Gabriel Landeskog
Landeskog with the Colorado Avalanche in November 2014
Born (1992-11-23) 23 November 1992
Stockholm, Sweden
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 216 lb (98 kg; 15 st 6 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Colorado Avalanche
Djurgårdens IF
National team  Sweden
NHL Draft 2nd overall, 2011
Colorado Avalanche
Playing career 2009–present

Gabriel Landeskog (pronounced [ˈɡɑ̂ːbrɪɛl ˈlânːdɛˌskuːɡ]; born 23 November 1992) is a Swedish professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He was selected second overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by Colorado.[1] On 4 September 2012, Landeskog was named the fourth captain in Colorado Avalanche history, at the time becoming the youngest captain in NHL history at 19 years and 286 days.[2][3] He won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, becoming the fourth European-born captain to do so.

Playing career

Djurgårdens IF

Landeskog began his youth career in hockey playing for Hammarby IF. After a successful season for Djurgårdens IF in the J20 SuperElit, Landeskog debuted in Elitserien on 21 February 2009, in a game against Brynäs IF, which Djurgården lost 2–4. At age 16 years and 90 days he became the youngest player in Djurgården's history,[4][5] and one of the youngest to ever have played in Elitserien. He recorded his first point in Elitserien on 24 February in his second game, a 2–2 tie against Skellefteå AIK.[6]

Kitchener Rangers

Landeskog with the Kitchener Rangers in 2010

Landeskog was initially drafted in the first round, third overall, by the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League in the 2009 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft. On August 4, 2009, his CHL rights were traded from the Whalers to the Kitchener Rangers.[7]

In the 2009–10 season Landeskog roomed with Jeff Skinner,[8] now a member of the Buffalo Sabres. By the end of the year, Landeskog was third among OHL rookies in points (trailing Matt Puempel and Boone Jenner) and goals (trailing Puempel and Ivan Telegin).[9] In the playoffs, Kitchener made it to the conference finals where they were eliminated by Windsor, and Gabriel was third overall on his team as well as the highest scoring rookie ahead of teammate Ryan Murphy.[10]

On 24 October 2010 Landeskog was named captain of the Kitchener Rangers for the 2010–11 season. This announcement made him the first European captain in franchise history.[11][12] During his final season before NHL draft eligibility, despite suffering an ankle injury which shortened his campaign to 53 regular season games, he led all Rangers with 37 goals and a plus-minus of 27. During the playoffs, Landeskog posted a team-high 10 points in a seven-game first-round series defeat to the Plymouth Whalers to end his junior career.

Colorado Avalanche

Landeskog was drafted second overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.[13] He is tied with Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks and Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning as the third-highest Swedish draft pick in history – Mats Sundin and Rasmus Dahlin are the only Swedish players to be selected first overall in the draft. Landeskog became the first Swedish-born player ever drafted in the first-round out of the Ontario Hockey League (Rickard Rakell would be selected 30th overall in the same draft). Subsequently, the Kitchener Rangers dropped him from their roster to free up a position on their roster on the anticipation he would be playing in the NHL the next year.[14] He made the Avalanche roster for the 2011–12 season; one factor in this decision was possibly that it enabled the team to reach the floor value for the salary cap.[15]

Landeskog with the Avalanche in his rookie season.

Landeskog scored his first National Hockey League goal on 12 October 2011 against Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets on a deflection of a Jan Hejda shot with 41 seconds left in the game to send the game into overtime.[16] At 18 years, 324 days, he was the youngest Swedish born hockey player to score an NHL goal. Since, Carolina Hurricanes Forward, Elias Lindholm broke Landeskog's record by scoring his first NHL Goal at 18 years and 311 days. Landeskog was the first rookie to score his first NHL goal as an equalizer in the final minute of the third period since Tom Gilbert of the Edmonton Oilers did it in 2007. On 22 October 2011, he compiled his first two-goal NHL game in a 5–4 shootout victory against the Chicago Blackhawks. Landeskog's second goal tied the game with 1:48 left to go in the 3rd period, sending the game into overtime and an eventual shootout. Landeskog recorded his first five-minute major for fighting, against newly acquired opponent Jack Johnson of the Columbus Blue Jackets on 1 March 2012. On 1 March 2012, Landeskog was named NHL's Top Rookie for the month of February after scoring seven goals and recording six assists for the month.

