While Leo Carlsson’s numbers in his rookie year don’t exactly jump off the page, his play and impact on the game certainly did.
Carlsson (19) has scored 12 goals and 17 assists in 55 games in 2023-24, centralizing Anaheim’s top line since his first game in a Ducks jersey.
After a surprising training camp in the fall of 2023, it was clear that Carlsson was ready to play in the NHL. He scored 25 points in 44 SHL regular season games for Örebro HK during his 2022-23 draft year and added nine more points in 13 playoff games.
Although not a Calder finalist, Leo Carlsson’s impact and potential are immeasurable
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek and the Ducks coaching staff took a calculated and measured approach to managing Carlsson’s game totals during his rookie season. Apparently, Carlsson and his team were on board with the program proposed by Verbeek, which is somewhat revolutionary in the NHL.
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In the first half of his rookie season, Carlsson was expected to mirror a typical SHL schedule, playing just two games per week. This was to give him time to recover from a rigorous gym regiment aimed at gaining the muscle needed to play in the world’s top division on a smaller ice surface. This would also allow him to take a different view of games during his nights off, observing his team’s matchups from an expanded perspective.
Carlsson and the Ducks failed to see the benefits of their creative program take hold as Carlsson dealt with his fair share of injuries in 2023-24. He missed the first two games of the season after falling into the boards during practice. He suffered a sprained MCL in December, which caused him to miss three and a half weeks, and a concussion in March, which left him unavailable for another two and a half weeks.
What did he bring
In the 55 games Carlsson played, he showed lingering flashes of the 200-foot impact he could have in the coming years in Anaheim.
Defensively, he diagnosed breaks and cuts at will, consistently causing turnovers and bad decisions. He deflected puck carriers away from dangerous ice and used his reach to break up attempted passes and shots.
After forcing an opponent into a mistake, he wasted no time, getting up the ice as quickly as he could to keep defenders on their heels and beat backcheckers to the ice. He persistently attacked the middle of the ice and when he couldn’t create his own looks, he regularly distributed pucks to teammates who were able to hit dangerous shots. High-danger offense was plentiful with Carlsson on the ice.
The aspects of his game that could be improved the most were his defensive zone coverage tendencies and spatial awareness with the puck on his stick. The Ducks have run a tight man-to-man defensive zone coverage system in 2023-24, and occasionally Carlsson has strayed too far from his assignment, away from the puck. At times, he also misjudged how much time he had to get out of the defensive zone into the neutral zone with the puck, making him susceptible to stick lifts.
What’s to come
Carlsson will now have the benefit of a full offseason and significant NHL experience in the second year of his career.
“Unlike last summer where I was home for three weeks,” Carlsson told Alexis Downie on the team’s “Ducks Stream” network’s latest “Light the Lamp” episode. “A lot more focus on off-ice things. Last year it was the combine, the draft and all that stuff.”
Last year, Carlsson had a busy offseason schedule. Following his SHL playoff run, he represented Sweden at the IIHF World Championship. He then flew to Nashville for the 2023 NHL Draft, followed by the Anaheim Ducks’ development camp in Irvine. He, along with a handful of Ducks prospects, trained in South Florida for part of the summer before returning home to Sweden for a few weeks. The next step for Carlsson was Ducks Rookie Camp, Training Camp, preseason and then a full regular season in Anaheim.
Carlsson will try to arrive at this year’s Ducks training camp bigger, stronger and more prepared for what’s to come. He is also looking to expand his limits and take on a leadership role in the locker room.
Carlsson projected to represent Sweden in NHL 4-Nations clash
“Not really in terms of points. Just trying to be a leader as much as I can in a second season,” said Carlsson when asked about his goals in his second season. “Trying to take on a bigger role. More comfortable this year going into camp, knowing the ice, what’s going to happen in camp, what’s going to happen during the season. More prepared this season.”
Carlsson saw some time on the penalty kill down the stretch for the Ducks in 2023-24. He has shown the ability to translate what makes him so effective and dynamic offensively to the defensive side of the puck.
On his current trajectory and with more consistency in terms of his health and his teammates, he could become one of the most impactful 200-foot sophomore forwards in recent memory. The sky may truly be the limit for Carlsson, who has what it takes to have a franchise center in Anaheim in the near future.
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