Erik Christensen

Erik Christensen (born December 17, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who last played for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

For other people named Erik Christensen, see Erik Christensen (disambiguation).

Erik Christensen
Christensen with the New York Rangers in 2011
Born (1983-12-17) December 17, 1983
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Pittsburgh Penguins
Atlanta Thrashers
Anaheim Ducks
New York Rangers
Minnesota Wild
HC Lev Praha
HV71
NHL Draft 69th overall, 2002
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 2004–2017

Playing career

Christensen was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third round (69th overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. In the 2002–03 season, Christensen received the Bob Clarke Trophy for being the leading scorer of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He tallied 108 points (54 goals) in 67 games with the Kamloops Blazers.

The 2004–05 NHL lockout left the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL) stacked with talent, but Christensen impressed Penguins management by scoring 27 points (14 goals) in his first pro season. In the 2005–06 season, he jumped out of the gate quickly, tallying 19 points (9 goals) in only 9 games. The Pittsburgh Penguins called him up on October 31, 2005.

Christensen scored his first NHL goal on November 3, 2005, against the New York Islanders (against goaltender Rick DiPietro) at 15:43 into the 2nd period. Another promising rookie for the Penguins in 2005–06 (along with Sidney Crosby, Colby Armstrong, Ryan Whitney and others), Christensen earned 13 points (6 goals) in 33 games with the Penguins during his rookie campaign.

On February 26, 2008, the Atlanta Thrashers acquired Christensen along with Colby Armstrong, Angelo Esposito, and a first-round draft pick in a trade deadline deal that sent Marián Hossa and Pascal Dupuis to the Penguins.

On March 4, 2009, the Thrashers sent Christensen to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Eric O'Dell.[1] He contributed 2 goals and 7 assists to the Ducks during the remainder of the season, and contributed 2 assists during the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Christensen was claimed off waivers by the New York Rangers on December 2, 2009.[2]

Christensen has been valuable in shootouts his entire career. As of the end of the 2009-2010 season, he had scored 23 goals in 43 attempts for a 53.5% success rate.

During a game against the New Jersey Devils on December 27, 2010, Christensen sustained an injury to his right knee ligament requiring him to miss four to six weeks.[3]

On February 3, 2012, Christensen was traded by the Rangers, along with a conditional 7th round draft pick in 2013, to the Minnesota Wild for center Casey Wellman.[4] The Wild received the conditional pick after Christensen was not re-signed by the team following the 2011-2012 season.[5]

On June 5, 2012, Christensen signed a two-year agreement with Czech-based HC Lev Praha, of the Kontinental Hockey League. In the midst of his final year under contract with Lev, Christensen secured a mid-season transfer to the Swedish Hockey League, with HV71, on October 22, 2013.[6] In his fourth and final season with HV71 in the 2016–17 season, Christensen contributed with 21 points in 45 games and notched a further 5 points in 16 post-season games to help HV71 capture their 5th Le Mat Trophy.[7] A week after claiming the Championship, Christensen was not tendered a new contract with HV71 and became a free agent.[8] He opted to end his 13-year professional career and return home to Edmonton.[9]

Personal life

Christensen's nickname has been "Crusher" since he was 14 years old.[10]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1999–2000 Kamloops Blazers WHL 66 9 5 14 41 4 0 0 0 2
2000–01 Kamloops Blazers WHL 72 21 23 44 36 4 1 1 2 0
2001–02 Kamloops Blazers WHL 70 22 36 58 68 4 0 0 0 4
2002–03 Kamloops Blazers WHL 67 54 54 108 60 6 1 7 8 14
2003–04 Kamloops Blazers WHL 29 10 14 24 40 — — — — —
2003–04 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 34 17 21 38 20 11 8 4 12 8
2004–05 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 77 14 13 27 33 11 1 6 7 4
2005–06 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 48 24 22 46 50 11 2 2 4 2
2005–06 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 33 6 7 13 34 — — — — —
2006–07 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 16 12 12 24 8 — — — — —
2006–07 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 61 18 15 33 26 4 0 0 0 6
2007–08 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 49 9 11 20 28 — — — — —
2007–08 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 10 2 2 4 2 — — — — —
2008–09 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 47 5 14 19 14 — — — — —
2008–09 Anaheim Ducks NHL 17 2 7 9 6 8 0 2 2 0
2009–10 Anaheim Ducks NHL 9 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2009–10 New York Rangers NHL 49 8 18 26 24 — — — — —
2010–11 New York Rangers NHL 63 11 16 27 18 5 1 0 1 2
2011–12 New York Rangers NHL 20 1 4 5 2 — — — — —
2011–12 Connecticut Whale AHL 5 2 1 3 8 — — — — —
2011–12 Minnesota Wild NHL 29 6 1 7 6 — — — — —
2012–13 Lev Praha KHL 41 11 10 21 18 — — — — —
2013–14 Lev Praha KHL 12 1 1 2 6 — — — — —
2013–14 HV71 SHL 38 13 14 27 22 8 4 1 5 4
2014–15 HV71 SHL 46 13 31 44 14 6 5 0 5 6
2015–16 HV71 SHL 42 9 15 24 28 1 0 1 1 0
2016–17 HV71 SHL 45 15 6 21 16 16 1 4 5 6
NHL totals 387 68 95 163 162 17 1 2 3 8
SHL totals 171 50 66 116 80 31 10 6 16 16

Awards and honors
Award Year
WHL
CHL Top Prospects Game 2002
West First All-Star Team 2003
Bobby Clarke Trophy 2003
CHL Second All-Star Team 2003
SHL
Le Mat trophy (HV71) 2017 [7]

References
  1. "Ducks acquire Christensen from Atlanta". ducks.nhl.com. March 4, 2009. Archived from the original on March 7, 2009. Retrieved March 6, 2009.
  2. Gross, Andrew (December 2, 2009). "Valiquette waived; Brashear hurt". The Record. Archived from the original on December 5, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  3. "Rangers C Christensen out 4-to-6 weeks". The Wall Street Journal. December 30, 2010.
  4. "Rangers trade Christensen, Draft Pick to Wild for Wellman". The Sports Network. February 3, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  5. "Wild makes move in push to help its lagging offense". Star Tribune. February 3, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  6. "Erik Christensen strengthens HV71" (in Swedish). HV71. October 22, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  7. "HV71 wins championship". aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). April 30, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  8. "They leave HV71" (in Swedish). HV71. May 7, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  9. "Christensen tells life after hockey". jp.se. August 17, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  10. Schwartz, Adam (March 17, 2008). "What's In A Name?". San Jose Sharks. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
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