Landeskog finished his season with 52 points, including a team-leading 22 goals, surpassing Matt Duchene as the youngest in franchise history to do so. He also tied for the lead in points amongst rookies alongside the only player in his draft class picked higher than himself, first overall pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He led rookies in shots on goal and broke Peter Stastny's franchise record for shots on goal by a rookie. Landeskog was the only Av to play in all 82 regular season games in 2011–12 and was later announced at the NHL awards ceremony as the winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year for 2012, beating out other nominees Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Henrique for the award.[17]

On 4 September 2012, the Colorado Avalanche announced Landeskog as team captain, at the time making him the youngest captain in NHL history. At 19 years and 286 days (or 19 years, nine months and 13 days), Landeskog was 11 days younger than when Sidney Crosby was named captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins.[18] On 5 October 2016, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers became the youngest captain in league history surpassing Landeskog's mark by 20 days. However, because of the NHL lockout, he wouldn't be able to play a game as captain until 19 January 2013.[2] When the 2012–13 NHL lockout was in effect, Landeskog returned to Sweden to begin the season with Djurgården, who were relegated the previous season from the Elitserien to the HockeyAllsvenskan.[19][20] In 17 games with the mid-table Djurgården, Landeskog produced 6 goals for 14 points before returning to North America citing income tax issues on 3 December 2012.[21] He trained with his former junior team, the Kitchener Rangers before an agreement was reached to end the lockout.

Landeskog during a game against the Islanders in January 2020.

During the 2012–13 season, both Landeskog and the Avalanche struggled as the team finished last in the Western Conference.[22] Landeskog only played in 36 games due to head and leg injuries[23] and produced only 9 goals and 8 assists.[24] Despite this, the Avalanche signed Landeskog to seven-year extension worth US$39 million during the off-season.[25]

Landeskog proved to be a significant piece of a resurgent Colorado Avalanche team during the 2013–14 season. He put up career highs in goals, assists, and points, helping the Avs to a division title. He scored his first career NHL playoff goal on 17 April 2014, against Ilya Bryzgalov of the Minnesota Wild.[26]

Landeskog recorded his first career hat trick in a 6–2 win over the Washington Capitals on 17 November 2017.[27] He recorded his second career hat trick the following month in a 6–5 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.[28] The Avalanche qualified for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs but lost to the Nashville Predators in six games.

Landeskog recorded his third career hat trick in a 5–3 win over the New Jersey Devils on 18 October 2018.[29] Landeskog ended the week leading the NHL in goals and was selected as the NHL's first Star of the Week.[30] He was later one of three Avalanche players who were selected to participate in the 2019 NHL All-Star Game. It was the first NHL All-Star Game of his career.[31] He would finish the 2018–19 NHL season with a career-high 34 goals and 41 assists.

On 27 July 2021, the day before becoming a free agent for the first time his NHL career, Landeskog signed an eight-year, $56 million contract extension to stay with the Avalanche.[32] After a strong beginning to the 2021–22 season, in early March it was announced that Landeskog would undergo knee surgery in order to deal with a "nagging" for some time. At the time he was the Avalanche's leading goal-scorer for the season.[33] He was sufficiently recovered from surgery by the beginning of May to return in time for the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs.[34] Landeskog was a strong performer through the first three rounds of the playoffs, helping the Avalanche advance to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2002. He recorded 8 goals and 9 assists in his first fourteen playoff games.[35] The Avalanche defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the conference final, qualifying for the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals.[36] They won the Stanley Cup on June 26, 2022, defeating the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.

Landeskog underwent arthroscopic knee surgery following the Stanley Cup victory, and it was announced in October 2022 after raising the Stanley Cup banner that he would be out for at least twelve weeks of the 2022–23 season.[37] He ultimately missed the entire season, with the Avalanche announcing on April 13, 2023, that he would not play in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.[38] A month later, the Avalanche reported that Landeskog's right knee would require a cartilage transplant surgery, as a result of which he was expected to miss the entire 2023–24 season as well.[39][40]

International play

Medal record
Representing  Sweden
Ice hockey
Winter Olympics
Silver medal – second place2014 Sochi
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2013 Sweden/Finland
Gold medal – first place2017 Germany/France

In December 2009 Landeskog was left off Sweden's roster for the 2010 World Junior Championships.[8]

Landeskog's rise was rewarded the following season as he was named as an alternate captain at the 2011 World Junior Championships[41] but only played one game before he was sidelined with a high ankle sprain.[42]

