Leo Carlsson’s offseason was much less hectic this year than last year. After playing in the World Championships, getting drafted, and participating in development camp in 2023, Carlsson’s offseason in 2024 began in April after the Ducks season came to a close on April 18.
“We had some team events and stuff like a week after (the season ended),” Carlsson said. So (I went back home) maybe 10 days after (on) the 28th? Something like that. I was home until now basically. So, it was fun.”
Carlsson spent a week in Spain for a family vacation, but the rest of his offseason was back in Sweden. He said it was his fifth time going to Spain.
“First time in a while, so it was fun. Family time is nice too when you haven’t seen them for a while.”
Comparing, Projecting Carlsson’s Second-Year Point Total
During his offseason training, Carlsson worked with performance coach Emil Knutsson off the ice and player development coach Patrik Almström on the ice.
“Gain weight” and “gain muscle” were two of the priorities that Knutsson had for Carlsson, putting him through a rigorous training plan all summer. “A lot on the legs was the priority,” Carlsson said. “Whole body training. A lot of focus on the legs and speed.”
On the ice with Almström, there was a lot of focus on details in his turns inside the offensive zone. “There are so many details that I don’t think about,” Carlsson said.
Outside of hockey, golf is a hobby that Carlsson said he’s become “pretty good” at. He told Ducks Stream’s Alexis Downie that he’s probably top-5 on the team for best golfers.
“Swedish courses are so much easier than American courses,” Carlsson said. “But it’s fun. Hobby on the side that you want to be good at. Get your mind off hockey a little bit too.”
Carlsson took part in the Bayed Brand Invitational in his hometown of Karlstad over the summer––which included several other NHLers––with his group taking second place.
One of Carlsson’s summer highlights was meeting Bill Skarsgård, a Swedish actor known most notably for starring in the movie “It”.
“So random, to be honest,” Carlsson laughed. “This restaurant/bar, I know the owner a little bit and he knows Bill so we met up. So random, but it was fun. It was pretty cool.”
No longer on the game management plan that was set in place for his rookie season, Carlsson is now ready to take on a full NHL season without restrictions or limitations.
“I think (the plan worked) because I had a hectic summer. I didn’t have the time to practice so much during the summer. I had offseason training for like three weeks that summer, so it was good to get like a two-hour off-ice workout while the guys were playing in a game. It’s helped me a lot for sure.
“(This summer was) a lot different. I went home on April 28 and started working out like May 5th, maybe. Four months of working out, it was different, but it’s good for me too.”
What is Carlsson looking forward to the most this season?
“Get started. That’s the whole thing that matters. Play the games.”
