It's been a revival on Katella Avenue, as the Anaheim Ducks are off to a hot start this season. Significantly, their play has garnered the attention of the Team Sweden coach. Specifically, Sam Hallam detailed what he loved seeing from star center Leo Carlsson in an interview with hockey insider Pierre LeBrun for The Athletic.
“I mean, we're enjoying everything we're seeing about Leo,” Hallam told The Athletic. “I also think we picked him as an 18-year-old for the World Championship three years ago. The feeling after that tournament was, ‘This kid is something different. ‘Now he's starting to show what we've been seeing from the beginning.”
Carlsson has sparked an offensive explosion in Anaheim, leading the team with 26 total points, tallying 11 goals and 15 assists. Amazingly, he has sported a shooting percentage of 23.9 to start the campaign. He recently had an 11-game, 20-point streak that only ended this week in a loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Additionally, he is already on pace to shatter the 45 points he scored last season.
Partly due to Carlsson (and Cutter Gauthier and Troy Terry), the Ducks currently rank second in the NHL in goals. Also, they are fourth in shooting percentage and 12th on the power play. This is a very stark difference from last season, when they were among the worst in those categories.
Hallam went on to explain the significance of the difference between Carlsson's game this season and last, and what it means for Sweden.
“Of course, it's huge for us. In an Olympic tournament, to have players that build from a season the way he's started this year, it's huge,” Hallam added.
Carlsson is still only 20 and will turn 21 next month. He has appeared in just one game for Team Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Carlsson played for Hallam at 18, scoring three goals and five points in eight games at the 2023 World Championship. If he continues at his current pace, he could be playing for Team Sweden again soon. For now, he will remain a fixture in the Ducks' lineup, while attempting to help them make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2018.
