Henrik Zetterberg
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Henrik Zetterberg (Born October 9, 1980 in Njurunda, Sweden) is a Swedish-born professional hockey player. His natural position is centre, but he has mostly played left wing since coming to the NHL in the 2002-03 NHL Season. He wears #40 in Detroit and wore #20 for Timrå IK. His nickname in Sweden was "Zäta," which means "Z," in obvious reference to his last name. To his team-mates in Detroit and to many fans, he is known as "Hank."
Playing career
Pre-NHL career
Henrik Zetterberg was selected by the Detroit Red Wings 210th overall in the seventh round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He is another example of a draft gem uncovered by the Wings' excellent scouting team. After playing for Timrå IK of the Swedish Elitserien for the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons, Henrik came to Detroit to play in the NHL for the 2002-03 NHL season. Before ending up with Timrå IK, Henrik played his youth league games for NSK ([Njurunda Sports Club]) which is the very same club that also fostered Fredrik Modin currently of the Columbus Blue Jackets.NHL career
Zetterberg, who had been called the next Peter Forsberg by some and who was expected to make a big impact for the Wings after what Pavel Datsyuk had done the previous year, did not disappoint. He played in 79 games, scored 22 goals and had 22 assists for a total of 44 points. He played on the famed "Two Kids and a Goat Line" with Brett Hull and Pavel Datsyuk, a line which dazzled fans with its great passing and spectacular goals. He was a finalist for the Calder Trophy, the award given to the rookie of the year, but lost it to the St. Louis Blues' defenseman Barret Jackman. His playoff performance was somewhat lacking, but that could be said for just about everyone in Red-and-White that year as the Wings were swept by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs.Many thought Zetterberg would have a typical sophomore year in the NHL and not accomplish anything near what he had done in his first year. Instead, he nearly matched his rookie stats and did not exceed them only because he missed 21 games due to a broken leg suffered in a game against the Vancouver Canucks early in the season. He ended up with 15 goals and 28 assists, falling just short of his rookie point total with 43 points through 61 games. Again, his playoff performance left something to be desired in terms of production, but his contributions in the defensive zone were very valuable. He was by no means the reason the Wings were eliminated by the Calgary Flames in the second round.
For the 2004-05 season, Henrik Zetterberg returned to Sweden to play for Timrå IK because of the owners' lockout. He played in all 50 games, scored 19 goals and had 31 assist for a total of 50 points. He has returned to the NHL and the Detroit Red Wings for the 2005-06 season.
During the 2005-06 season, Zetterberg sometimes wore the alternate captain's "A" on his jersey in the absence of team captain Steve Yzerman. In such a scenario, the Red Wings do not designate the captain's "C" to anyone else, and instead go with 3 alternate captains rather than the usual 2. The Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet speculates that Zetterberg might take over the captaincy for the Red Wings when Yzerman retires.() [Yzermans arvtagare]
International career
Henrik has been a consistent part of the Swedish National Team, Tre Kronor, since 2001. He has enjoyed a fair amount of success in the IIHF World Championships, winning a medal in three of the four years he has appeared in that tournament. He was one of just two non-NHLers named to the Swedish squad for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake. He won a gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics and then again in the 2006 World Championship in Riga playing a great part in the historic international sweep (both Olympic and World Champion the same year). One of only 8 players in the world to capture this sweep.Awards
- Elitserien Rookie of the Year in 2001.
- Bronze medal at the 2001 and 2002 World Championships.
- Played in the Elitserien All-Star Game in 2002.
- Awarded Guldpucken (Swedish Player of the Year) in 2002.
- Named to the Swedish All-Star Team in 2002.
- Silver medal at the 2003 World Championships.
- Awarded the Sporting News Rookie of the Year (voted on by NHL players) in 2003.
- Named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 2003. (Lead NHL rookies with 22 goals and 44 total points.)
- Calder Trophy finalist in 2003.
- Named to the Swedish All-Star Team in 2005.
- Gold medal at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.
- Gold medal at the 2006 World Championships.
Records
- Elitserien record for points after regular season 2004-05 (50)
Career stats
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1997-98 | Timrå IK | Swe-3 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1998-99 | Timrå IK | Swe-3 | 37 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1999-00 | Timrå IK | Swe-2 | 42 | 20 | 14 | 34 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 4 | ||
| 2000-01 | Timrå IK | Elitserien | 47 | 15 | 31 | 46 | 24 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2001-02 | Timrå IK | Elitserien | 48 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2002-03 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 79 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2003-04 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 61 | 15 | 28 | 43 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2004-05 | Timrå IK | Elitserien | 50 | 19 | 31 | 50 | 24 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 2005-06 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 77 | 39 | 46 | 85 | 30 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 2 | ||
| Elitserien totals | 145 | 44 | 84 | 128 | 68 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 2 | ||||
| NHL totals | 217 | 76 | 96 | 172 | 52 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | ||||
Statistics as of May 8, 2006
International play
- Played for Sweden in:
- 2001 World Championships
- 2002 Winter Olympics
- 2002 World Championships
- 2003 World Championships
- 2004 World Cup of Hockey
- 2005 World Championships
- 2006 Winter Olympics (gold medal)
- 2006 World Championships (gold medal)
International statistics
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Sweden | WC | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 2002 | Sweden | Oly | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | Sweden | WC | 9 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 4 |
| 2003 | Sweden | WC | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 2004 | Sweden | WCH | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 2005 | Sweden | WC | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| 2006 | Sweden | Oly | 8 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 2006 | Sweden | WC | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| Senior int'l totals | 60 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 22 | ||
Statistics as of May 22, 2006
Notes
References
External links
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