Joacim Eriksson (born April 9, 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing with Schwenninger Wild Wings of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Eriksson played several years in the Swedish junior leagues, making his professional debut in 2008. He was subsequently drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, though never signed with the team. In 2013 Eriksson signed with the Vancouver Canucks and joined their minor league affiliate in the American Hockey League. He appeared in one game for the Canucks in 2014 and returned to Sweden after two years in North America. Internationally Eriksson played for Sweden at both the under-18 and senior level, winning a gold medal at the 2007 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and a bronze at the 2014 World Championships.

Joacim Eriksson
Eriksson with the Utica Comets in 2014
Born (1990-04-09) April 9, 1990 (age 34)
Hedesunda, Sweden
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Right
DEL team
Former teams
Schwenninger Wild Wings
Skellefteå AIK
Vancouver Canucks
Dinamo Riga
Växjö Lakers
Djurgårdens IF
Brynäs IF
National team  Sweden
NHL draft 196th overall, 2008
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 2008–present

Playing career

edit
 
Eriksson playing for Schwenninger Wild Wings (2023)

Eriksson started his junior career in Valbo before he moved on to the more prestigious Brynäs IF in his hometown of Gävle in 2007. He was born and raised in the village Hedesunda, where he played his first game as a child.[1] He was drafted in the 7th round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft at 196th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers. However the Flyers did not sign him by June 1, 2011, they lost the rights to him.

Unable to find significant playing time behind Jacob Markström after two years of junior play and after setting league-high marks for Brynäs' J20 SuperElit team, Eriksson moved west to Leksands IF of the second-tier Allsvenskan. The move paid off, as Eriksson played in 38 games in the 2009–10 season with a 2.40 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.[1] This led Leksand to play in the Kvalserien for promotion to the Elitserien for the 2010–11 season.

From 2010 to 2013, Eriksson played for SHL side Skellefteå AIK. He won the Swedish championship with the club in 2013 and reached the SHL finals in 2011 and 2012.

On June 15, 2013, Eriksson signed a two-year professional contract with the Vancouver Canucks.[2] Eriksson played in his first career NHL regular season game for the Canucks on January 15, 2014, against the Anaheim Ducks, coming in relief of starter Eddie Läck in a 9–1 loss.[3] He mostly saw action for the Canucks' affiliate, the Utica Comets, in the American Hockey League.

On June 23, 2015, Eriksson agreed to terms with Dinamo Riga of the KHL.[4] He made 34 appearances for Riga with a GAA of 2.42 and a SVS% of .919. After a single season in Latvia with Riga, he penned a deal with the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League in April 2016.[5]

International play

edit
 
Eriksson with Sweden in 2017.
Medal record
Representing   Sweden
Ice hockey
World Championships
  2014 Minsk
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament
  2007 Slovakia

Eriksson's first big international exposure came at the 2007 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament where he helped Sweden win its first and only gold medal in the tournament.[1]

Eriksson was named to the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships, playing for Sweden. He dressed for every game in the tournament but did not play behind Jacob Markström, as Sweden finished fourth.[6]

He won bronze at the 2014 World Championships with the Swedish national team, making eight appearances during the tournament.[7]

Career statistics

edit

Regular season and playoffs

edit
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2006–07 Valbo AIF J20 18 55 3.08 .898
2006–07 Valbo AIF Div.1 1 2 0 3.51 .890
2007–08 Brynäs IF J18 9 21 2 2.31 .908 5 7 2 0 1.42 .940
2007–08 Brynäs IF J20 16 53 0 3.31 .875 7 13 1 1.83 .942
2007–08 Valbo AIF Div.1 2 8 3.91 .907
2008–09 Brynäs IF J20 33 1962 65 6 1.99 .930 7 468 19 0 2.43 .922
2009–10 Leksands IF J20 1 60 0 1 0.00 1.000
2009–10 Leksands IF Allsv 38 23 15 0 2274 89 8 2.35 .928 10 6 4 603 24 0 2.39 .923
2010–11 Skellefteå AIK J20 2 119 7 0 3.54 .865
2010–11 Skellefteå AIK SEL 17 7 9 0 939 40 1 2.56 .909
2011–12 Skellefteå AIK SEL 33 21 12 0 2016 61 3 1.82 .935 19 10 9 1200 44 1 2.20 .918
2012–13 Skellefteå AIK SEL 30 21 9 0 1726 48 5 1.67 .931 10 10 0 623 11 3 1.06 .952
2013–14 Utica Comets AHL 52 24 24 2 3009 131 5 2.61 .911
2013–14 Vancouver Canucks NHL 1 0 0 0 36 6 0 9.99 .806
2014–15 Utica Comets AHL 41 22 10 7 2371 100 0 2.53 .908 2 0 0 31 0 0 0.00 1.000
2015–16 Dinamo Riga KHL 34 9 17 0 1935 78 2 2.42 .919
2016–17 Växjö Lakers SHL 30 20 10 0 1788 64 2 2.15 .913 5 2 3 305 12 1 2.36 .918
2017–18 Djurgården SHL 24 14 8 0 1343 51 2 2.28 .918 1 1 0 60 2 0 2.00 .913
2018–19 Brynäs IF SHL 22 6 13 0 1099 49 1 2.68 .916
2018–19 Almtuna IS Allsv 1 1 0 0 60 0 1 0.00 1.000
2019–20 Brynäs IF SHL 20 7 11 0 1131 64 0 3.39 .879
2020–21 Schwenninger Wild Wings DEL 30 18 12 0 1812 74 2 2.45 .930
2021–22 Schwenninger Wild Wings DEL 40 17 22 0 2372 104 2 2.63 .921
2022–23 Schwenninger Wild Wings DEL 45 20 25 0 2710 110 4 2.44 .924
2023–24 Schwenninger Wild Wings DEL 41 25 16 0 2429 95 3 2.35 .918 7 3 4 412 19 1 2.76 .905
NHL totals 1 0 0 0 39 6 0 9.99 .806

International

edit
Year Team Event GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2007 Sweden IH18 1 1 0 0 60 2 0 2.00 .913
2014 Sweden WC 1 1 0 0 60 1 0 1.00 .909
Junior totals 1 1 0 0 60 2 0 2.00 .913
Senior totals 1 1 0 0 60 1 0 1.00 .909

Awards

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Elite Hockey Prospects". IIHF.com. 7 January 2010.
  2. ^ "Joacim Eriksson agrees to terms with the Vancouver Canucks". espressen.se (in Swedish). 2013-06-15. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  3. ^ "Game Summary".
  4. ^ "Canucks lose minor league goalie Eriksson to Latvia". The Province. 2015-06-23. Retrieved 2015-06-23.
  5. ^ "Joacim Eriksson klar för Växjö Lakers". Växjö Lakers (in Swedish). 2016-04-24. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  6. ^ "IIHF U18 Championship Sweden PLAYER STATISTICS BY TEAM 2008-2009" (PDF). IIHF. 23 March 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 10, 2021.
  7. ^ "Sweden - 2014 WM - International Ice Hockey Federation IIHF". www.iihfworlds2014.com. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
edit