Tomas Holmström

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Position Left/Right Wing
Shoots Left
Nickname(s) Homer, Demolition Man, Holma
Height
Weight
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
203 lb (92 kg/14 st 7 lb)
NHL Team Detroit Red Wings
Nationality Flag of Sweden Sweden
Born January 23, 1973 (1973-01-23) (age 35),
Piteå, SWE
NHL Draft 257th overall, 1994
Detroit Red Wings
Pro career 1994 – present

Tomas Holmström (born January 23, 1973, in Piteå, Sweden) is a Swedish ice hockey winger with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

Holmström was first noticed by Red Wings scout Håkan Andersson in 1993 during a national team selection camp, where Holmström missed the cut, then again the next year while playing with Boden where his coach, Niklas Wikegård, told Andersson that Holmström was the team's best player.[1] He was drafted 257th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft and has played for the Red Wings since 1996 with the exception of the season lost due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout where Holmström returned to Sweden to play for his old team, Luleå HF in the Swedish elite league Elitserien.

He won the Stanley Cup in 1997, 1998, 2002, and 2008. He was inducted into the Piteå Wall of Fame in 2006.

Holmström is known for standing in front of the goal to screen the opposing goaltender to try to tip in goals.[2] Because he has to withstand hits from pucks as well as his opponents in this position, he wears several extra pads to protect his body.[3] Holmström is known to many fans in Detroit by the nickname of "Homer." He acquired the nickname "Demolition Man" while playing in Sweden (where he was also called "Holma").

On April 7, 2007, Holmström scored his 30th goal of the 2006–07 season against Chicago Blackhawks, achieving the first 30 goal season of his career.

[edit] Trivia

In a recent issue of Sports Illustrated, Holmström said that he wears three similar gray shirts (one before warm-ups, one during warm-ups, and one during the game), but says that he cannot mix them up because of their purposes.[4]

[edit] Awards

  • Named to the Swedish All-Star Team in 1996.
  • Gold medal at the Winter Olympics in 2006.
  • Stanley Cup (Detroit Red Wings) in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008.

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
1994–95 Luleå HF SEL 40 14 14 28 - 56 8 1 2 3 - 20
1995–96 Luleå HF SEL 34 12 11 23 - 78 11 6 2 8 - 22
1996–97 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 6 3 1 4 -1 7 - - - - - -
1996–97 Detroit Red Wings NHL 47 6 3 9 -10 33 1 0 0 0 -1 0
1997–98 Detroit Red Wings NHL 57 5 17 22 6 44 22 7 12 19 9 16
1998–99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 82 13 21 34 -11 69 10 4 3 7 2 4
1999–00 Detroit Red Wings NHL 72 13 22 35 4 43 9 3 1 4 3 16
2000–01 Detroit Red Wings NHL 73 16 24 40 -12 40 6 1 3 4 -1 8
2001–02 Detroit Red Wings NHL 69 8 18 26 -12 58 23 8 3 11 7 8
2002–03 Detroit Red Wings NHL 74 20 20 40 11 62 4 1 1 2 1 4
2003–04 Detroit Red Wings NHL 67 15 15 30 8 38 12 2 2 4 0 10
2004–05 Luleå HF SEL 47 14 16 30 -10 50 4 0 0 0 -7 18
2005–06 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 29 30 59 14 66 6 1 2 3 -1 12
2006–07 Detroit Red Wings NHL 77 30 22 52 13 59 15 5 3 8 2 14
2007–08 Detroit Red Wings NHL 59 20 20 40 9 58 21 4 8 12 4 26
SEL Totals 121 40 41 81 - 184 23 7 4 11 - 60
AHL Totals 6 3 1 4 -1 7 - - - - - -
NHL Totals 758 175 212 387 20 569 129 36 38 74 25 118

[edit] International play

Olympic medal record
Men's ice hockey
Gold 2006 Turin Team

Holmström has played for Sweden in the following competitions:

[edit] International statistics

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1996 Sweden WC 6 1 0 1 12
2002 Sweden Oly 4 1 0 1 2
2004 Sweden WCup 4 3 2 5 8
2006 Sweden Oly 8 1 3 4 10
Senior int'l totals 22 6 5 11 32

Statistics as of May 25, 2007

[edit] References

  1. ^ Manojlovic, Zoran (2005). Håkan Andersson, scout extraordinaire. hockeysfuture.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  2. ^ Grossman, Evan (2007). Hand ... eye ... puck ... stick ... goal!. NHL.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
  3. ^ Wigge, Larry (2006). Cry havoc and let slip Tomas Holmstrom!. NHL.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
  4. ^ sportsillustrated.cnn.com (2007). Before every game I.... sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.

[edit] External links