#12 – FORWARD, LOUI ERIKSSON
When the Dallas Stars drafted Swedish forward Loui Eriksson with the 33rd overall selection in the 2003 Entry Draft, he was described as a man beyond his years. And boy, did his maturity transcend onto the ice.
With 501 games played as a Star, Loui Eriksson is one of only 12 combatants to suit up in 500 or more matches with a Dallas uniform, and one of only six forwards with those accolades.
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Six times a gatherer of Lady Byng Memorial Trophy votes, Eriksson took very few penalties, but killed them off exceptionally, earning at least one Selke Trophy vote in four different seasons in the NHL with Dallas or Boston.
The 6’2″, 196-pound forward netted a total of 150 goals, which stands at sixth all-time in Stars history. Also, with 207 assists, Eriksson’s 357 points in seventh in franchise history.
Eriksson’s 2008-09 season is the one I remember him mostly for. The Swede put up a whopping 36 goals – tops on the team – and finished second in points to Mike Ribeiro with 63. Not only that, but Eriksson took only 14 penalty minutes in 82 games, which is a ridiculous rating of just one minor penalty per 11.7 games.
The former NHL All-Star’s 2008-09 season’s absurdity continues in realizing that he finished 12th in goals scored in the League, however each of the 11 players that finished ahead of him had shooting percentages lower than his: 20.2%. That’s literally a goal for every five shots he took.
Eriksson was traded to Boston as part of the return the Bruins received for Tyler Seguin and others. After a 30-goal season in black and gold, Eriksson was signed by the Vancouver Canucks in the offseason.