Carl Filip Anton Forsberg (; born 13 August 1994) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who is a left winger and alternate captain for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Forsberg was selected by the Washington Capitals in the first round, 11th overall, of the 2012 NHL entry draft but was traded to the Predators before ever playing for the team.
As a native of Sweden, Forsberg has represented his home country at both the junior and senior levels at international tournaments. While representing Sweden, he has won five silver medals and two gold medals.
Playing career Swedish career Forsberg had standout performances at both the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Břeclav, Czech Republic, and the World U18 Championships Tournament in Brno, Czech Republic, where he was a member of the silver medal-winning Sweden teams. At the World Juniors in Brno, he was also named Best Forward of the tournament. In the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's final rankings, Forsberg was the highest-rated European-based forward available in the 2012 NHL entry draft. He was eventually selected 11th overall by the Washington Capitals and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the team on 13 July 2012.
Forsberg was returned to his former club, Leksands IF, on loan for the duration of the 2012–13 season. He again improved upon his season totals for the third consecutive year to finish with 33 points in 38 games to help Leksand gain promotion to return to the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) for the following season.
Nashville Predators
Early years and development (2013–2015) On 3 April 2013, while playing in Allsvenskan, Forsberg was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Martin Erat and Michael Latta. Forsberg later stated that this trade rattled him because it was unusual for teams to trade first-round draft picks before they played in the NHL. When his Swedish season ended, Forsberg joined the Predators in Tennessee for the remainder of the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season. After participating in one practice with the team, Forsberg made his NHL debut on 14 April 2013 against the Detroit Red Wings. He recorded two shots on goal and finished with a minus 2 rating through 18:37 minutes of ice time. Upon making his debut at 18 years, 244 days, Forsberg became the third-youngest player in franchise history to suit up for the Predators. He later recorded his first career NHL point with an assist on David Legwand's 200th career NHL goal on 24 April against the Calgary Flames. He was reassigned to the Predators American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, on 25 April for one game to ensure he only played five games at the NHL level. This was because the Predators would burn a year of his entry-level contract if he played over five games in one season.
Forsberg scored his first NHL goal on 8 October 2013, against the Minnesota Wild to help the Predators earn their first win of the 2013–14 season. He recorded five points over 11 games with the Predators before being reassigned to the Admirals on 7 November 2013 to get more playing time. While he was recalled back to the NHL level on 14 November, Forsberg suffered an upper body injury the following day and was sidelined for numerous games. He was activated off the Predators injured reserve list in mid-December and returned to the AHL. At the end of the month, after collecting eight points in seven games with the Admirals, Forsberg was loaned to Team Sweden to compete at the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He was crowned tournament MVP after finishing with a silver medal and 12 points through seven games. Forsberg returned to the Admirals lineup following the tournament. He was briefly recalled to the NHL in late March but was returned to the Admirals the following day. Forsberg finished the 2013–14 season with five points through 13 NHL games and 34 points through 47 AHL games.
