Eric Oersberg for 17 years built a career as a hockey player. The goalkeeper, nicknamed the "Swedish Wall", played in seven different teams and was a member of the Swedish national team. This year, he announced his retirement from professional hockey.
The beginning of a sports career
Thirty-four years ago, on March 8, Eric Ehrsberg, a hockey player of the Swedish national team and a free agent, was born. He was born in the city of Sala. From an early age he began to get involved in sports, attended hockey training. Goalkeeper height - 1 m 82 cm, weight - 74 kg. For his stamina and ability to repel complex shots, he received two nicknames: “Iceberg” and “Swedish Wall”.
At the age of 17, Eric Oersberg became a member of the Westeros team, which played in Sweden’s second strongest division. The hockey player played in the club until 2005. Then he signed a contract with the team from Jönköping “XB-71” and ended up in the Higher League of the Swedish Championship. In 2006, he took the position of the main goalkeeper.
In the same season, the hockey player was selected as a member of the national team for holding matches in two tournaments (Karjala Cup and Channel One Cup). This was Eric's debut appearance in the national team of Sweden. In 2007, the player earned his first prize, on March 22 he was awarded as the best goalkeeper of the country’s season with the Honken Trophy trophy. And at the end of May there was news about the departure of Ersberg from the "XB-71." He received an offer from the American Los Angeles Kings. But after arriving in California in 2007, the hockey player was taken to the Manchester Monarchs, with whom he played for a whole season in the United States HL.
Successful NHL Debut
In 2008, Eric Ersberg replaced the Kings goalkeeper Dan Cloutier in the NHL based on a franchise in the battle with Chicago Blackhawks. The Swedish hockey player stood firmly on goal and repelled 18 shots from 19. For a new player, this was an amazing result. So Ersberg in the “Kings” played over 50 matches in three seasons of the NHL. He performed under number 31. In 2010, the Swedish hockey player was transferred to Manchester, but Eric did not want to stay on this team. On his initiative, the contract was broken.
Transition to the Russian team, game statistics
Further, Ersberg's career continued in the KHL in the hockey club from Ufa "Salavat Yulaev." With the advent of this team, he almost instantly took the position of the main goalkeeper, he was assigned the 40th number.
According to the results of the 2010-2011 season, Eric Ersberg became the owner of the Gagarin Cup. The statistics of the games of the Swedish hockey player for the first year in “Salavat” was as follows: 18 matches in the regular season (out of 476 shots reflected 441) and 20 in the playoffs (out of 541 attacks he recaptured 505). According to the results of two seasons, its reliability coefficient amounted to over 90%.
In 2011, following the results of the KHL, the goalkeeper was awarded the prestigious prize among Russian hockey players - the Golden Helmet. Also this year, Eric Oersberg defended the honor of the Swedish national team at the World Cup and won a silver medal. In the spring of 2012, by agreement of both parties, the contract of the Russian team and the goalkeeper was terminated.
The final stage in the career of a hockey player
In May 2012, Eric becomes a player in the Ukrainian HC Donbass, in which he played in 21 matches in the KHL for one season, his reliability coefficient was 91.2%. Then, on October 11, 2013, he transferred to Iserlohn Roosters (Germany) and took part in the German hockey league in regular championships and playoffs. On May 25, 2014, the goalkeeper returned to the team he knew from JV “XB-71”. He takes part in the Swedish Championships. Eric Oersberg in two seasons managed to spend only thirty games.
During his hockey career in the NHL and KHL (from 1999 to 2016), the goalkeeper appeared on ice in 315 matches. As a result, he was able to repel 5882 throws from 6611 opponents. For almost the entire sports career, Eric Ersberg was worried about a chronic back injury. Due to unbearable pain in 2016, he decided to leave professional hockey soon.