It's not often that a player passes on his first real opportunity to play in the NHL, but Klingberg did just that, and it may have been the best thing he ever did.
Confident he was ready to make the jump to the NHL, but certain he needed more seasoning to compete consistently at that level, Klingberg opted to return to his native Sweden for the 2013-14 season.
It's not often that a player passes on his first real opportunity to play in the NHL, but Klingberg did just that, and it may have been the best thing he ever did.
Confident he was ready to make the jump to the NHL, but certain he needed more seasoning to compete consistently at that level, Klingberg opted to return to his native Sweden for the 2013-14 season.
He responded with 11 goals, 28 points and a plus-8 rating in 50 games with Frolunda, and the following season led Dallas Stars defensemen in scoring with 40 points (11 goals) in 65 games.
His 40 points tied for fourth on the team, and his plus-5 rating was third-best on the Stars, which helped Klingberg finish fifth in the Calder Trophy voting for NHL Rookie of the Year.
In 2015-16, Klingberg improved to 58 points, fifth most by a defenseman in the NHL, and from plus-5 to a team-high plus-22 rating.
Along with his smooth skating ability and success quarterbacking the team's fourth-ranked power-play unit, those first two seasons established Klingberg as one of the NHL's best all-around defensemen.
Selected by the Stars in the fifth round (No. 131) in the 2010 NHL Draft, Klingberg made his NHL debut on Nov. 11, 2014 and scored his first goal on Nov. 20, 2014. Both games were against the Arizona Coyotes.
Klingberg, a native of Gothenburg, Sweden, signed a seven-year contract extension on April 17, 2015.
Internationally, Klingberg won a gold medal with Sweden at the 2012 World Junior Championship and played in the 2011 World Junior Championship and the 2015 World Championship.
