Johan Hedberg | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Nacka, SWE |
May 5, 1973 ||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
Position | Goaltender | ||
Caught | Left | ||
Played for |
Pittsburgh Penguins Vancouver Canucks Leksands IF Dallas Stars Atlanta Thrashers New Jersey Devils |
||
NHL Draft | 218th overall, 1994 Philadelphia Flyers |
||
Playing career | 1993–2014 |
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Representing Sweden | ||
Men's Ice hockey | ||
World Championships | ||
1998 Switzerland | ||
1997 Finland | ||
1999 Norway | ||
1994 Italy |
Johan "Moose" Hedberg (born May 5, 1973) is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently the goaltending coach and the assistant coach of the San Jose Sharks.
Hedberg was drafted in the ninth round, 218th overall, in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. However the Flyers never invited him from Sweden to a training camp. He was told by the Flyers that he needed to make the Swedish national team, before getting an invite to training camp. Hedberg spent five seasons with Leksands IF from 1992–97, notching a 2.79 goals-against average in 116 games. and did make the Swedish team, however he never received the invite promised to him. He then left Sweden, in 1997, to find work in the North American minor leagues, hoping that a team would notice his abilities. He started with the Baton Rouge Kingfish of the East Coast Hockey League and also played for the Detroit Vipers and Manitoba Moose of the International Hockey League before the Flyers traded Hedberg's rights to the San Jose Sharks in 1998. He returned to Leksands for the 1998-99 season before reporting to San Jose's affiliate, the American Hockey League's Kentucky Thoroughblades. for the 1999-2000 season.
At the time, the Sharks were already loaded with terrific goaltenders, younger than Hedberg, who was ranked no higher than 4th on the Sharks' goaltending depth chart, so after one season, he left the Sharks organization and rejoined Manitoba. Hedberg excelled during his second stint with the Moose in 2000–01, while they were still an unaffiliated team in the final season of the International Hockey League. His play was noticed by the Pittsburgh Penguins' assistant general manager Eddie Johnston. In March 2001, Randy Carlyle, the Moose's coach, pulled Hedberg aside at Winnipeg International Airport and told him he'd been traded to Pittsburgh, along with Bobby Dollas, in exchange for Jeff Norton. He was also informed, by Carlyle, that he was reporting directly to the Penguins.