| Gabriel Landeskog | |
|---|---|
Landeskog with the Kitchener Rangers |
|
| Born | November 23, 1992 Stockholm, Sweden[1] |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb) |
| Position | Left wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team Former teams |
Colorado Avalanche Djurgårdens IF |
| NHL Draft | 2nd overall, 2011 Colorado Avalanche |
| Playing career | 2009–present |
Gabriel Ingemar John Landeskog (born November 23, 1992) is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward currently with the Colorado Avalanche organization. He was a member of Sweden's 2011 World Junior Hockey Championship team. He was selected 2nd overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche.[2]
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After a successful season for Djurgårdens IF in the J20 SuperElit Gabriel debuted in Elitserien on February 21, 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,[3][4] and one of the youngest to ever have played in Elitserien. He recorded his first point in Elitserien on January 24 in his second game, a 2–2 tie against Skellefteå AIK.[5]
On August 4, 2009, his CHL rights were traded from the Plymouth Whalers to the Kitchener Rangers.[6]
In the 2009–10 season Landeskog roomed with former Ranger Jeff Skinner[7], now a member of the Carolina Hurricanes. By the end of the year, Gabriel was third among OHL rookies in points (trailing Matt Puempel and Boone Jenner) and goals (trailing Puempel and Ivan Telegin).[8] 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[9]
On October 24, 2010 Landeskog was named Captain of the Kitchener Rangers. This announcement made him the first European Captain in franchise history.[10][11]
Landeskog was drafted 2nd overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.[12] He is tied with Daniel Sedin and Victor Hedman as the second highest Swedish draft pick in history - Mats Sundin is first as the only Swedish player 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.[13] He made the Avalanche roster for the 2011–12 season, one factor in this decision is possibly that it enabled the team to reach the floor value for the salary cap.[14]
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.[15] This goal would make him the youngest Swedish born hockey player to ever score an NHL goal at 18 years, 324 days. Landeskog is only the second rookie in the last 18 years to score his first NHL goal as an equalizer in the final minute of the third period. Tom Gilbert of the Edmonton Oilers is the other, who did it in 2007.
On October 22, 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.
In December 2009 Landeskog was left off Sweden's roster for the 2010 World Junior Championships.[7]
Landeskog was named as an alternate captain at the 2011 World Junior Championships[16] but only played one game before he was sidelined with a high ankle sprain.[17]
Gabriel is the son of former Swedish Elite League defenceman Tony Landeskog, who currently works in the insurance business; his mother Cecelia is a chef and cooking instructor.[18] He has a twin sister Beatrice back home with his family in Stockholm, Sweden. He moved to Canada by himself at age 16 in time for the 2009–10 OHL season.[7]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2007–08 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 31 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 63 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2008–09 | Djurgårdens IF | SEL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 61 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 51 | 20 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 18 | ||
| 2010–11 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 53 | 36 | 30 | 66 | 61 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 2 | ||
| OHL totals | 114 | 60 | 52 | 112 | 112 | 27 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 22 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Sweden | WJC U18 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 24 |
| 2011 | Sweden | WJC U20 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Junior int' totals | 7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 24 | ||
| Preceded by Joey Hishon |
Colorado Avalanche first round draft pick 2011 |
Succeeded by Duncan Siemens |