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Anton Blidh

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Anton Blidh
Blidh with the Boston Bruins in 2015
Born (1995-03-14) 14 March 1995 (age 29)
Mölnlycke, Sweden
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 New York Rangers
Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)
Frölunda HC
Boston Bruins
Colorado Avalanche
NHL draft 180th overall, 2013
Boston Bruins
Playing career 2013–present

Anton Blidh (born 14 March 1995) is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Blidh was selected by the Boston Bruins in the sixth round (180th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Blidh playing with Frölunda HC in 2014

Growing up in Sweden, Blidh split time between the Frolunda U-18 team and Frolunda junior team during the 2012-2013 season. After recording 17 goals and 10 assists in 43 games for the Frolunda junior team, Blidh was drafted in the sixth round, 180th overall, by the Boston Bruins in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.[1] Following the draft, Blidh made his Swedish Hockey League debut playing with Frölunda HC during the 2013–14 SHL season.[2] He played with the Frölunda HC until 2015, accumulating 10 points through 72 games and 28 penalty minutes. On 29 May 2015, Blidh signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Bruins after appearing in two of their development camps.[3]

Boston Bruins

Upon joining the Bruins organisation in North America, Blidh was assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Providence Bruins for the 2015–16 season.[4] In his first season with the team, Blidh recorded 10 goals and four assists through 65 games.[5]

The following season, Blidh was re-assigned to the Providence Bruins to begin the 2016–17 season. He played 19 games, producing five goals and four assists in Providence, before being recalled to the NHL level on 2 December 2016.[6] He made his NHL debut the following game in a 2–1 road game win over the Buffalo Sabres, achieving three shots on goal and four hits in his 10:12 of on-ice time.[7] Following this, he scored his first career goal with the Bruins in a home-game loss to the New York Islanders on 20 December 2016.[8] During a game against the Nashville Predators, Blidh recorded a hard hit against Roman Josi which resulted in a major penalty for interference[9] and caused Josi to be placed on injured reserve.[10] Blidh was eventually returned to Providence again on 21 January 2017 after skating in 19 games and posting one goal and one assist with seven penalty minutes.[11]

During the 2017–18 season, Blidh set new career-highs in Providence with 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points through 71 games. He spent the majority of the season in the AHL, making only one NHL appearance on March 19 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. As a result of his play, Blidh signed a one-year, two-way contract with an NHL cap hit of $650,000.[12] Following the signing, he was again returned to Providence and only played in one NHL game during a 6–3 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning on 6 April. While in the AHL, he played in 74 games and scored 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points. On 1 May 2019, Blidh signed a two-year, two-way contract extension with the Bruins.[13]

Blidh appeared in 10 total games for Boston during the shortened 2020–21 season, recording one goal. On 17 July 2021, the Bruins signed Blidh to a one-year, two-way contract with an NHL cap hit of $750,000.[14] In his seventh year with the Bruins in the 2021–22 season, Blidh played the full season in Boston, appearing in a career-high 32 games, recording 2 goals and 9 points in a depth forward role.

Colorado Avalanche

As a free agent from the Bruins, Blidh was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Colorado Avalanche, on 3 August 2022.[15] After a successful training camp and pre-season, Blidh made the Avalanche opening season roster for the 2022–23 season. After serving as an healthy scratch, Blidh was re-assigned to begin his year with AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, before shortly returning to the Avalanche and making his debut in a 4–3 overtime defeat to the Winnipeg Jets on 19 October 2022.[16] Blidh went scoreless through 14 games with the Avalanche over the first half of the season before returning to the Eagles.

New York Rangers

On 3 March 2023, Blidh was traded by the Avalanche to the New York Rangers in exchange for fellow Swedish forward Gustav Rydahl.[17] Assigned directly to AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, Blidh increased his offensive output, in recording 7 goals and 11 points in 17 regular season games. In the post-season, Blidh finished third in team scoring in notching 7 points through 9 playoff contests.

On 8 June 2023, Blidh opted to forgo free agency in agreeing to a two-year, two-way contract extension with the Rangers.[18]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 Frölunda HC J20 43 17 10 27 80 6 1 2 3 0
2013–14 Frölunda HC J20 27 11 14 25 20 — — — — —
2013–14 Frölunda HC SHL 24 0 5 5 2 6 1 2 3 0
2013–14 Karlskrona HK Allsv 11 1 1 2 6 — — — — —
2014–15 Frölunda HC J20 1 1 1 2 2 — — — — —
2014–15 Frölunda HC SHL 48 5 0 5 26 13 1 0 1 4
2015–16 Providence Bruins AHL 65 10 4 14 48 — — — — —
2016–17 Providence Bruins AHL 53 10 6 16 41 17 1 0 1 6
2016–17 Boston Bruins NHL 19 1 1 2 7 — — — — —
2017–18 Providence Bruins AHL 71 11 15 26 36 4 2 0 2 6
2017–18 Boston Bruins NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2018–19 Providence Bruins AHL 74 10 13 23 94 4 1 1 2 2
2018–19 Boston Bruins NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2019–20 Providence Bruins AHL 4 2 0 2 14 — — — — —
2019–20 Boston Bruins NHL 7 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2020–21 Boston Bruins NHL 10 1 0 1 6 — — — — —
2020–21 Providence Bruins AHL 11 3 4 7 14 — — — — —
2021–22 Boston Bruins NHL 32 2 7 9 24 — — — — —
2022–23 Colorado Eagles AHL 36 6 6 12 48 — — — — —
2022–23 Colorado Avalanche NHL 14 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
2022–23 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 17 7 4 11 10 9 2 5 7 4
2023–24 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 64 7 10 17 77 10 2 0 2 14
2023–24 New York Rangers NHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
SHL totals 72 5 5 10 28 19 2 2 4 4
NHL totals 84 4 8 12 43 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2013 Sweden U18 5th 5 1 0 1 0
2015 Sweden WJC 4th 7 1 2 3 4
Junior totals 12 2 2 4 4

References

  1. ^ "The Boston Bruins Make Six Selections in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft". National Hockey League. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Frölunda HC 2013–14 player statistics". eliteprospects.com. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  3. ^ "Bruins Sign Anton Blidh to an Entry-Level Contract". National Hockey League. 29 May 2015. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Boston Bruins Make Roster Transactions". National Hockey League. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Anton Blidh". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Bruins Recall Anton Blidh From Providence". National Hockey League. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  7. ^ Russo, Eric (4 December 2016). "Blidh Brings Energy in NHL Debut". National Hockey League. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  8. ^ Haggerty, Joe (21 December 2018). "Blidh notches first NHL goal in Bruins' loss". nbcsports.com. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  9. ^ Clinton, Jared (13 January 2017). "Bruins' Blidh given major for hard hit that knocked Predators' Josi out of game". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Predators' Josi to miss at least 3 games after hit by Bruins' Blidh". The Score. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Bruins Assign Anton Blidh To Providence". National Hockey League. 21 January 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Bruins Sign Sean Kuraly and Anton Blidh". National Hockey League. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Bruins Sign Anton Blidh To 2-Year, 2-Way Contract Extension". National Hockey League. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Bruins Sign Anton Blidh To One-Year, Two-Way Contract". National Hockey League. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Avalanches signs Blidh". Colorado Avalanche. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Avs edged 4-3 in overtime by the Jets". Colorado Avalanche. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  17. ^ "NYR Acquire Anton Blidh from Colorado and Wyatt Kalynuk from Vancouver". New York Rangers. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  18. ^ "Rangers agree to terms with Anton Blidh". New York Rangers. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
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