Adrian Kempe

MODO Hockey

Kempe made his Swedish Hockey League (SHL) debut playing with Modo Hockey during the 2013–14 season.^[1] At the end of the season, Kempe was selected in the first round (29th overall) by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.^[2] He returned to Modo for the 2014–15 season.

Los Angeles Kings

Early years (2014–2018)

Following the conclusion of his season with MODO, Kempe signed an amateur try-out agreement with the Kings American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs for the remainder of their regular season and the 2015 Calder Cup playoffs.^[3] He also signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Kings for the 2015–16 season.^[4] Kempe made his AHL debut on 17 April against the Portland Pirates playing on the second line, but impressed head coach Mike Stothers enough that he was expected to move to the first line in his second game.^[5] Over his next two games, Kempe played on the Monarchs top line alongside Brian O'Neill and Jordan Weal.^[6] Once the Monarchs qualified for the Calder Cup playoffs, Kempe developed into an integral role with the team. He scored his first AHL playoff goal in Game 5 of their first-round series against the Pirates to help the Monarchs advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.^[7] Kempe then scored goals in Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals to help the Monarchs sweep the Hartford Wolf Pack.^[8] In Game 5 of the Calder Cup Finals, Kempe and Vincent LoVerde scored within four minutes of each other to help the Monarchs clinch their first Calder Cup.^[9] This would also be the Monarchs final season in the AHL as Kings announced that they would be moving their AHL affiliate to Ontario, California and renaming them the Ontario Reign.^[10] Kempe finished the playoffs with eight goals and one assist for nine points over 17 games.^[11]

After attending the Kings 2015 training camp, Kempe was re-assigned to the Reign for the 2015–16 season.^[12] As he was coming to the NHL from Europe, he was eligible to spend the full 2015–16 season in the AHL if he failed to qualify for the NHL team.^{[13][notes 1]} Due to injuries throughout the lineup, Kempe spent the majority of the season playing centre as opposed to his typical winger position.^[15] Kempe began the season scoring one goal over eight games before recording his first AHL hat-trick on 5 November to lead the team 4–1 over the San Diego Gulls.^[16] He missed some time in December to compete with Team Sweden at the 2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.^[17] He finished his rookie season with the Reign with 11 goals and 17 assists over 55 games.^[11]

Kempe began the 2016–17 season with the Reign after attending the Los Angeles Kings training camp.^[18] As a centreman, Kempe struggled at the start of the season, scoring three goals and two assists over 16 games. He was switched back to left wing on 3 December to improve his offensive play.^[19] He slowly improved through the next few months and added 14 points by mid-February.^[20] Kempe earned his first NHL recall on 15 February 2017,^[21] and he made his NHL debut the following day against the Arizona Coyotes.^[20] He recorded his first NHL point on 21 February by assisting on Tyler Toffoli's goal against the Colorado Avalanche^[22] and scored his first goal on 11 March against the Washington Capitals.^[23] Kempe played in 25 games for the Kings, recording two goals and four assists for six points, before being re-assigned to the AHL on 10 April.^[22] Kempe finished the regular season with the Reign with 12 goals and eight assists for 20 points over 46 games.^[11]

When attending the Kings 2017 training camp, Kempe was put on a line with Justin Auger and Kyle Clifford.^[24] After qualifying for the Kings 2017–18 opening night roster, Kempe switched from No. 39 to No. 9.^[25] He had worn the No. 9 growing up when playing soccer, in honour of Fernando Torres, and 10 when playing hockey.^[26] Kempe began the season on a line with Michael Cammalleri and Trevor Lewis^[27] but struggled to score through his first five games.^[28] After tallying his first NHL hat-trick on 18 October in a 5–1 win over the Montreal Canadiens,^[29] he added three more over the next four games.^[30] An injury to Jeff Carter in late October resulted in Kempe moving onto the Kings second line with Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson.^[31] Through his first 21 games, Kempe tallied 13 points and was tied for third in goals among rookies with seven.^[32] While playing with Toffoli and Pearson, Kempe scored 14 goals through his first 44 games but was bumped back to the third-line once Carter recovered from his injury. He struggled to keep up his scoring pace on the third line and was reunited with Toffoli and Pearson after a 17-game scoring drought.^[33] Although he struggled to score, Kempe became the first Kings rookie since 2009 to record 20 assists in a season.^[34] Despite not scoring in the final 33 games of the regular season and playoffs, Kempe finished his rookie season with 16 goals and 37 points through 81 games.^[35]

Later years (2018–present)

On 4 September 2019, the Kings re-signed Kempe to a three-year, $6 million contract extension.^[36]

Entering his sixth season with the Kings, 2021–22 would be a breakout year for Kempe, who posted new career highs scoring 35 goals and 54 points. He would also participate in his first NHL All-Star Game, held in Las Vegas; he is the only player from the Kings named to the All Stars this season.^[37]

On 10 July 2022, Kempe signed a four-year, $22 million extension with the Kings.^[38] Kempe would once again lead the Kings in goals scored, adding 41 goals to his total, and becoming the first Kings player since Luc Robitaille to score 40 goals in a season.^[39]

Kempe was born in Kramfors, Sweden, where he also grew up. His older brother, Mario, is also a professional ice hockey player who played 52 NHL games with the Arizona Coyotes.^[40] Kempe and Mario briefly overlapped in the Kings organization when Mario signed a one-year two-way contract with the Kings on 5 July 2019.^[41] The brothers never played a game together as Kings, and after scoring 3 goals and 11 points through 16 games with the Ontario Reign, Mario was placed on unconditional waivers by the Kings in order for a mutual termination of his contract on 19 November 2019.^[42]

Kempe's nickname is "Juice." The name originated during the Monarch's playoff run to the 2015 Calder Cup, in which the 18-year-old Kempe scored eight goals. His teammates and coaches described him as "having the juice" due to his impressive performance.^[43][44]

In terms of investments, Kempe became part-owner of Swedish esports organization EYEBALLERS in May 2024.^[45]

Medal record
Representing  Sweden
Ice hockey
World Championships
	2018 Denmark
	2024 Czechia

Kempe has represented Sweden at the junior and senior levels in international competitions. He represented Sweden at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, where they won a gold medal,^[46] and at the 2024 IIHF World Championship, where they won a bronze medal.^[47]

Regular season and playoffs

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2013	Sweden	WHC17			5	5	0	5	2
2013	Sweden	IH18	7th		4	2	1	3	12
2014	Sweden	U18	4th		7	1	6	7	16
2015	Sweden	WJC	4th		6	4	4	8	2
2016	Sweden	WJC	4th		7	3	5	8	8
2018	Sweden	WC			10	2	6	8	8
2019	Sweden	WC	5th		8	3	3	6	2
2021	Sweden	WC	9th		7	1	4	5	2
2024	Sweden	WC			10	0	6	6	4
Junior totals					29	15	16	31	40
Senior totals					35	6	19	25	16

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database