John Carlson (ice hockey)

John Carlson
Carlson with the Washington Capitals in April 2016
Born (1990-01-10) January 10, 1990 (age 34)
Natick, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 218 lb (99 kg; 15 st 8 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Right
NHL team Washington Capitals
National team  United States
NHL Draft 27th overall, 2008
Washington Capitals
Playing career 2009–present

John Carlson (born January 10, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman and alternate captain for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Capitals in the first round, 27th overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft after playing a year in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Indiana Ice. Before reaching the NHL, Carlson played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the London Knights and played professionally with the Capitals' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears. He also participated internationally for the United States in the 2010 World Juniors and 2014 Winter Olympics. Carlson won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Capitals in 2018, as the highest scoring defenseman during the playoffs.

Playing career[edit]

Minor and Junior[edit]

Carlson began his ice hockey career with the New Jersey Rockets Youth Hockey Organization of the Atlantic Youth Hockey League.

He lived near the New Jersey Rockets Organization based in Newark, New Jersey, for Tier II and Junior and Somerset, New Jersey, for Tier I.[1] According to Eliteprospects.com, Carlson scored 50 points in 44 games in his final year with the Rockets, earning him the 2006-07 Atlantic Junior Hockey League (AtJHL) Offensive Defenseman of the Year Award.[2] He attended St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, New Jersey, for three years, but he only played for the high school team during his freshman year, the 2004–05 season.[1] In 21 games with St. Joseph, Carlson registered 12 goals and 19 points.[1] Carlson attended Cathedral High School in Indianapolis for his senior year while he played junior for the Indiana Ice of the USHL.[3][4]

Carlson played a full season in the USHL with the Ice in 2007–08, scoring 12 goals and 43 points in 59 games, earning him the USHL's second All-Star team and All-Rookie team honors. After a productive rookie season in the USHL, Carlson was drafted in the first round, 27th overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 2008 NHL entry draft.[5][6] Carlson was originally committed to play college hockey for the University of Massachusetts, but signed to play for the London Knights of the OHL after being drafted by them in the 2nd round of the 2008 OHL draft.[7][8][9] During the 2008–09 OHL season, Carlson notched 76 points, including 16 goals, helping the Knights secure the Midwest Division Title.[2] During the playoffs, Carlson scored another 22 points in 14 games, advancing to the Western Conference Finals.[6] His efforts during the OHL season helped him make the OHL second All-Star team, the OHL first All-Rookie team, and the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) All-Rookie team.[2]

Professional[edit]

Washington Capitals[edit]

Carlson made his professional debut for the Capitals' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears, on May 2, 2009, in a Calder Cup playoff game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The following night, he scored his first professional goal in Game 2 of the series. Carlson played a total of 16 games for the Bears that postseason, helping them become the 2009 Calder Cup Champions.[6]

Carlson takes a shot against Cedrick Desjardins during an AHL All-Star event in 2010

Carlson made his NHL debut for the Capitals on November 21, 2009, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. On January 21, 2010, Carlson was recalled by the Capitals.[10] On March 25, 2010, Carlson scored his first NHL goal, against Manny Legace of the Carolina Hurricanes.[11]

In Game 2 of the Capitals' 2010 Stanley Cup playoff first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens, Carlson scored his first NHL playoff goal, tying the game with just over one minute to play in regulation. After the Capitals' elimination in the playoffs, Carlson rejoined the Hershey Bears in their playoff campaign and scored the game- and Calder Cup-winning goal in Game 6 of the Calder Cup Final against the Texas Stars.[12]

On September 14, 2012, Carlson signed a six-year, $23.8 million contract extension with the Capitals.[13]

Carlson with the Capitals in February 2014

Carlson's 2015–16 season was interrupted by an injury that limited to him playing just 56 regular season games, ending his streak of playing in all 82 regular season games every season for the Capitals from the 2010–11 season to the 2014–15 season.[2] Carlson was injured in late December 2015,[14] and his injury emerged again throughout the second half of the 2015–16 season.[15] Despite the injury, Carlson scored 39 points by the end of the regular season.[2]

