Erik Karlsson’s had a terrific career in the NHL so far and he’s still just 26 years old.
He already owns two Norris Trophies (2011-12, 2014-15) and his ability to move the puck and put up points from the blue line is second to none.
Last year, Karlsson played in all 82 games and he finished with an incredible 82 points.
He’s on pace to do exactly the same thing this year, as he’s scored 27 points in the first 27 games of the season. Only Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov and Evgeni Malkin have more points than the Sens defenseman in 2016-17.
So with that in mind, it’s not surprising that Karlsson’s crushing some important franchise records so early in his career.
In Wednesday’s game against San Jose, Karlsson became the team’s all-time leading scorer among defensemen with 412 points.
Wade Redden, who held the record before Karlsson, picked up 410 points as a Senator, but he accomplished that in 332 more games. That’s equivalent to four more seasons.
Predictably, he downplayed the accomplishment.
“Right now, not much,” Karlsson said of his new record, per the Ottawa Sun. “It’s fun in a way, but it’s something that you reflect back on when your career is over. Hopefully mine isn’t for a long time.”
Here’s something about Karlsson you might not have known: He currently leads the league in blocked shots with 78, which is eight more than Flames defenseman Mark Giordano, who’s second.
Via @EliasSports: @ErikKarlsson65 is 1 of 2 active D to lead his current team in career points by a defenseman (Dustin Byfuglien w/ WPG/ATL) pic.twitter.com/bwLEgVNt1n
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 8, 2016