The New York Rangers have announced that Nils Lundkvist has won the Lars-Erik Sjoberg award ass the top rookie in training camp.
The New York Rangers have announced the winner of this year’s Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award. Defenseman Nils Lundkvist takes home the award which is given annually to the top Rangers rookie in Training Camp as selected by the media.
The 5-foot-11, 187-pound defenseman was drafted in the first round (28th overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. AÂ Pitea, Sweden native, Lundkvist is playing in North America for the first time this season after spending parts of the last four years with Lulea HF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).
Lundkvist, 21, led all Rangers rookies this preseason with three points (three assists) in four games. His three points were tied for the most among New York defensemen and third-most among all Rangers skaters. (Via NYRPR)
In the preseason opener against the Islanders on Sept. 26, Lundkvist was one of two Rangers (Adam Fox) to skate in over 20 minutes with 21:11 TOI. On Oct. 1 in New Jersey, Lundkvist found his way on the scoresheet with an assist on fellow Swede, Mika Zibanejad’s goal. Playing in the second of a back-to-back on Oct. 2, in Boston, Lundkvist helped lead the Rangers to their overtime win with two assists in the first period of that game. For his final act of the preseason, Lundkvist recorded a shot in 18:44 minutes of ice time in the Blueshirts’ 6-2 win against New Jersey at Madison Square Garden.
Past Sjoberg Winners
The Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award, which was first presented in 1988, honors the memory of Lars-Erik Sjoberg, who was the Rangers chief European scout for eight years. During his tenure with the Blueshirts, Sjoberg played a prominent role in the team’s decision to draft Europeans such as Tomas Sandstrom, Jan Erixon, and Ulf Dahlen.
Lundkvist joins an impressive group of past winners of this award;
1988 Mike Richter
1989 Troy Mallette
1990 Steven Rice
1991 Tony Amonte
1992 Peter Andersson
1993 Mattias Norstrom
1994 Mattias Norstrom
1995 Niklas Sundstrom
1996 Eric Cairns
1997 Marc Savard
1998 Manny Malhotra
1999 Kim Johnsson
2000 Filip Novak
2001 Dan Blackburn
2002 Jamie Lundmark
2003 Dominic Moore
2005Â Henrik Lundqvist
2006 Nigel Dawes and Brandon Dubinsky
2007Â Marc Staal
2008 Lauri Korpikoski
2009 Matt Gilroy
2010Â Derek Stepan
2011 Carl Hagelin
2013Â Jesper Fast
2014 Anthony Duclair
2015Â Oscar Lindberg
2016Â Jimmy Vesey
2017 Filip Chytil
2018 Lias Andersson
2019 Adam Fox
2021 Nils Lundkvist
Lundkvist is expected to be on the opening night lineup and paired with veteran defenseman Patrik Nemeth. The Rangers will open their season on Wednesday in Washington and then head to Madison Square Garden for their home op[ener on Thursday night.