During the 2017–18 season, the last year of his contract, Carlson had a career year, putting up career numbers in goals and assists.[16] He played in all 82 games during regular season, and his success helped push the Capitals to the 2018 playoffs.[17] At the conclusion of the regular season, Carlson led NHL defensemen in points with 68 and became the first Capitals defenseman since Mike Green in the 2009–10 season to score 60 points in a season.[2] Carlson's 2017-18 campaign ended with a Stanley Cup victory and a fifth-place finish in Norris Trophy voting.[18][19]

On June 24, 2018, having just won the Stanley Cup with Washington, Carlson signed an eight-year, $64 million contract extension with the Capitals.[20]

Returning to the Washington lineup after an injury for a November 11, 2018, for a game against the Arizona Coyotes, Carlson skated in his 623rd career game as a defenseman, passing Sylvain Côté for sixth place in games played for the Capitals.[21] He had missed one game with a lower-body injury announced on November 9, 2018.[22] Carlson ended his 2018–19 season with 13 goals and 70 points in 80 games.[2] He finished fourth in Norris Trophy voting, behind Victor Hedman, Brent Burns, and Mark Giordano.[18][23] Carlson also made his first all star appearance this season.[19]

Prior to the start of the 2019–20 season, the Capitals named Carlson as an alternate captain, filling the void created by defenseman Brooks Orpik's retirement.[19] On December 4, 2019, he netted his 100th career NHL goal against the Los Angeles Kings, his 10th of the season.[24] During the 2019–20 season, Carlson surpassed the 70 point mark for the second year in a row, leading all defensemen in the league in points for the second season in a row with 75 in 69 games.[18] His play led to his second all star selection, as well as being named a finalist in Norris Trophy voting along with Victor Hedman and Roman Josi.[18]

On March 30, 2024, Carlson played his 1,000th NHL game, becoming just the third player (and first defenseman) to play them all with the Capitals.

International play[edit]

John Kerry holds a Team USA jersey with Carlson and Blake Wheeler in a ceremony for American-bound Olympians to the 2014 Winter Olympics. Both Carlson and Wheeler are members of Team USA.
Medal record
Representing  United States
ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Canada
World Junior A Challenge
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Trail

Junior[edit]

Carlson was an alternate captain for the United States in the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. On January 5, 2010, he scored the game-winning goal in overtime of the gold medal game as part of a two-goal effort to defeat Canada 6–5.[25] Carlson finished the tournament with 7 points in 7 games.[2] Additionally, he was named to the tournament's all-star team.[26]

In December 2010, Carlson was named to NHL.com's All-Time World Junior Championship team.[27]

Olympics[edit]

On January 1, 2014, Carlson was named to the U.S. roster for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.[28] On February 13, 2014, he scored the Americans' first goal of the tournament, at 15:27 of the first period of the nation's opening match against Slovakia.[4] His goal was scored on his first shot in the tournament, giving him consecutive goals on shots in international play for the U.S.[29] In a total of 6 games with Team USA, Carlson put up a goal and an assist.[2]

Personal life[edit]

Carlson was born in Natick, Massachusetts, and lived in Marlborough, Massachusetts.[1] His family moved to the Colonia section of Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, when he was five years old.[30] Carlson has an older brother, Andrew, whom he played high school hockey with for one season.[1] Carlson is of Swedish descent on his father's side and Italian on his mother's.[31] On September 6, 2014, Carlson married his long-time girlfriend Gina Nucci,[32] The couple have four children together.[5][33][34]

Career statistics[edit]

