Oscar Klefbom

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Oscar Klefbom
Oscar Klefbom - Edmonton Oilers.jpg
Klefbom with the Edmonton Oilers in 2015
Born (1993-07-20) 20 July 1993 (age 31)
Karlstad, Sweden
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Färjestad BK
Edmonton Oilers
National teamFlag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
NHL draft 19th overall, 2011
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 20102020

Oscar Anders Klefbom (born 20 July 1993) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman. [1] He last played for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 19th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Oilers. Klefbom was born in Karlstad, Sweden, and grew up in Hammarö. [2]

Contents

Early life

Klefbom was born on 20 July 1993, in Karlstad, Sweden [3] to school-teacher Håkan. [4]

Playing career

Growing up in Sweden, Klefbom played within the Färjestad BK organizations U18 and Swedish Hockey League (SHL) teams. During his tenure with the Färjestad BK, Klefbom was named captain of the Swedish under 18 team but was not a mainstay on their SHL lineup. [5] While competing in 23 SHL games during the 2010–11 season, Klefbom scored one goal and two points as the team won the league championship. [6] Upon concluding the playoffs, Klefbom was drafted 19th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. [7]

Following the draft, Klefbom returned to Färjestad BK for the 2011–12 season where he declined offensively. He spent the majority of the season on their fourth pairing while averaging 13:43 per game. Although Klefbom finished the season with two points through 33 games, he was given increased responsibilities during their post-season berth. During the playoffs, he averaged 19:33 per game while spending regular time with Färjestad's top-four pairings. [8] At the conclusion of the season, Klefbom signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Oilers and considered coming to North America for the 2012–13 campaign. He eventually chose to remain in Sweden due to a promise of increased ice time. [9]

In his third season with Färjestad BK, Klefbom began strong and earned time on their top pairing with either Chris Lee or Ville Lajunen. [10] However, his promising season was cut short due to a season-ending shoulder injury that was the result of a crash into the boards during a game on 9 October. At the time of his injury, Klefbom had recorded a career-best three assists through 10 games. [11] Following the surgery, Klefbom traveled to Edmonton for two weeks to work with the organization and determine his recovery period. [12] Klefbom had recovered enough from the surgery by June to participate in the Oilers' development camp alongside 36 other prospects. [13]

North American play

Klefbom with the Oklahoma City Barons in 2014. Klefbom with the Oklahoma City Barons.jpg
Klefbom with the Oklahoma City Barons in 2014.

After attending the Edmonton Oilers development camp, Klefbom began his first season in North America with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons. The assignment was to retain salary cap space and allow Klefbom to acclimate to the smaller ice. [14] During his time with the Barons, Klefbom worked on improving his overall game including "winning the battles in the corners" and "staying strong in front of the net." [15] Klefbom began the 2013–14 season by recording one assist through 12 games to earn his first NHL recall on 15 November 2013. [16] He did not make his NHL debut during his recall and was reassigned to the AHL shortly thereafter. [17] Upon returning to the AHL, Klefbom continued to work on his game and gathered two more assists before suffering an injury on 28 December. He missed numerous games to recover and rejoined the Barons lineup in mid-January. [18] However, after returning to the lineup, Klefbom continued to grow confident in his game and earned greater responsibilities on the ice. When speaking of this development, Klefbom credited it to working with the Baron's assistant coach every day to improve his skills. [19]

As a result of his improvements with the Barons, Klefbom was recalled to the NHL level on 10 March 2014 on an emergency basis. [20] The emergency designation was eventually dropped [20] and Klefbom made his NHL debut the following day against the Minnesota Wild, where he recorded one assist in a 4–3 shootout win. [21] A few games later, Klefbom tallied his first career NHL goal within 8:26 of the third period to lead the Oilers to a 4–3 overtime victory over the Anaheim Ducks. [22] Klefbom finished the season skating in 17 NHL games and 48 AHL games. [3]

Klefbom during an Oilers practice in 2014. 20140927-OscarKlefbom.jpg
Klefbom during an Oilers practice in 2014.

Despite his play at the NHL level during the 2013–14 season, Klefbom was not guaranteed a spot in the Oiler's lineup for the 2014–15 season. He spent nine games with the Barons at the AHL level, recording eight points, before being recalled to the NHL for the remainder of the season. [23] He quickly began to earn praise from the Oilers coaching staff and experienced an increased playing time. [24] After missing a few games in December due to a foot injury, Klefbom was paired with Mark Fayne on the Oilers blueline. [25] Upon returning from his injury, Klefbom kept on earning top minutes and often skated over 20 minutes per game. [26] He was also often paired with Justin Schultz while playing a top-four role. When speaking about his improvements, coach Craig MacTavish stated: "[h]e just gives you 20 minutes of flawless hockey, and he’s had a great effect on Justin (Schultz)." [27] Klefbom finished the season with two goals and 18 assists for 20 points through 60 games. He also ranked second among Oilers defencemen in points and time on ice while placing third among team defencemen in blocked shots. As such, Klefbom signed a seven-year, $29.2 million contract extension with the Oilers on 19 September 2015. [28]

In the first year of his new contract, Klefbom played 30 games with the Oilers but injuries derailed most of his season causing him to sit 52 games on injured reserve. [29] Klefbom began the 2015–16 season playing exhibition games with fellow Swede Adam Larsson on the Oilers’ top pairing. [30] On 11 December, Klefbom broke a bone in his knuckle but was later diagnosed with an infection in his leg which kept him out of the lineup for over a month. [31] While his finger healed, the coaching staff kept him out of the lineup through February in order to improve his skating, lung capacity, and energy levels. [32] Klefbom originally intended to participate in for a few late regular-season Oilers’ games but his skin was too sensitive after two surgeries. [33]

Following his injury-riddled season, Klefbom experienced a breakout 2016–17 campaign by tallying 12 goals and 26 assists through a career-high 82 games. [3] He scored his first playoff goal 12 April 2017 vs the San Jose Sharks. His goal was the first Oilers playoff goal in 11 years. [34]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
2008–09 Färjestad BK J18 61122
2008–09Färjestad BKJ18 Allsv9112240112
2009–10Färjestad BKJ18196101627
2009–10Färjestad BKJ18 Allsv1248121060000
2009–10 IFK Munkfors SWE.3 30110
2009–10Skåre BKSWE.320002
2010–11Färjestad BKJ1831230
2010–11Färjestad BKJ18 Allsv52132
2010–11 Färjestad BK SEL 231122
2010–11 Skåre BKSWE.3120110
2011–12Färjestad BK J20 151340
2011–12 Färjestad BKSEL332024110112
2012–13 Färjestad BKSEL110332
2013–14 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 4819101020114
2013–14 Edmonton Oilers NHL 171230
2014–15 Oklahoma City BaronsAHL91784
2014–15 Edmonton OilersNHL60218204
2015–16 Edmonton OilersNHL3048126
2016–17 Edmonton OilersNHL821226386122350
2017–18 Edmonton OilersNHL665162118
2018–19 Edmonton OilersNHL615232816
2019–20 Edmonton OilersNHL62529342440220
SEL totals673478110112
NHL totals3783412215674162570

International

Medal record
Representing Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
Men's ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2012 Sweden
YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2010 Sweden U17 Bronze medal icon.svg61342
2011 Sweden U18 Silver medal icon.svg61344
2012 Sweden WJC Gold medal icon.svg61122
2015 Sweden WC 5th81344
Junior totals1837108
Senior totals81344

Awards and honours

AwardYear
WJC First Team All-Star 2012 [35]

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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Edmonton Oilers first round draft pick
2011
Succeeded by