With the Arizona Coyotes narrowly missing the playoffs, captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson has opted to join his country for the World Championships in Slovakia next month.
Despite missing the post-season for the seventh consecutive year, it was a solid campaign by the Coyotes and the first with Ekman-Larsson as the team’s sole captain – taking on the mantle after Shane Doan.
OEL himself performed to his usual high-level across the season, registering 14 goals and 44 total points in 81 regular season games – missing just one game through injury.