Regular season and playoffs[edit]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2005–06 New Jersey Rockets AtJHL 38 2 10 12 42 — — — — —
2006–07 New Jersey Rockets AtJHL 44 12 38 50 96 — — — — —
2006–07 Indiana Ice USHL 2 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
2007–08 Indiana Ice USHL 59 12 31 43 72 4 1 0 1 0
2008–09 London Knights OHL 59 16 60 76 65 14 7 15 22 16
2008–09 Hershey Bears AHL — — — — — 16 2 1 3 0
2009–10 Hershey Bears AHL 48 4 35 39 26 13 2 5 7 8
2009–10 Washington Capitals NHL 22 1 5 6 8 7 1 3 4 0
2010–11 Washington Capitals NHL 82 7 30 37 44 9 2 1 3 4
2011–12 Washington Capitals NHL 82 9 23 32 22 14 2 3 5 8
2012–13 Washington Capitals NHL 48 6 16 22 18 7 0 1 1 4
2013–14 Washington Capitals NHL 82 10 27 37 22 — — — — —
2014–15 Washington Capitals NHL 82 12 43 55 28 14 1 5 6 4
2015–16 Washington Capitals NHL 56 8 31 39 14 12 5 7 12 4
2016–17 Washington Capitals NHL 72 9 28 37 10 13 2 2 4 4
2017–18 Washington Capitals NHL 82 15 53 68 32 24 5 15 20 8
2018–19 Washington Capitals NHL 80 13 57 70 34 7 0 5 5 6
2019–20 Washington Capitals NHL 69 15 60 75 26 5 0 6 6 2
2020–21 Washington Capitals NHL 52 10 34 44 12 5 0 2 2 6
2021–22 Washington Capitals NHL 78 17 54 71 20 6 1 4 5 2
2022–23 Washington Capitals NHL 40 9 20 29 12 — — — — —
2023–24 Washington Capitals NHL 82 10 42 52 40
NHL totals 1,009 151 523 674 342 123 19 54 73 52

International[edit]

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2010 United States WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 4 3 7 4
2014 United States OG 4th 6 1 1 2 0
2016 United States WCH 7th 2 0 0 0 0
Junior totals 7 4 3 7 4
Senior totals 8 1 1 2 0

Awards and honors[edit]

