Alexander Wennberg (born 22 September 1994) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers. He was drafted by the Blue Jackets in the first round, 14th overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Before joining the NHL, Wennberg played professionally in the Swedish Hockey League.
Alexander Wennberg | |||
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![]() Wennberg with the Seattle Kraken in 2022 | |||
Born |
(1994-09-22) 22 September 1994 (age 28) Nacka, Sweden | ||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
Weight | 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb) | ||
Position | Centre | ||
Shoots | Left | ||
NHL team Former teams |
Seattle Kraken Djurgårdens IF Frölunda HC Columbus Blue Jackets Florida Panthers | ||
National team |
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NHL Draft |
14th overall, 2013 Columbus Blue Jackets | ||
Playing career | 2011–present |
For the 2010–11 season, Wennberg joined the Djurgårdens IF under-18 team, scoring 11 goals and 23 assists. The next year, he moved up to the organization's under-20 team and also represented Sweden at the 2011 U19 World Junior A Challenge and 2012 U18 World Junior Championship tournaments. He also spent time with Djurgårdens IF's Elitserien senior team but did not appear in any games.[1]
Wennberg was ranked fifth out of all 2013 NHL Entry Draft eligible European skaters and was ultimately selected 14th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. In May 2014, he signed a three-year, entry level contract with the Blue Jackets.[2] Upon joining the Blue Jackets, Wennberg was given the jersey number 41 which he switched in his second season.[3]
Wennberg made his NHL debut on October 9, 2014 against the Buffalo Sabres, where he also recorded his first NHL point.[4] He was reassigned to Columbus' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, after playing in seven NHL games, as defenceman Ryan Murray was activated off injured reserve.[4] However, he was recalled to Columbus the next day after the team placed Matt Calvert on injured reserve.[5] Wennberg scored his first career NHL goal on 22 December in a 5–1 loss to the Nashville Predators.[6]
Wennberg missed the first five games of the 2015–16 season to recover from a concussion he suffered during the Blue Jackets' season opener against the New York Rangers.[7] After returning, Wennberg was again injured in early November and was subsequently placed on injured reserve.[8]
The following season, Wennberg played in 80 regular season games and recorded career-highs in goals (13) and assists (46). On September 1, 2017, he signed a new six-year, $29.4 million contract with the Blue Jackets carrying an annual salary cap hit of $4.9 million.[9]
During the first game of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, Wennberg was injured by a check from Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson and was removed from the game.[10] Due to this, the Blue Jackets earned a power play which Columbus scored on to tie the game. The Blue Jackets went on to win the game in overtime.[11] Wennberg played two more games in the series but the Blue Jackets failed to advance.
On October 8, 2020, Wennberg was placed on waivers for the purpose of buying out the remaining three years on his contract.[12] On the opening day of free agency, Wennberg was signed by the Florida Panthers to a one-year, $2.25 million contract on October 9, 2020. He was signed by newly installed GM Bill Zito, who was formerly a part of the Blue Jackets organization.[13] In a fresh start with the Panthers, in which the pandemic delayed and shortened the 2020–21 season, Wennberg responded with a career high 17 goals in 56 games, and added 12 assists while relied upon to provide responsible two-way play.
As a free agent from the Panthers, Wennberg was targeted and signed to a three-year, $13.5 million contract with the expansion club, the Seattle Kraken, on July 28, 2021.[14]
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
2010–11 | Djurgårdens IF | J18 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2010–11 | Djurgårdens IF | J18 Allsv | 18 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
2011–12 | Djurgårdens IF | J18 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2011–12 | Djurgårdens IF | J18 Allsv | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
2011–12 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 42 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
2011–12 | Djurgårdens IF | SHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2012–13 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
2012–13 | Djurgårdens IF | Allsv | 46 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
2013–14 | Frölunda HC | SHL | 50 | 16 | 5 | 21 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
2014–15 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 68 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2014–15 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2015–16 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 69 | 8 | 32 | 40 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2016–17 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 80 | 13 | 46 | 59 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
2017–18 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 66 | 8 | 27 | 35 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
2018–19 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 75 | 2 | 23 | 25 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
2019–20 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 57 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 16 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | ||
2020–21 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 56 | 17 | 12 | 29 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
2021–22 | Seattle Kraken | NHL | 80 | 11 | 26 | 37 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
NHL totals | 551 | 68 | 199 | 267 | 121 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 4 |
Medal record | ||
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Ice hockey | ||
Representing ![]() | ||
World Junior Championships | ||
![]() | 2014 Malmö | |
![]() | 2013 Ufa | |
World U18 Championships | ||
![]() | 2012 Brno |
Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Sweden | WJC18 | ![]() |
6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | |
2013 | Sweden | WJC | ![]() |
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
2014 | Sweden | WJC | ![]() |
7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | |
2016 | Sweden | WC | 6th | 8 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | |
2019 | Sweden | WC | 5th | 6 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | |
Junior totals | 19 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 2 | ||||
Senior totals | 14 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 4 |
Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by | Columbus Blue Jackets first round draft pick 2013 |
Succeeded by |