Sam Lofquist Explained

Birth Date:15 March 1990
Birth Place:Somerset, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height Ft:6
Height In:2
Weight Lb:205
Position:Defence
Shoots:Right
League:Liiga
Team:Kookoo
Former Teams:Houston Aeros
SaiPa
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
EHC Biel
San Antonio Rampage
Kunlun Red Star
Linköping HC
Draft:Undrafted
Career Start:2011

Samuel Lofquist (born March 15, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing for Kookoo in the Finnish Liiga.

Playing career

Having attended the United States National U18 Team program, Lofquist enrolled at the University of Minnesota in 2008, left the Gophers in the course of his sophomore season[1] and then signed with the Guelph Storm Hockey Club of the Ontario Hockey League in November 2009.[2]

Following a short stint with the South Carolina Stingrays of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) in 2011, he took up an offer from IK Oskarshamn of Sweden's second division Allsvenskan.[3] He stayed there until the end of the 2012–13 campaign, establishing himself as a defenseman with scoring ability and then was signed by fellow Allsvenskan team Djurgårdens IF for the 2013–14 season.[4]

Lofquist received a contract offer from SaiPa Lappeenranta of Finland's top-flight Liiga after having completed the season with Djurgårdens IF and would spend two years with SaiPa, competing both in Liiga and in the Champions Hockey League.[5]

In May 2016, Lofquist penned a deal with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for the 2016–17 season, registering 13 points in 43 games.[6]

After spending the 2017–18 season in Switzerland with EHC Biel of the National League, Lofquist opted to halt his 6-year European career and return to North America as a free agent.

On July 30, 2018, he agreed to a one-year AHL contract with the San Antonio Rampage, affiliate to the St. Louis Blues of the NHL.[7] In returning to the AHL for the first time in seven years, Lofquist began the 2018–19 season on the Rampage's blueline second-pairing. Appearing in just 9 games through December, Lofquist opted to leave the Rampage and return abroad after securing a contract for the remainder of the season with Chinese KHL participant, Kunlun Red Star on December 25, 2018.[8] Lofquist played out the remainder of the season with the Red Star, posting 11 points in just 18 games.

On May 1, 2019, Lofquist opted to continue in the KHL, agreeing to a two-year contract on the opening day of free agency with Russian club, HC Sibir Novosibirsk.[9]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Team League GP GPG A Pts PIM
2006–07U.S. National Development TeamNAHL47861486610122
2007–08U.S. National Development TeamNAHL1442610
2008–09U. of MinnesotaWCHA3513410
2009–10U. of MinnesotaWCHA30006
2009–10Guelph StormOHL49531366750000
2010–11Guelph StormOHL62828365763580
2010–11Houston AerosAHL10110
2011–12South Carolina StingraysECHL10000
2011–12IK OskarshamnAllsv41710174260332
2012–13IK OskarshamnAllsv521312256462246
2013–14Djurgårdens IFAllsv51618243830000
2014–15SaiPaLiiga59919285763034
2015–16SaiPaLiiga581017275960112
2016–17Torpedo Nizhny NovgorodKHL4349133240112
2017–18EHC BielNL24491316514510
2018–19San Antonio RampageAHL911219
2018–19Kunlun Red StarKHL18381116
2019–20Linköping HCSHL33791668
2020–21Kunlun Red StarKHL21291119
2020-21SaiPaLiiga111456
2021-22KookooLiiga26459600000
Liiga totals117193655116123146
KHL totals82926356740112

International

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sam Lofquist quits men's hockey team; drops out of school mndaily.com - The Minnesota Daily. www.mndaily.com. 2016-05-03.
  2. Web site: Storm Sign Sam Lofquist - OurSports Central. www.oursportscentral.com. 2016-05-03.
  3. Web site: Amerikansk back till IKO. Hockeysverige. 2016-05-03.
  4. Web site: Lofquist will return to Sweden to continue hockey career next.... Newman. Dave. New Richmond News. 2016-05-03.
  5. Web site: Statistics Champions Hockey League. www.championshockeyleague.net. 2016-05-03.
  6. Web site: Сэм Лофквист пополнил оборонительные редуты "Торпедо". ХК Торпедо Нижний Новгород - официальный сайт хоккейного клуба. 2016-05-03.
  7. Web site: Rampage sign Trevor Smith and Sam Lofquist to AHL contracts . oursportscentral.com . 2018-07-30 . 2018-07-30.
  8. Web site: Sam Lofquist joins Kunlun . . 2018-12-25 . 2018-12-25.
  9. Web site: Sibir improve defensive depth . . May 1, 2019 . May 1, 2019 . Russian.