Due to his limited number of NHL games and young age, Forsberg was still considered a rookie in the 2014–15 season. He began the season tied for the team lead in scoring while playing on the Predators' second line with Derek Roy and Craig Smith. By mid-October, Forberg had accumulated five points as the Predators maintained a 3–2–0 record. His play through October led to a swift promotion to the Predators first line with James Neal and Mike Ribeiro. As a member of this line, Forsberg continued to lead all NHL rookies in scoring and broke Alexander Radulov's franchise rookie record by maintaining a seven-game point streak. He also led the entire NHL with a plus-minus rating of +19. While Forsberg credited much of his success to playing with Neal and Ribeiro, head coach Peter Laviolette said that he was impressed with Forsberg since training camp. After finishing November leading all rookies with nine goals and six assists, Forsberg was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month. He continued to score at a rapid pace and continued to lead all rookies in goals, assists, shots on net, and points through December. Forsberg maintained his lead among rookies through January and set two new franchise rookie records. On 5 January, Forsberg surpassed Radulov's franchise record for points by a rookie with his 38th point of the season. Shortly thereafter, he also matched Martin Erat's franchise record for assists by a rookie. As a result of his accomplishments, Forsberg was one of six rookies selected to participate in the All-Star Skills Competition at the 2015 National Hockey League All-Star Game. However, Forsberg, Aaron Ekblad, and Johnny Gaudreau were eventually promoted to the All-Star Game as injury replacements. He subsequently became the first Predators player in franchise history to score a goal in an NHL All-Star Game. Forsberg finished the month of January as the Predators' new franchise leader in assists and points by a rookie. On February 12, during a game against the Winnipeg Jets, Forsberg surpassed Radulov's franchise record for most goals by a rookie with his 19th of the season. This also marked his 11th point (five goals and seven assists) over 11 games. He finished February clinching another rookie record from Radulov with his fourth game-winning goal. While he experienced a nine-game scoring drought to start March, he broke this streak by recording assists in back-to-back games against the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild. Forsberg then went on to score eight points over nine games, including three points in his first game against the Washington Capitals. On March 28, Forsberg recorded a goal and two assists against the Capitals to help the Predators clinch a spot in the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Although Forsberg finished the regular season third among all rookies with 26 goals and 37 assists, he was not named a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year. He was also one of two players on the team to reach 60 points, marking the first time the Predators had two players reach this milestone in seven seasons. Forsberg made his postseason debut with the Predators in Game 1 of the Western Conference first round against the Chicago Blackhawks. With the Predators facing an 0–2 series deficit, Forsberg recorded his first playoff goal in Game 3 to help lift the Predators to their first win of the series. He subsequently became the youngest player in franchise history to score a playoff goal at 20 years and 247 days. Later on, Forsberg also recorded his first playoff hat-trick to help the Predators avoid elimination. This also marked the first hat-trick scored in franchise history. Despite his efforts, the Predators were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks in Game 6. As a result of his play during his rookie season, Forsberg was voted to the 2014-15 NHL All-Rookie Team and placed fourth in Calder Trophy voting.
Setting records and Stanley Cup Final run (2015–2019) Forsberg returned to the Predators lineup for the 2015–16 season but struggled early to find consistency in scoring. As such, he was limited to only two goals and 11 points through the first 20 games of the season. Forsberg eventually broke his 17-game scoring drought in a 3–2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on 27 November 2015. Despite breaking this drought, Forsberg only began to pick up momentum in late December when he scored five goals over eight games. He continued to score throughout January and February and quickly accumulated 13 goals over 21 games. During this time, he also set numerous franchise records and was honoured as the NHL's First Star of the Week at the end of February. On February 23, during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Forsberg became the youngest player in franchise history to record a regular-season hat trick. Two days later, he recorded a second natural hat-trick and one assist to lift the Predators to a 5–0 win over the St. Louis Blues. This marked the shortest period between natural hat tricks in NHL history since 1987–88 and made him the first player in Predators history to record multiple hat tricks in a single season. His 12 goals in February also marked a new franchise record for most goals in one month. As a result of these accomplishments, Forsberg was recognized as the NHL's First Star of the Week. Forsberg added two goals through two games in March to become the first Predators player to average at least one goal per game over a 14-game span. On 25 March, Forsberg and Neal became the first pair of Predators to reach 30 goals since Paul Kariya and Steve Sullivan in 2005–06. Forsberg finished the regular season leading the team with 33 goals and 64 points as they qualified for the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs. His 33 goals tied Jason Arnott's franchise record for most goals in a single-season. However, Forsberg was less successful in the playoffs as he accumulated only two goals through 14 games. It was later revealed that he had been suffering from a back injury throughout the playoffs but played regardless. While he was not nominated for any awards, he placed 10th in Frank J. Selke Trophy voting as the NHL's best defensive forward. Before he was set to become a restricted free agent on 1 July, Forsberg signed a six-year, $36 million contract to remain in Nashville on 27 June.