Quick Facts
Virgo
Biography
Alexander Wennberg (born 22 September 1994) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Blue Jackets in the first round, 14th overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Before joining the NHL, Wennberg played professionally in the Swedish Hockey League.
Playing career
For the 2010–11 season, Wennberg joined the Djurgårdens IF under-18 team, scoring 11 goals and 23 assists. The next year, he moved up to the organization's under-20 team and also represented Sweden at the 2011 U19 World Junior A Challenge and 2012 U18 World Junior Championship tournaments. He also spent time with Djurgårdens IF's Elitserien senior team but did not appear in any games.
Wennberg was ranked fifth out of all 2013 NHL Entry Draft eligible European skaters and was ultimately selected 14th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. In May 2014, he signed a three-year, entry level contract with the Blue Jackets.
Wennberg made his NHL debut on 9 October 2014 against the Buffalo Sabres, where he also recorded his first NHL point. He was re-assigned to Columbus' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, after playing in seven NHL games, as defenceman Ryan Murray was activated off injured reserve. However, he was recalled to Columbus the next day after the team placed Matt Calvert on injured reserve. Wennberg scored his first career NHL goal on 22 December in a 5–1 loss to the Nashville Predators.
Wennberg missed the first five games of the 2015–16 season to recover from a concussion he suffered during the Blue Jackets' season opener against the New York Rangers. After returning, Wennberg was again injured in early November and was subsequently placed on injured reserve.
The following season, Wennberg played in 80 regular season games and recorded career-highs in goals (13) and assists (46). On 1 September 2017, he signed a new six-year, $29.4 million contract with the Blue Jackets carrying an annual salary cap hit of $4.9 million.
During the first game of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, Wennberg was injured by a check from Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson and was removed from the game. Due to this, the Blue Jackets earned a power play which Columbus scored on to tie the game. The Blue Jackets went on to win the game in overtime. Wennberg played two more games in the series but the Blue Jackets failed to advance.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2011–12 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 42 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Djurgårdens IF | SHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Djurgårdens IF | Allsv | 46 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Frölunda HC | SHL | 50 | 16 | 5 | 21 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 68 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 69 | 8 | 32 | 40 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 80 | 13 | 46 | 59 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 66 | 8 | 27 | 35 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 75 | 2 | 23 | 25 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 358 | 35 | 144 | 179 | 69 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Sweden | WJC18 |  | 6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2013 | Sweden | WJC | | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2014 | Sweden | WJC | | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2016 | Sweden | WC | 6th | 8 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | |
| 2019 | Sweden | WC | 5th | 6 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 19 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 2 | ||||
| Senior totals | 14 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 4 | ||||
