6 Things to Know About New Edmonton Oilers Development Coach Andreas Karlsson – Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

On Wednesday (Sept. 11), the Edmonton Oilers announced additions to their hockey operations staff for the 2024-25 season, including new player development coach Andreas Karlsson.

Congratulations to Andreas Karlsson on his appointment as Player Development Coach no @EdmontonOilers!

Andreas has been a big part of the Bulldogs family and helped lead us to 2022 #OHL Bravery.

Great teacher, mentor and coach congratulations Andreas! pic.twitter.com/wqqI3IdIpy

– Brantford Bulldogs (@BulldogsOHL) September 11, 2024

A native of Sweden, the 49-year-old Karlsson joins the Oilers after spending the past few seasons as an assistant coach in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), most recently with the Brantford Bulldogs.

Before entering coaching, Karlsson had a long career as a player, including six seasons in the NHL. Here are five things to know about Edmonton's new player development coach.

Karlsson's First Trip Abroad Was to Alberta

Karlsson was drafted in the sixth round, at 148^th overall, it's the Calgary Flames in 1993, and his first games on North American soil took place in Alberta.

A year and a half after being drafted by the Flames, Karlsson represented Sweden at the 1995 World Junior Hockey Championships, hosted by Red Deer and contested at 13 different venues across the state. The Swedish team's schedule included games just outside of Edmonton, Leduc and Sherwood Park.

At the World Juniors in 1995, Karlsson, then 19, had two goals and two assists in seven games to help Sweden take the bronze medal.

His mentor once coached with the Oilers

Karlsson never qualified for a regular season game for the Flames, as he stayed in his home country, playing for Leksands IF of the Swedish Elite League (SEL) until he was 24 years old.

From 1992 to 1996, Leksand was coached by the late Wayne Fleming. With Fleming in charge, Leksands finished with the SEL's best single-season record in 1994.

Fleming's arrival at Leksands “changed my life,” Karlsson said. “The expertise he brought to the club and the community as a whole was amazing. He raised me in many ways.”

A native of Manitoba, Fleming would go on to spend twelve seasons in the NHL, including an assistant coach with the Oilers in 2009-10 under Pat Quinn. Fleming died in 2013.

He was the First Thrasher

On June 25, 1999, Calgary traded Karlsson to the Atlanta Thrashers, who were entering their first NHL season in 1999–00. Karlsson made his NHL regular season debut on November 22, 1999, when the Thrashers scored a franchise-record six goals in a home win over the Vancouver Canucks.

The center ended up playing in 153 games over three seasons for the Thrashers, scoring 11 goals and adding 27 assists. He played his last game for Atlanta in 2002 and did not return to the NHL until 2006 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Karlsson's Never Trained at the Pro Level

Karlsson has been coaching since 2011, but almost all of his experience in that position has come at the developmental levels of hockey.

He began coaching with Swedish club Frolunda, working as an assistant with their under-18 team, before serving as head coach of their under-20 team for three seasons from 2012–13 to 2014–15.

In 2015-16 and 2016-17, Karlsson was an assistant coach for the York University men's hockey team. He then moved to the OHL, serving as an assistant coach for the Kitchener Rangers from 2017-18 to 2019-20, followed by three seasons with the Bulldogs.

Karlsson Focuses on Special Teams

Karlsson has been a regular on the penalty kill throughout his NHL career, especially in Atlanta. Over three seasons with the Thrashers, more than 15% of Karlsson's total ice time came while his team was in the red.

As an assistant coach for the Bulldogs, Karlsson has done a lot of work with special teams in Brantford alongside head coach Jay McKee. In 2021-22, the Bulldogs had the OHL's second-ranked power play and fifth-ranked penalty kill. Last season, Brantford scored the fifth most shorthanded goal in the OHL.

Karlsson Won Many Championships

Karlsson's trophy case is loaded with medals and rings. As a player, he won the Calder Trophy in 2002 as a member of the Chicago Wolves, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Thrashers. Four years later, he took gold at the World Championships in Latvia in 2006, where he scored five goals to lead Kenny Jonsson's Swedish team.

Related: 6 Reasons the Edmonton Oilers Will Win the 2025 Stanley Cup

Since switching to coaching, he has won the Queen's Cup in 2017 with York and J. Ross Robertson Cup in 2022 with the Bulldogs. Oilers fans hope he adds a Stanley Cup ring to his collection next June.