He was selected second in the NHL draft this summer.
Last night Leo Carlsson, 18, finally made his debut in the league.
Then it was an instant success – in front of the parents in the stands.
There were many surprised faces when the NHL teams made their draft picks during the high-profile first round this summer. Connor Bedard was the highly anticipated No. 1 pick by the Chicago Blackhawks, but consensus experts had Adam Fantilli as No. 2, and many had actually already written his name down for the Anaheim Ducks, who had the second pick in the draft.
Long-awaited NHL debut
But when the Ducks’ representatives stepped onto the stage, the Swede Leo Carlsson’s name was read out instead, and the Swede thus received the great honor of going second overall in the draft. During the summer, he has impressed during various preseason games for Anaheim, which is supposed to have another season during its rebuilding phase where realistically it is not supposed to make the playoffs.
However, the debut for Leo Carlsson has been delayed. He has had problems with injuries during the fall, and has thus missed Anaheim’s first three games of the season. But yesterday it was announced that Carlsson would be in the lineup against the Dallas Stars, and last night was the debut of one of the world’s greatest talents, Leo Carlsson, who was a smash hit with Örebro in the SHL last season. And it wasn’t long before he introduced himself to North American audiences either.
Huge success right away
Leo Carlsson, at 18 years and 297 days, became the third youngest player ever to make a regular season appearance for the Anaheim Ducks. He would also become the second-youngest player ever to score on his debut. Because at the beginning of the third period, Leo Carlsson got loose in a situation where he and teammate Troy Terry came alone against a Dallas defender. Leo Carlsson received the puck and sent it into the roof of the net, unreachable for goalkeeper Jake Oettinger. The goal made it 2-2, and not long after that Carlsson came close to scoring another goal, but the free-kick was saved this time by Oettinger.
The Ducks eventually lost the game 2-3, but for Leo Carlsson it was a debut to remember. He got to form a first chain with big star Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry, and got a full 19 minutes of ice time in his first game. Leo Carlsson’s parents were also in the stands during the match – and the camera was quick to film the enormous joy when their son scored his first goal in the world’s best league. Fans on social media thought the photos of the parents’ joy were absolutely magical — and we totally agree!
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