Award Year
USHL
Second All-Star team 2008 [35]
All-Rookie team 2008 [35]
OHL
First All-Rookie team 2009
Second All-Star team 2009
CHL All-Rookie team 2009
AHL
Calder Cup (Hershey Bears) 2009, 2010 [12]
AHL All-Star Game 2010 [36]
All-Rookie team 2010
NHL
NHL All-Rookie team 2011
Stanley Cup champion 2018 [37]
NHL All-Star Game 2019, 2020
NHL All-Star Skills Competition "Hardest Shot" winner 2019
NHL second All-Star team 2019 [38]
NHL first All-Star team 2020
International
WJC All-Star Team 2010 [39]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Hageny, John Christian. “Hockey: Where Are They Now? St. Joseph's John Carlson a Capital Investment.” Nj.com: Blogs (Newark, NJ), 2013. Access World News. Accessed 27 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "John Carlson at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  3. ^ USA TODAY Sports, Bob Kravitz. “U.S. Hockey's Carlson Fondly Remembers Key Year in Indiana Junior.” USA TODAY (Arlington, VA), 2014, p. ARC. Access World News. Accessed 27 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b Kravitz, Bob. “Kravitz: Former Ice Player Making Impact in Olympics.” The Indianapolis Star, INI, 15 Feb. 2014, www.indystar.com/story/sports/2014/02/15/kravitz-former-ice-player-making-impact-in-olympics/5511425/.
  5. ^ a b Burnside, Scott. “How the Capitals' John Carlson Became the Best Defenseman in...” The Athletic, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2020, www.theathletic.com/1516862/2020/01/09/how-the-capitals-john-carlson-became-the-best-defenseman-in-the-nhl/.
  6. ^ a b c “John Carlson Captures Calder Cup Title.” Ontario Hockey League, 15 June 2009, www.ontariohockeyleague.com/john-carlson-captures-calder-cup-title/.
  7. ^ Chimelis, Ron. “UMass Loses Puck Recruit.” Republican, The (Springfield, MA), 2008, p. C02. Access World News. Accessed 27 July 2020.
  8. ^ “KNIGHTS SIGN JOHN CARLSON.” London Knights, www.londonknights.com/knights-sign-john-carlson.
  9. ^ Pyette, Ryan. “Carlson Primed for OHL Debut LONDON KNIGHTS.” London Free Press, The (Ontario, Canada), 2008, p. D1. Access World News. Accessed 27 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Capitals Recall WJC hero Carlson". Associated Press. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  11. ^ "LaRose's shootout goal gives Hurricanes win over Capitals". cbssports.com. March 25, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  12. ^ a b IIHF. "Carlson does it again".
  13. ^ "Capitals Re-sign John Carlson". National Hockey League. September 14, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  14. ^ Khurshudyan, Isabelle (December 30, 2015). "John Carlson has MRI exam and is questionable to play Wednesday night". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  15. ^ "Capitals' Carlson out 3-4 weeks: report". National Hockey League. February 27, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2018. Coach Barry Trotz said Friday the injury that kept Carlson out of the game was the same one that caused him to miss 12 games in January.
  16. ^ "'Monster year' could land John Carlson a monster contract". ESPN. March 22, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  17. ^ "2017-18 Capitals Notes". National Hockey League. April 10, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  18. ^ a b c d Pell, Samantha. "Capitals Defenseman John Carlson Named Norris Trophy Finalist."ProQuest, Jul 20, 2020.
  19. ^ a b c Pell, Samantha. "Capitals Name Defenseman John Carlson an Alternate Captain."ProQuest, Oct 01, 2019.
  20. ^ "Capitals Re-sign John Carlson". National Hockey League. June 24, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  21. ^ Thompson, Geoff (2018-11-11). "Capitals vs. Coyotes Recap: Arizona Averts Caps' Comeback Attempt". Japers' Rink. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  22. ^ Oland, Ian (2018-11-09). "John Carlson out day-to-day with lower-body injury, Jonas Siegenthaler to make NHL debut". Russian Machine Never Breaks. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  23. ^ Oland, Ian. “John Carlson Finishes Fourth in Norris Trophy Voting.” RMNB, 20 June 2019, www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2019/06/19/john-carlson-finishes-fourth-in-norris-trophy-voting/.
  24. ^ DePrisco, Mike, et al. “Carlson Nets 100th Career Goal.” NBC Sports Washington, 5 Dec. 2019, www.nbcsports.com/washington/capitals/john-carlson-scores-100th-career-goal-vs-kings#:~:text=John Carlson scored his 100th,past La goalie Jonathan Quick.
  25. ^ "New champs: USA stuns Canada". iihf.com. January 14, 2010. Archived from the original on January 18, 2010.
  26. ^ "2010 IIHF World Junior Championship | Saskatoon/Regina, Canada". teamusa.usahockey.com. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  27. ^ "Forsberg, Subban, Pogge top all-time WJC roster". NHL.com. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  28. ^ Carrera, Katie. Capitals' John Carlson Named to 2014 U.S. Olympic Team (Updated): The Capitals Defenseman Will Represent the United States in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post, Washington, 2014.
  29. ^ Svrluga, Barry. "Capitals' John Carlson Scores United States' First Goal (Posted 2014-02-13 13:08:32)." The Washington Post, Feb 13, 2014.
  30. ^ Chere, Rich. "Colonia's Carlson likely a high draft pick", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com June 19, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2017. "His birth certificate says Natick, Mass., but don't be confused: John Carlson is a Jersey boy. He moved to Colonia when he was 5, and grew up playing hockey for the New Jersey Rockets while watching his favorite player, Scott Stevens, and his favorite team, the Devils, at the Continental Airlines Arena."
  31. ^ Wennerholm, Mats. (2010-01-04)https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/hockey/a/XwoxPB/matchhjalte-en-svenskattling (In Swedish) Retrieved: April 3, 2020
  32. ^ Oland, Ian (September 6, 2014). "John Carlson Got Married Today, Looked Really Happy". russianmachineneverbreaks.com. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  33. ^ Gormley, Chuck (June 17, 2015). "Carlson adds another child to Caps' family". nbcsports.com. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  34. ^ @Capitals (May 5, 2018). "Barry Trotz announces John Carlson had his second child last night. Both his wife and baby boy are doing well. #ALLCAPS #CapsDads" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  35. ^ a b "Washington Capitals 2009–10 Media Guide" (PDF). Washington Capitals. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  36. ^ "PlanetUSA AHL All-Stars 2010 All-Star Game Roster". theahl.com. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  37. ^ "The Washington Capitals, after years of frustration, win the Stanley Cup". The New York Times. 2018-06-07. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  38. ^ "NHL names 2018-19 All-Star teams". National Hockey League. June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  39. ^ "U.S. National Junior Team Wins Gold at 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship with 6–5 Overtime Win over Canada". USA Hockey. 2010-01-06. Archived from the original on 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2010-04-20.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Carlson.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Washington Capitals first round draft pick
2008 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Carlson_(ice_hockey)&oldid=1219627641"