Landeskog played in the 2012 World Championships and was named an alternate captain for that tournament (Daniel Alfredsson was named captain). Gabriel was Sweden's second youngest player participating at the tournament, about eight months older than Jonas Brodin.[43] Upon the conclusion of his second consecutive season with the Avalanche out of the playoffs, Landeskog was added to the Swedish squad for the 2013 World Championships.[44] In 10 games, Landeskog contributed with 3 goals and 4 points in helping Sweden claim the Gold over Switzerland, becoming the first host team in 27 years to do so.[45]

In July 2013 Landeskog was one of 35 players invited to the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation's Orientation Camp for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He was later included in the final squad and helped Sweden claim a Silver medal in a 3–0 defeat to defending champions Canada.[46]

Personal life

Landeskog is the son of former Swedish Hockey League (SHL) defenceman Tony Landeskog, who currently works in the insurance business; his mother Cecelia is a chef and cooking instructor.[47] He has an older brother, Adam Landeskog, born in 1990, as well as a twin sister Beatrice in Stockholm, Sweden. He moved to Canada by himself at age 16 in time for the 2009–10 OHL season.

Landeskog and his wife have two children.[48]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08 Djurgårdens IF J18 1379162 —————
2007–08 Djurgårdens IF J18 Allsv 105162 20000
2007–08 Djurgårdens IF J20 10000 —————
2008–09 Djurgårdens IF J18 545939 —————
2008–09 Djurgårdens IF J18 Allsv 31232 20000
2008–09 Djurgårdens IF J20 317142163 61018
2008–09 Djurgårdens IF SEL 30112 —————
2009–10 Kitchener Rangers OHL 6124224651 208152318
2010–11 Kitchener Rangers OHL 5336306661 764102
2011–12 Colorado Avalanche NHL 8222305251 —————
2012–13 Djurgårdens IF Allsv 17681432 —————
2012–13 Colorado Avalanche NHL 36981722 —————
2013–14 Colorado Avalanche NHL 8126396571 73148
2014–15 Colorado Avalanche NHL 8223365979 —————
2015–16 Colorado Avalanche NHL 7520335369 —————
2016–17 Colorado Avalanche NHL 7218153362 —————
2017–18 Colorado Avalanche NHL 7825376237 64378
2018–19 Colorado Avalanche NHL 7334417551 1235810
2019–20 Colorado Avalanche NHL 5421234447 142111312
2020–21 Colorado Avalanche NHL 5420325234 1049139
2021–22 Colorado Avalanche NHL 5130295978 201111226
NHL totals 738 248 323 571 601 69 27 40 67 53

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2009 Sweden U18 5th 640424
2011 Sweden WJC 4th 11120
2012 Sweden WC 6th 81456
2013 Sweden WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1031418
2014 Sweden OG 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 0 1 1 4
2016 Sweden WCH 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 41012
2017 Sweden WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 102352
2019 Sweden WC 5th 52570
Junior totals 751624
Senior totals 439142332

Awards and honours

Award Year
OHL
First All-Rookie Team 2010
NHL
All-Rookie Team 2012 [49]
Calder Memorial Trophy 2012 [17]
All-Star Game 2019
Stanley Cup champion 2022 [50]

