BOSTON -- It would be difficult to find someone who loves playing hockey more than Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson.
The 26-year-old Swede is having one of his best seasons while helping the Senators vie for a Stanley Cup playoff berth. Karlsson also deserves consideration for the Norris Trophy, an award he has won twice. He represented Team Sweden at the World Cup of Hockey last fall and entered this NHL season knowing that the Senators had the potential to reach the postseason.
He recently spent a few minutes with ESPN.com for a brief Q&A.
ESPN.com: During training camp for Team Sweden in September in Gothenburg, you said you were focused on the best-on-best tournament but knew the regular season would be different. Why did you think that?
Karlsson: It was two separate seasons, in a way. I think that [last spring], once the playoffs were over or your team was eliminated, everybody started preparing as if they were playing for a national team. You prepared for that, and not so much maybe for the [NHL] training camp and regular season. Once the World Cup ended, you had to restart a bit. It was a little bit different, but it was the same for everybody who went, especially for guys who went deep in the playoffs. It was probably a little bit harder on them, especially guys that have been playing [in the playoffs] year in and year out.
For me, it was a challenge and a fun experience. It forces you to do different things a little bit and it gets you out of your comfort zone. I like that challenge and I thought I did a good job as anybody in trying to juggle those two things.
ESPN.com: You also wondered, back in September, how those players who participated in the World Cup would feel physically come March and April. Now that we're at this point, how do you feel?
Karlsson: This time of year, you're always tired. I think everybody is. This is what we want. We want to play a lot of games and we want to have long years and long seasons. So I'm taking this as a challenge, and I think it's fun. You're going to have to do a few different things when your body gets worn down, but it's all about a learning curve and what you need to do to prepare yourself and be successful at the end of the year, because this is the time of the year you want to feel your best and perform at the highest level. To me, it's just fun and it forces you to really pay attention to certain things.
ESPN.com: You've earned a silver medal in the Olympics and you've discussed in the past what it means to you to play for the national team. So do you think the NHL should allow its players to participate in the Winter Games?
Karlsson: Absolutely.
ESPN.com: Why?
Karlsson: It's one of the most important things for the hockey community outside of North America, probably, to watch the superstars play at the same time. Coming from Sweden, we never got the opportunity to watch NHL games, or watch NHL live, and you don't see it on TV as much. The Olympics were probably the only time that we really sat down and watched everybody together.
For the sake of the game, not allowing us to go is going to cause a lot of damage. I think it's going to hurt the hockey community around the world and I think it's important for us to set a good example in one of the biggest tournaments in the world that not only hockey fans watch, but everybody else as well. It's an opportunity to let everybody see how good the game has become and get the opportunity to see the best players at the same time. It's easy marketing for the league to do by just sending guys, and guys want to go. I don't think I have ever spoken to anyone who has ever been in an Olympics, or would have an opportunity to go to the next one, who doesn't want to go. That's probably one thing that we will agree unanimously on is going to the Olympics. So I see no reason why they would hinder us from doing that. To me, personally, I've played in one and I hope I get the opportunity to play every single one as long as I play hockey.
ESPN.com: When you hear the word "playoffs," what does that mean to you?
Karlsson: It's fun. Playoffs are pretty much what, if not everything, you play for throughout the year and every team does the same thing. It's a long haul to get there and once you get this close, you have to try to distance yourself from it a little bit because you still have some work to do. We still have to figure a few things out, but again, that's why we play this sport -- to get into the playoffs and have a chance.
I'm just happy we've been able to get ourselves back there since we missed it last year. It's one of those things that, when you look back on your career, you look at how many games you played and what you've done, but also how many times you've been in the playoffs, how deep you've gone in the playoffs and how well you've done in the playoffs. If you make the playoffs, those are the moments you remember about the whole year. We're excited to be in the position we're in and I hope we can keep moving forward here, win some more games and hopefully finish it off before the regular season is done.
ESPN.com: What goes into the fine art of blocking shots, because you've reached a career-high with 194 in that category this season?
Karlsson: I don't know and I don't have a real good answer for you, either. I don't know why I do it either. [Smiles.] It's been one of the things that has been translated into my game and it's been a way for me to play defensively the last couple of years. It's been helping me out and hopefully it's been helping the team out as well. It's one of those freak things, and that's the way the league has been going a bit. There are a lot more shots blocked these days, and I just happen to be one who's been hit a lot [with pucks] for some reason.
ESPN.com: Most players probably expect to see Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid lead the league in scoring, but when you see the Bruins' Brad Marchand near the top, what do you think?
Karlsson: He's a really good player. He's been a really good player for a long time. He pays a lot of attention to both ends of the ice, but obviously this year he's been really breaking out and showing the offensive ability that he's probably had for a number of years, but hadn't really found a way to translate into his game every day. I met him at the All-Star Game. He's very dedicated to hockey. He's a really nice guy, and whether he plays harder and harder, or dirty on the ice, I still think he cares a lot about the game, and cares a lot about his teammates and cares about winning. He plays a hard game every night and this year he's found a good balance in being able to play both ends of the ice and still generate a lot more offensively. Good for him.
It's good when you see different guys doing things like this and I hope he has a really good rest of the year -- but hopefully against us he can stay a little more quiet. Again, he's a guy with great passion who cares a lot about the game and cares about winning and has found a really good balance in his game.