| William Karlsson | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Karlsson with theVegas Golden Knights in 2018 | |||
| Born | (1993-01-08)8 January 1993 (age 32) Märsta, Sweden | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams | Vegas Golden Knights HV71 Anaheim Ducks Columbus Blue Jackets | ||
| National team |  Sweden | ||
| NHL draft | 53rd overall,2011 Anaheim Ducks | ||
| Playing career | 2011–present | ||
Lars William Karlsson (born 8 January 1993), nicknamed "Wild Bill",[1] is a Swedish professionalice hockey forward andalternate captain for theVegas Golden Knights of theNational Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the second round, 53rd overall, by theAnaheim Ducks in the2011 NHL entry draft. In addition to playing for Vegas, Karlsson has also played in the NHL for Anaheim and theColumbus Blue Jackets.
After being selected by the Golden Knights in the2017 NHL expansion draft, Karlsson has been one of the key points of the team offense, and helped Vegas reach theStanley Cup Finals in their inaugural season. During his first season in Vegas, Karlsson scored a career-high 43 goals and became the franchise all-time leader in goals.
In the 2011–12 season, Karlsson finished in 12th place inAllsvenskan scoring after recording 45 points in 46 games, the second-most on his team.[2] He made his seniorElitserien debut withHV71.
On 20 May 2013, Karlsson signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the NHL'sAnaheim Ducks, the team that drafted him in the second round, 53rd overall, in the2011 NHL entry draft. He was returned on loan to HV71 for the2013–14 season.[3]
Karlsson made his NHL debut on 11 October 2014 and scored his first and second NHL goals on 13 October againstMichal Neuvirth of theBuffalo Sabres.[4] He was reassigned to Anaheim'sAmerican Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, theNorfolk Admirals, on 24 November.[5] Karlsson was reassigned between Norfolk and Anaheim for the remainder of the season, but finished the year in the AHL.
On 2 March 2015, Karlsson was traded to theColumbus Blue Jackets (along withRene Bourque and a second-round draft pick in2015) in exchange forJames Wisniewski and a third-round pick in 2015.[6]
On 21 June 2017, having been left "exposed" by Columbus for the2017 NHL expansion draft, Karlsson was selected by the first year expansion teamVegas Golden Knights. The Blue Jackets traded a first-round pick in2017, a second-round pick in2019 and injured forwardDavid Clarkson to Vegas with the agreement that the Golden Knights would select Karlsson.[7]
Karlsson spent the2017–18 season (Vegas' first in the NHL) centering a line withReilly Smith andJonathan Marchessault.[8] This proved to be a productive line, with all three putting up career-high offensive numbers.[9] Karlsson scored his first career NHLhat-trick on 31 December 2017 against theToronto Maple Leafs, it also being the first hat-trick in Golden Knights history.[10] He scored his second career NHL hat-trick on 18 March 2018 against theCalgary Flames.[11] In addition to providing 35 assists and an NHL-highplus-minus rating of +45, Karlsson ended the regular season with 43 goals, setting a new NHL record for goals scored by a player in an expansion team's inaugural season.[12] His 43 goals placed him third in NHL scoring, behindPatrik Laine (44) andAlexander Ovechkin (49).[13] Karlsson was also named a finalist for theLady Byng Memorial Trophy for his high standard of play and sportsmanship.[14] On 20 June, he was named the recipient of the trophy, becoming the first player sinceWayne Gretzky to win an end-of-season award in their team's inaugural season in the NHL.[15] Karlsson was also awarded theGuldpucken as the top Swedish ice hockey player in the 2017–18 season.[16]
After his career-high season, on 4 August 2018, Karlsson signed a new one-year, $5.25 million contract with Vegas for the2018–19 season.[17] Karlsson described his decision to sign a one-year contract as "betting on [him]self a little" and that he would use the subsequent season to prove that his 2018–19 production "was no fluke".[18]
On 24 June 2019, having produced 24 goals and 32 assists (56 points) in the 2018–19 season, Karlsson signed a new eight-year, $47.2 million contract with Vegas worth an average annual value of $5.9 million. The contract is effective from the2019–20 season through to the end of the 2026–27 season.[19]
By the2022–23 season, Karlsson was one of six remaining original members of the Golden Knights, alongside Marchessault, Smith,Brayden McNabb,Shea Theodore andWilliam Carrier. The team reached theStanley Cup Finals for the second time, winning the Cup over theFlorida Panthers in five games. Karlsson and four of the other original Golden Knights started the decisive Game 5.[20]
Karlsson is a supporter of Sweden'sAIK sports club.[21][22][23] As a child, his biggest dream was to play forAIK Football.[24]
Karlsson and his wife, Emily Ferguson, have two sons.[25]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2007–08 | Wings HC Arlanda | J18 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Wings HC Arlanda | J18 | 33 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | VIK Västerås HK | J18 | 22 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | VIK Västerås HK | J18 Allsv | 17 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | VIK Västerås HK | J20 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | VIK Västerås HK | J18 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | VIK Västerås HK | J18 Allsv | 6 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11 | VIK Västerås HK | J20 | 38 | 20 | 34 | 54 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | VIK Västerås HK | Allsv | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | VIK Västerås HK | Allsv | 46 | 12 | 33 | 45 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | VIK Västerås HK | J20 | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2012–13 | HV71 | SEL | 50 | 4 | 24 | 28 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | HV71 | J20 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | HV71 | SHL | 55 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 2013–14 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 9 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 18 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 35 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 81 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 81 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 82 | 43 | 35 | 78 | 12 | 20 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 82 | 24 | 32 | 56 | 16 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 63 | 15 | 31 | 46 | 16 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 56 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 4 | 19 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 67 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 82 | 14 | 39 | 53 | 10 | 22 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 70 | 30 | 30 | 60 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| SHL totals | 105 | 19 | 46 | 65 | 26 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 8 | ||||
| NHL totals | 685 | 170 | 247 | 417 | 106 | 100 | 30 | 38 | 68 | 8 | ||||
 | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Sweden | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
 | 2017 Germany/France | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
| 2012 Calgary | |
 | 2013 Ufa | |
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Sweden | U18 |  | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | |
| 2012 | Sweden | WJC |  | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2013 | Sweden | WJC | | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2017 | Sweden | WC | | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 8 | ||||
| Senior totals | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| SHL | ||
| SHL Rookie of the Year | 2013 | |
| Guldpucken | 2018 | |
| NHL | ||
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy | 2018 | |
| Viking Award | 2018 | |
| Stanley Cup champion | 2023 | [26] |
| International | ||
| U18 World Junior silver medal | 2011 | |
| World Junior gold medal | 2012 | |
| World Junior silver medal | 2013 | |
| World Championship gold medal | 2017 | |
His highlight-reel goal against the San Jose Sharks tied him with Brian Bradley (TBL, 1992–93) for the most goals scored by a player on an expansion team in their inaugural season (excluding mergers) and he passed Bradley with a goal at Vancouver.
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Winner of theSHL Rookie of the Year award 2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lady Byng Memorial Trophy 2018 | Succeeded by |