Johan Hedberg
Johan Hedberg ( born May 5, 1973 in Leksand ) is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League.
- 2.1 Records
- 2.2 International
- 3.1 Regular Season
- 3.2 Play-offs
- 3.3 International
Career
Johan Hedberg started his career in the youth department of Leksand IF, for the U18 team, he played in 1987 in the U18 Junior series. Between 1989 and 1992 he was active for the U20 juniors of the club, before he was promoted to the goalkeeper by Åke Lilljebjörn from the professional team prior to the 1992/93 season. In total he completed in his first Elitserien season 13 inserts and reached in the preliminary and intermediate round, the best catch rate of all goalkeepers in the league.
Europe and Minor Leagues
During the NHL Entry Draft 1994, he was in the ninth round, total, selected 218 of the Philadelphia Flyers. However, Hedberg stayed with his hometown club, as the Flyers wanted to get to North America only him if he had made it to the national team. In the summer of 1997 he left his hometown club to create the entry in the North American Hockey itself. Until then, he had completed a total of 116 games for Leksand IF, in which he reached a Goals Against Average of 2.79. With the Baton Rouge Kingfish of the East Coast Hockey League, he found his first club in North America, for which he completed two game. He was then for the Detroit Vipers and the Manitoba Moose of the International Hockey League active before the Flyers Hedbergs NHL rights duties to the San Jose Sharks in August 1998. Since the Sharks possessed a large number of hopeful full goalkeeping talent to Hedberg decided in 1998 to return to his original club. During the 1998/99 season he reached with the Leksand IF the second round of the European Hockey League and it was statistically the best goalkeepers of the competition.
Promotion to the National Hockey League
In the summer of 1999, the Sharks him brought back to North America and put him in the episode with her Framteam, the Kentucky Thoroughblades of the American Hockey League. In the following season Hedberg goalkeeper of the Manitoba Moose and his above average play was caught the attention of Eddie Johnston, the former assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins. In March 2001, Hedberg was told at the airport in Winnipeg by Randy Carlyle, the former coach of the Moose, that it - would the Pittsburgh Penguins committed .. Then Hedberg was not sent to the farm team, but immediately the NHL squad - along with Bobby Dollas Penguins assigned. Two days later he made his debut for his new franchise in the National Hockey League. Until the start of the play-offs, a few weeks later, he completed eight more games and was in the subsequent play-off first-choice goalkeeper of the Penguins. In these Hedberg and his team reached the Eastern Conference finals.
Goalkeeper in the National Hockey League
In the following two seasons, he completed 66 respectively 41 games of the main draws for the Penguins, before he was hired in August 2003 by the Vancouver Canucks, the charges in return for a draft law for the NHL Entry Draft 2004 to the Penguins. The following season, he was back-up of Dan Cloutier at the Canucks and reached in 21 games a Gegentorschnitt of 2.51. Due to the lockout in the season 2004/ 05 Hedberg returned to Europe and completed some appearances for his hometown club, who played in the now second-rate HockeyAllsvenskan. With the Leksand IF he managed in the Kvalserien the resurgence in the Elitserien. Then he returned to North America and was, as he had no valid NHL contract, obliged as a free agent by the Dallas Stars. In the Stars he came behind goalkeeper Marty Turco to 19 inserts. In July 2006, Hedberg signed a contract for two years duration with the Atlanta Thrashers and then acted first as a back-up of Kari Lehtonen. During the 2007/ 08 season, Lehtonen was seriously injured, so that Hedberg was goalkeeper of the Thrashers. In June 2008, the Thrashers and Hedberg agreed on a contract extension until 2010. During the 2009/10 season he shared the post with the goalkeeper Ondrej Pavelec. Although Hedberg showed good performance (91.5 % catch rate, 2.62 GAA) he received after his contract expires no new offer from Thrashers. Therefore Hedberg left in July 2010 after four years the Thrashers franchise affiliation and was obliged by the New Jersey Devils.
Internationally
Johan Hedberg got his first call-up for the Swedish national team before the 1994 World Cup, where he remained without use as third-choice goalkeeper, but the team won the bronze medal. Two years later, he took part with the national team at the World Cup of Hockey in 1996, but was again only substitute goalkeeper. In the 1997 World Series was Hedberg Back-Up of Tommy Salo, completed a game and won with the Tre Kronors the silver medal.
In 1998, Hedberg to his first Olympic Winter Games in part, was another substitute goalkeeper Tommy Salo and remained in the tournament without use. At the world championships in the same year Hedberg got a chance to use and won with the national team at the end of the tournament the gold medal. A year later, at the 1999 World Cup, he won a bronze medal, which he received only a minute as third-choice goalkeeper behind Salo and Petter Rönnquist ice age in the tournament.
At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City Hedberg belonged again to the Swedish Olympic squad, came to an insert and finished with the selection team to fifth place.
Nickname
Johan Hedberg will be given two nicknames: "Moose" and occasionally " yo-yo ". He was nicknamed "Moose", as he was in 2001 in the short term used for the Pittsburgh Penguins as a goalkeeper, but was still wearing the helmet of the Manitoba Moose. The helmet was decorated with the Moose, so that fans of the Penguins to call for any parade of Moose Hedberg, which has often been misunderstood as Boo.
Awards and achievements
Records
On December 26, 2005 Hedberg scored two assists in the game against the St. Louis Blues. He is the first goalkeeper in the history of the Dallas Stars, who reached two assists in a game - the last keeper of the NHL, who managed this, Patrick Roy in December 2000.