Stars’ faith in Karlström rewarded with strong season | TheAHL.com

Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer

Fredrik Karlström spent months – months of physical rehabilitation and recovery – working his way back for another chance to take part in the fight for a Calder Cup championship.

The 2022-23 season had been a promising one. The heady two-way forward had collected 26 points in 47 games for the Texas Stars. He had played five more games in the NHL with Dallas – another pay-off on a lengthy road that began when the Stars selected him in the third round of the 2016 NHL Draft, a road that wound through the Swedish junior and second-tier levels before Karlström played four seasons in the top-flight Swedish Hockey League with Linköping HC and Växjö HC.

Karlström had a strong first season in North America in 2021-22, including his first three NHL games. Then came a serious injury in a game against Coachella Valley on Mar. 12, 2023. He missed the rest of the regular season. He missed the Stars’ division semifinal sweep of Rockford. He missed a hard-fought five-game loss to Milwaukee in the division finals. He missed all of it.

“You hurt for the player,” Texas Stars head coach Neil Graham said. “You feel for the player.”

Still, Dallas gave Karlström a one-year contract extension last June. It was a boost coming after a significant career setback.

“It showed that they really believed in me,” Karlström said. “They really showed that they believed in me. When I got the injury, they treated me like I was a regular NHL’er, I felt like, so I’m really thankful for that.”

He also made the most of his extended time out of the lineup. He doubled down on his nutritional and strength work. If he had to be off the ice, he made sure not to waste any time.

“I would say I came back a lot stronger than I was before,” Karlström said.

Secondly, he made it back in time for opening night on Oct. 13. Moreover, he played every one of Texas’s 72 regular-season games this season, validation for all of his rehab work.

“I didn’t think I was going to be back that quickly,” Karlström admitted. “To be able to play the first game of the season and then make it all the way to 72 games, that brought me a lot of confidence.”

Said Graham, “He did a great job coming back this year to be able to start on time. Not only did he start camp on time, he had a very consistent year. It was the most consistent of his three seasons over in North America. He’s a mainstay in our lineup.”

He also…