Sam Lofquist

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

Sam Lofquist
Born (1990-03-15) March 15, 1990
Somerset, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
Liiga team
Former teams		 Kookoo
Houston Aeros
SaiPa
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
EHC Biel
San Antonio Rampage
Kunlun Red Star
Linköping HC
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2011–present

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
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2006–07 U.S. National Development Team NAHL 47 8 6 14 86 6 1 0 1 22
2007–08 U.S. National Development Team NAHL 14 4 2 6 10 — — — — —
2008–09 U. of Minnesota WCHA 35 1 3 4 10 — — — — —
2009–10 U. of Minnesota WCHA 3 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
2009–10 Guelph Storm OHL 49 5 31 36 67 5 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Guelph Storm OHL 62 8 28 36 57 6 3 5 8 0
2010–11 Houston Aeros AHL 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2011–12 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2011–12 IK Oskarshamn Allsv 41 7 10 17 42 6 0 3 3 2
2012–13 IK Oskarshamn Allsv 52 13 12 25 64 6 2 2 4 6
2013–14 Djurgårdens IF Allsv 51 6 18 24 38 3 0 0 0 0
2014–15 SaiPa Liiga 59 9 19 28 57 6 3 0 3 4
2015–16 SaiPa Liiga 58 10 17 27 59 6 0 1 1 2
2016–17 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod KHL 43 4 9 13 32 4 0 1 1 2
2017–18 EHC Biel NL 24 4 9 13 16 5 1 4 5 10
2018–19 San Antonio Rampage AHL 9 1 1 2 19 — — — — —
2018–19 Kunlun Red Star KHL 18 3 8 11 16 — — — — —
2019–20 Linköping HC SHL 33 7 9 16 68 — — — — —
2020–21 Kunlun Red Star KHL 21 2 9 11 19 — — — —
2020-21 SaiPa Liiga 11 1 4 5 6
2021-22 Kookoo Liiga 26 4 5 9 6 0 0 0 0 0
Liiga totals 117 19 36 55 116 12 3 1 4 6
KHL totals 82 9 26 35 67 4 0 1 1 2

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2008 United States WJC18 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 0 0 0 6
Junior totals 7 0 0 0 6

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