Karlsson Needs More Sleep, Talks Potential Meier Trade, Enjoying All-Star Game With Kids

The San Jose Sharks’ lone All-Star this season is Erik Karlsson.

With 66 points in 51 games, Karlsson leads all NHL defensemen in scoring so far.

During his media availability on Thursday, Karlsson discussed his revival this season, the equipment he uses, the emergence of Rasmus Dahlin, what the San Jose Sharks trading Timo Meier would signal to him, and how he’s celebrating his son Stellan’s first birthday today.

See most of Erik Karlsson’s interview here

Erik Karlsson, if he’s surprised by his success this season:

I rarely get surprised with myself. But I’m happy that it’s going well obviously. It’s been a tough couple years. I think that the organization and the team is going in a good direction.

We haven’t done as well as we were looking for to start the season. But I still feel like we’re moving in the right direction. That makes things a little easier.

Karlsson, on if he changed any of his preparation before this season:

No, I don’t think so.

The biggest thing maybe was going back to Sweden. I haven’t been back there [in], I think, four or five years prior to this, and it was nice to go back there and see some friends and family, and I bring my own family there. I trained with my old coach back there, that I have had for pretty much my entire career over here.

Everything kind of just fell into place. I feel just as good now as best I did when I was 22. I can still do all the same things, and you know, I just need a little bit more sleep, but that’s not body issues. That’s more because [of] the kids.

Karlsson, on fellow Swedish all-star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin:

Coming in with the expectations that he had from everybody else or probably from himself as well, it’s not easy to live up to those, and being in Buffalo playing in a division where you’re playing a lot of good teams a lot. It’s been a tough go, I’m sure.

But as you can see, I think that he’s one of the guys that, whether he’s on a little bit of a better team or a little bit of a worse team, he’s still one of the main guys, and he’s showing that this year.

I think he moves really well. He’s a big guy. He’s a little bit bigger than me, even though I don’t like that. (laughs)

Karlsson joked, when asked what Skills competition that he's participating in, that he's going to be in the Mascot game.

He actually will not officially take part in Skills, says there weren't enough spots, so he's letting the younger guys enjoy it.

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 2, 2023

Karlsson, on his relationship with the brand Warrior:

They [got] me in a long time ago. No, I have a great relationship with the guys at Warrior, ever since I moved to them a long time ago, and I don’t even remember when. They got a great group of people. I know the guy who makes the sticks. I met him my first year, and like I said, I think we have a good relationship, and they’ve always been very accommodating with my needs and what I feel like I want to change.

Karlsson, on how he feels this All-Star game will be more enjoyable than others:

I think it’s gonna be really fun for me this year, especially since I have my own kids now, and at least one of them I can bring down for a little bit. She’ll enjoy being around the locker room and seeing the guys. So it’s fun to be back after a little bit of [time].

So I’m going to enjoy this weekend. I’ll probably be a little bit more receptive to my surroundings and everything around it and enjoy it a little bit differently.

Karlsson, on how he would view a Timo Meier trade and if it would be a signal that the San Jose Sharks are in for a long rebuild:

It’s an unfortunate part of the business when you’re in situations like this, you’re going to lose guys that you don’t want to sometimes.

I don’t know what’s going to happen with Timo per se. But he’s one of our premier players. He’s one of our best players. He’s been for a couple years now. He’s gonna have a good future ahead of him. We’ll see what happens with him, but I don’t think anyone wants to see him go. But that’s things that we unfortunately can’t control. We try and do the things that we can to the best of our ability. He’s the same, he shows up every day and he works really hard and he takes care of business.

Karlsson noted it's son Stellan's 1st birthday today: "We sang for him this morning. He didn't understand what was going on. We took a 3-and-a-half-hour car ride. He screamed the whole time…We'll get him a cake a little bit later on and he gets to try it for the first time." 🤣

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 2, 2023