NHL release (
NHL.com)
Ottawa Senators release (
senators.nhl.com)
OTTAWA, Ontario – Former Northeastern men's hockey assistant captain
Ludwig Karlsson will forgo his final two years of NCAA eligibility after signing a two-year, entry level contract with the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League on Friday, July 26.
The Stockholm, Sweden, native finished his two-year stay on Huntington Avenue with 34 career points, netting 15 goals and 19 assists along the way. In both his rookie and sophomore seasons, Karlsson put away three power play goals.
Karlsson's second season at Northeastern was shortened due to injury. The 6-3 forward was injured at Harvard on Dec. 29 and attempted a comeback against New Hampshire on Feb. 1, but was sidelined the rest of the way following that outing.
In his first season as a Husky, Karlsson was NU's headliner, becoming the first freshman to lead the team in scoring (10-16-26) since Chad Costello in 2006-07. With that, Karlsson became the 19th Husky in program history to be named to the Pro Ambitions Hockey East All-Rookie Team in 2012.
Karlsson finished 12th, nationally, amongst all college rookies in points per game (0.81) and ended up finishing third in Hockey East in that same category. Upon conclusion of the 2011-12 season, Karlsson was voted Northeastern's Ed Arrington Rookie of the Year.
In Northeastern's 9-2 throttling of Notre Dame on Dec. 2, 2011, Karlsson became the first Husky to notch four points in a game since Chris Donovan accomplished the feat against Boston College on Feb. 2, 2009. He was also the first to record four assists in a contest since Mike Morris on Jan. 19, 2007.
In his rookie season, Karlsson posted a career-best four-game point streak from Oct. 14 to Oct. 29, 2011.
Karlsson was able to display his talents the past couple of summers, most recently at Nashville's development camp. Following his rookie campaign, Karlsson was invited to skate at Anaheim's camp alongside teammates
Josh Manson and
Kevin Roy.
Karlsson becomes just the third Husky in program history to join the Ottawa Senators franchise. Rick Schuhwerk and Erik Kaminski signed with the Senators in 1993 and 1994, respectively.
Now that the contract has been signed, Karlsson becomes the second student-athlete from Northeastern's 2012-13 roster to turn pro. NU alum
Chris Rawlings signed a one-year deal with the Portland Pirates (Phoenix Coyotoes affiliate) of the AHL on July 19, 2013.
Karlsson is anticipated to start the 2013-14 season with Ottawa's AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators.
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