References

  1. ↑ "2011 NHL Entry Draft First Round Tracker". The Sports Network. 2011. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011. Gabriel Landeskog
  2. 1 2 Mirtle, James (4 September 2012). "Landeskog named youngest captain in NHL history". The Globe and Mail.
  3. ↑ "Landeskog, Gabriel". National Hockey League. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  4. ↑ Sundin, Anders (22 February 2009). "Historisk debut: Trodde det skulle smälla mer". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  5. ↑ Bengtsson, Jan (21 February 2009). "Tung förlust för Djurgården". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  6. ↑ Söderberg, Nathanael (24 February 2009). "Ineffektivt DIF kryssade mot Skellefteå" (in Swedish). SvenskaFans.com. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  7. ↑ Cox, Damien (17 October 2011). "Cox: Avs' Landeskog appears destined to stick in NHL". Toronto Star. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  8. 1 2 Chris Pope (2 December 2010). "Gabriel Landeskog, from Sweden to the NHL Draft". thegoodpoint.com. Archived from the original on 14 April 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  9. ↑ "OHL Rangers players stats". Ontario Hockey League. 24 October 2010. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  10. ↑ "OHL Statistics 2010". Ontario Hockey League. 24 October 2010. Archived from the original on 7 February 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  11. ↑ "Landeskog named Rangers Captain". Kitchener Rangers. 24 October 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  12. ↑ Jeff Hicks (25 October 2010). "Landeskog named Rangers captain". news.therecord.com. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  13. ↑ "Avalanche selects forward Gabriel Landeskog with No. 2 pick". The Denver Post. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  14. ↑ Campbell, Ken (28 June 2011). "The Hockey News: Headlines: Kitchener Rangers drop Gabriel Landeskog, CHL to review import rule this summer". thehockeynews.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  15. ↑ Dater, Adrian (11 July 2011). "Avs still not at cap floor". The Denver Post. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  16. ↑ "Game Summary, Colorado Avalanche – Columbus Blue Jackets". National Hockey League. 12 October 2011.
  17. 1 2 "Gabriel Landeskog wins Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year". The Denver Post. 20 June 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  18. ↑ Rick Sadowski (4 September 2012). "Landeskog surprising, but 'logical' choice as captain". National Hockey League. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  19. ↑ LeBrun, Pierre (3 October 2012). "Swedish club Djurgarden to sign Calder Trophy winner Gabriel Landeskog". ESPN. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  20. ↑ "Djurgårdens make his dream solicitation". hockeysverige.se (in Swedish). 3 October 2012. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  21. ↑ "Landeskog finishes playing for Swedish team". The Denver Post. 3 December 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  22. ↑ "NHL Hockey Standings". National Hockey League.
  23. ↑ "Avs place Gabriel Landeskog on injured list". Rotoworld.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  24. ↑ "Gabriel Landeskog Stats and News". National Hockey League.
  25. ↑ "Gabriel Landeskog commits to Avs, signs seven-year, $39 million extension". 15 August 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  26. ↑ "Minnesota Wild - Colorado Avalanche - April 17th, 2014". National Hockey League. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  27. ↑ Sadowski, Rick (17 November 2017). "Landeskog scores hat trick in Avalanche win against Capitals". National Hockey League. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  28. ↑ "Stralman, Lightning overcome Landeskog's hat trick for Avs". cbssports.com. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  29. ↑ "Landeskog's hat trick leads Avalanche past Devils 5-3". ESPN. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  30. ↑ "Landeskog leads 3 Stars of the Week". National Hockey League. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  31. ↑ Vatch, Dan (24 January 2019). "An Avalanche of All-Stars". National Hockey League. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  32. ↑ "Landeskog signs eight-year contract to stay with Avalanche". National Hockey League. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  33. ↑ "Avalanche's Gabriel Landeskog to undergo knee surgery". The Athletic. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  34. ↑ Stoia, George (2 May 2022). "With Gabriel Landeskog set to return, Avalanche head into Stanley Cup Playoffs 'healthiest we've been all year'". The Gazette. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  35. ↑ Wiebe, Ken (14 June 2022). "Through highs and lows, Landeskog has been the Avalanche's undisputed leader". Sportsnet. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  36. ↑ "Avalanche sweep Oilers, advance to Stanley Cup Final". Washington Post. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  37. ↑ "Avalanche's Landeskog undergoes knee surgery, out 12 weeks". Sportsnet. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  38. ↑ Baugh, Peter (13 April 2023). "Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog out for playoffs with knee injury". The Athletic. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  39. ↑ Stephens, Mike (9 May 2023). "Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog to miss entire 2023–24 season". The Hockey News. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  40. ↑ "Avs captain Landeskog expected to miss '23-'24". ESPN. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  41. ↑ "Sweden U20". eliteprospects.com. 23 December 2010.
  42. ↑ Johan Nilsson (31 December 2010). "Gabriel Landeskogs vånda" (in Swedish). hockeysverige.se.
  43. ↑ "Sweden individual statistics" (PDF). IIHF. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  44. ↑ "Landeskog denied C from Sweden". The Denver Post. 2 May 2013. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  45. ↑ "Sweden hammers Switzerland to collect World Hockey gold". The Globe and Mail. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  46. ↑ "Canada defeats Sweden to defend Gold in men's ice hockey". The Sports Network. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  47. ↑ "Landeskog, Siemens excited to be Avs". Fox News. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  48. ↑ Chambers, Mike (5 March 2021). "Nathan MacKinnon cleared to play; Gabe Landeskog skips morning skate after the birth of his son". The Denver Post. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  49. ↑ "NHL announces All-Rookie squad". National Hockey League. 20 June 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  50. ↑ "Colorado Avalanche win first Stanley Cup since 2001 with Game 6 comeback". ESPN. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
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