HOW SWEDE IT IS FOR SENS
Alfredsson mentoring Karlsson
Erik Karlsson says he has learned his share of lessons in his year as Ottawa Senators captain.
Chief among them is the notion that if you go out of your way looking for trouble, trouble will find you.
“Don’t panic too soon,” Karlsson says of his roller-coaster ride after taking over from Jason Spezza and wearing the “C” during the 2014-15 season.
“People put a lot of pressure on certain things, when things don’t go the way you want. You start looking for questions, when sometimes there’s not an answer to be explained — or whatever you want to call it.”
Karlsson’s season mirrored that of the team; inconsistent in the opening few months, on fire in the final months, leading to winning his second Norris Trophy as NHL defenceman of the year.
At times early on, he acknowledges trying to do too much while trying to improve a situation.
“You have to look at the bigger picture sometimes and relax a bit, even if it doesn’t go your way. Just because you’re doing one thing, that doesn’t mean it’s the wrong thing. “For me, it’s just about patience.” Along the way, Karlsson, 25, says he has welcomed advice of Daniel Alfredsson, his close friend who served as Senators captain from 1999-2013.
Since Alfredsson has returned as the senior adviser of hockey operations, the two talk often. During Saturday’s morning skate, Alfredsson and Karlsson had a lengthy talk at centre ice.
“He has always been a very calm person, very rational,” Karlsson said.
“Questions are always going to be asked when times are not going the way you want them to. But you can win 10 games and do the same things, then do the same things and lose 10 games. You have to know who you are and stick to that, but at same time, be open to certain things and grow in certain ways.”
Don’t get the wrong impression. Karlsson and Alfredsson do offer different approaches. While Alfredsson was typically the last person off the ice during practice sessions, looking for company in his post-practice games of keepaway, Karlsson has never bought into that approach.
Following some trial and error, he believes being a successful captain isn’t all that much different from being a successful player. Consistency is the key.
“You have to try and pretty much be the same every day and if you do that, you expect that from others,” he said. “I try to be not as much up and down as I used to be, but I think that also comes with experience.”
Even though he gets the most attention because he’s the captain, he says he wants and needs the help of everyone.
“I don’t find I have any more pressure on me, just for being captain,” he said.
“I think that guys equally help out and take responsibility. You can’t expect too much out of yourself, just because you get named captain or you get named this or that. You have to keep your expectations reasonable.”