17 season with the Rockford IceHogs (the Blackhawks' AHL affiliate), he was named the team's "Defenseman of the Year", pacing defensemen on the team in assists, shots and sharing the lead in points.
Erik began the 2017–18 season with Chicago's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, but he was recalled to the NHL on January 9, 2018.
On January 20, 2018, he scored his first NHL goal and added an assist in a 7–3 loss to the New York Islanders. On March 6, 2018, he signed a two-year contract extension with Chicago.
In the 2018-19 season, Erik had a career-long eight-game assist streak (with 11 assists), lasting from December 27, 2018 to January 12, 2019.
On February 2, 2019, he scored the game-winning goal in overtime against the Minnesota Wild. During the month of February, he had two-plus assists in four straight games, lasting from February 20 to February 27th.
On April 1, 2019, Erik picked up three assists in a game against the Winnipeg Jets, matching his career-high for points & assists in the game. He completed the season with 60 points (with 17 goals & 43 assists).
Career Statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2009–10 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 24 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 38 | 2 | 21 | 23 | 104 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2011–12 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 21 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Djurgårdens IF | SEL | 41 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Djurgårdens IF | Allsv | 49 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 52 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 30 | ||
| 2013–14 | Frölunda HC | SHL | 50 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Frölunda HC | SHL | 55 | 4 | 25 | 29 | 22 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 31 | ||
| 2015–16 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 27 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 41 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 68 | 5 | 25 | 30 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 25 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 35 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 79 | 17 | 43 | 60 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| SHL totals | 146 | 9 | 47 | 56 | 54 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 31 | ||||
| NHL totals | 155 | 22 | 68 | 90 | 44 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Sweden | WC | 6th | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018 | Sweden | WC | Template:Goca | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2019 | Sweden | WC | 5th | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| Senior totals | 22 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | ||||
International Play[]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Template:Country data SWE Sweden | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 2018 Denmark | |
In 2016, Erik played in the 2016 IIHF World Championship where team Sweden finished in 6th place; he played in 8 games and had 2 assists.
He played in the 2018 IIHF World Championship where team Sweden got a gold medal; he played in 6 games and had 1 assist.
A year later, he played in the 2019 IIHF World Championship with team Sweden, where they came in 5th place; he played in 8 games and had 2 assists.
Personal Life[]
Erik has two brothers: an older brother, Joakim (born on February 25, 1989) and a younger brother Glenn (born on September 4, 1998) who also play hockey in Sweden.
