Oliver Ekman-Larsson

**Oliver Ekman-Larsson** (born Oliver Oscar Emanuel Ekman-Larsson on July 17, 1991 in Karlskrona, Sweden) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player and captain of the Arizona Coyotes of the NHL.

Ekman-Larsson was drafted 6th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

## Playing Career

### Early Playing Career

Oliver began his career at the Tingsryds AIF hockey club of the HockeyAllsvenskan during the 2007–08 season, recording 8 points in 27 games.

He continued his career with Leksands IF, where he scored 44 points in two seasons in 2008–09 and 2009–10 in a total of 81 games.

### Professional

Oliver was selected sixth overall by Phoenix in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. On 24 May 2010, it was announced the Coyotes had signed him to an entry-level contract.

In the season following his draft selection, he produced the second most points among junior players in the Allsvenskan despite missing several games while competing in the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships for Sweden.

He recorded his first career NHL point through an assist on a Kyle Turris goal on 23 October 2010. He scored his first career NHL goal on 17 January 2011, against goaltender Antti Niemi of the San Jose Sharks.

For the duration of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Oliver (who was on the last year of his entry-level contract) was assigned to Phoenix's AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates.

On 6 March 2014, he scored his 100th NHL career point in a 5–2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens; with his contribution, it was the first time since 9 December 1998 the Coyotes had defeated Montreal.

At the conclusion of the 2013–14 season, Oliver finished seventh in balloting for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL's top defenceman during the regular season. His votes included three first-place votes, one second-place vote and two third-place votes.

On 16 December 2014, during the 2014–15 season, he tied the Coyotes' franchise record for overtime-winning goals by a player in a single season after scoring his third of the season with 0.03 seconds left in overtime in a 2–1 win over the Edmonton Oilers.

He represented Arizona in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, assisting on a goal by Bobby Ryan and finished the 2014–15 season with 23 goals & 20 assists.

With this career milestone, he broke Nicklas Lidstrom's NHL record, becoming the first Swedish-born defenceman in NHL history to score more than 20 goals in one season. His 23 goals were the most scored by an NHL defenceman that season and tied Phil Housley's franchise record for most goals scored by a defenceman in a season.

On 29 January 2015, during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, he scored the fastest shorthanded goal to start a period in NHL history, against Jonathan Bernier five seconds into the third period

On 19 December 2015, during a game against the New York Islanders, Oliver scored the lone goal of the game, which proved to be the game-winning goal. With this goal, he surpassed Teppo Numminen's franchise record for the most game-winning goals by a defenceman with the 20th in his career.

On January 12, 2016, he assisted on all three goals of rookie Max Domi's first career hat-trick and would later go on to set a career-high four-point night by scoring the overtime-winning goal against the Edmonton Oilers.

On March 24, 2016, heinadvertently scored the game-winning goal in a 3–1 win over the Dallas Stars. It was initially credited to teammate Martin Hanzal, but after further review, the goal was shown to bounce off a Dallas player and into the net.

With this game-winning goal, he set an NHL record for the most game-winning goals by a defenceman in a single season with eight (surpassing Tim Horton, Al MacInnis, Ray Bourque, Derek Morris and Dion Phaneuf).

Oliver became just the second defenceman in franchise history to record 20 or more goals in consecutive seasons (after Phil Housley). He finished the 2015–16 season ninth in balloting for the James Norris Memorial Trophy.

In the 2016–17 season, on 18 March 2017, during a game against the Nashville Predators, Oliver scored his 40th career powerplay goal (against Pekka Rinne), tying Fredrik Olausson for the most by a defenceman in Arizona Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets history.

On 3 April 2017, with the Coyotes out of playoff contention, he was granted a leave of absence for the remaining three regular seasons games in order to return to his native Sweden due to the death of his mother (following a prolonged battle with cancer).

On 14 October 2017, in a game against the Boston Bruins, Oliver scored his first powerplay goal of the season against Anton Khudobin, moving ahead of Fredrik Olausson for the franchise record for power-play goals scored by a defenceman with his 41st.

On 10 January 2018, he was selected as the lone Coyotes representative at the 2018 NHL All-Star Game. On 10 March, he was fined $5,000 for slashing Sven Andrighetto.

After the regular season concluded and the Coyotes again failed to make the playoffs, he was nominated for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy (which is awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and gives back to his community).

On 1 July 2018, Oliver signed an eight-year, $66 million contract extension with the Coyotes; he was set to become a free agent the following season. He was later named captain of the Coyotes.

## International Play

Oliver represented Sweden at the 2010 World Junior Championships where he was the highest-scoring defenceman on the team, scoring five points in six games.

At the 2010 World Championships, he played in nine games for the bronze medalists and was deemed to be Sweden's best player in the game against Norway.

In 2019, at the 2019 World Championships, Oliver was named captain of Sweden's international team.

## Accolades

### Records

 First Swedish-born defenseman in NHL history to score more than 20 goals in a single season
 Fastest shorthanded goal to begin a period in NHL history
 Most powerplay goals by a defenseman in Arizona Coyotes franchise history
 Most goals by a defenseman in Coyotes franchise history

## Personal Life

Oliver's maternal grandfather Kenneth Ekman (who was also a defenceman) was selected to represent Sweden at the 1972 Winter Olympics. His cousin is Swedish international footballer Amanda Ilestedt.

His younger brother, Kevin, was previously signed with the Coyotes' AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners; he now plays in Sweden with second tier club, BIK Karlskoga.

In 2013, Oliver founded OEL, a luxury clothing line based out of Sweden.