Folin charted his own course to the NHL in more ways than one.
The son of a former professional soccer player and a talented footballer in his own right, the native of Gothenburg, Sweden, chose as a teenager to commit to hockey rather than follow his father's path. And while Sweden's hockey development system is renowned for turning out bona fide NHL prospects, Folin opted to develop his game in the United States.
Folin charted his own course to the NHL in more ways than one.
The son of a former professional soccer player and a talented footballer in his own right, the native of Gothenburg, Sweden, chose as a teenager to commit to hockey rather than follow his father's path. And while Sweden's hockey development system is renowned for turning out bona fide NHL prospects, Folin opted to develop his game in the United States.
From 2010-12, the defenseman spent time with Fargo of the United States Hockey League and Austin of the North American Hockey League. In 2011-12, Folin showed star potential with Austin, and his 11 goals and 31 points in 54 games, along with a plus-45 rating, helped him earn a scholarship to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.
In two college seasons, Folin scored 12 goals and 41 points in 79 games. In 2013, he helped UMass-Lowell win its first regular-season Hockey East title and the first of back-to-back Hockey East Tournament championships.
Having gone undrafted by NHL teams, Folin was one of college hockey's most sought after free agents. Once UMass-Lowell was eliminated from the 2014 NCAA hockey tournament, Folin signed with the Minnesota Wild. In his NHL debut April 10, 2014, he had an assist in Minnesota's 4-2 win against the St. Louis Blues.
The 6-foot-3, 214-pound Folin, a solid puck-handler with a good right-handed shot, helped the Wild to two shutout wins to open the 2014-15 season before sitting out one game.
That started a pattern of playing and sitting for Folin, who split his first full season of pro hockey between Minnesota and its top affiliate, Iowa of the American Hockey League. He finished the season with two goals and 10 points in 40 NHL games and two goals and four points in 13 games with Iowa. The following season, he missed a month because of a concussion.
