Emil Lilleberg

Emil Lilleberg
Born	(2001-02-02) 2 February 2001 (age 24) Sarpsborg, Norway
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	94 kg (207 lb; 14 st 11 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Tampa Bay Lightning Sparta Warriors IK Oskarshamn
National team	Norway
NHL draft	107th overall, 2021 Arizona Coyotes
Playing career	2019–present

Emil Martinsen Lilleberg (born 2 February 2001) is a Norwegian ice hockey defenceman for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Internationally, Lilleberg represents the Norwegian national team. ^[1] He made his NHL debut in 2024.

Playing career

Lilleberg was originally drafted 107th overall in the 2021 NHL entry draft by the Arizona Coyotes. ^[2]

On 5 June 2023, the Tampa Bay Lightning signed Lilleberg to a two-year deal. Lilleberg had been playing for IK Oskarshamn of the Swedish Hockey League. Lilleberg recorded 8 assists in 46 regular season games, and had one assist in three playoff games last season with IK Oskarshamn. ^[3]

During his first season in North America, Lilleberg began the 2023–24 campaign with the Lightning's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Following 31 games with the Crunch, Lilleberg was recalled and made his NHL debut with the Lightning against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on 6 January 2024. ^[4] On 10 January 2024, Lilleberg recorded his 1st career NHL assist and point. ^[5] The assist came in a 3–2 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings at Amalie Arena. ^[6]

Lilleberg was suspended for two games for interference involving contact to the head of and injury to J. T. Compher in the second period of the Lightning's 2–0 away loss to the Detroit Red Wings on 25 January 2025. ^{[7] [8]}

International play

He represented Norway at the 2021 IIHF World Championship. ^{[9] [10]}

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2018–19	Sparta Sarpsborg	GET		37	1	1	2	24		6	0	0	0	4
2019–20	Sparta Sarpsborg	GET		39	0	12	12	71		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Sparta Sarpsborg	NOR		18	2	2	4	39		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	IK Oskarshamn	SHL		47	0	7	7	16		10	0	0	0	2
2022–23	IK Oskarshamn	SHL		46	3	8	11	41		3	0	1	1	2
2023–24	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		33	2	11	13	45		5	0	2	2	2
2023–24	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		37	0	5	5	16		5	0	0	0	2
2024–25	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		76	1	18	19	105		5	0	1	1	4
SHL totals				95	3	15	18	57		13	0	1	1	4
NHL totals				113	1	23	24	121		10	0	1	1	6

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2018	Norway	WJC18-D1	15th		5	0	1	1	2
2019	Norway	WJC18-D1	14th		5	0	2	2	8
2019	Norway	WJC-D1	13th		4	0	3	3	6
2020	Norway	WJC-D1	14th		5	0	2	2	4
2021	Norway	WC	13th		6	1	0	1	14
2021	Norway	OGQ	DNQ		3	0	0	0	2
2022	Norway	WC	13th		7	0	0	0	4
2023	Norway	WC	13th		7	0	0	0	4
2024	Norway	OGQ	DNQ		3	0	0	0	0
2025	Norway	WC	12th		7	0	0	0	4
Junior totals					19	0	8	8	20
Senior totals					33	1	0	1	28

References

1. "Her er årets VM-tropp" (in Norwegian). hockey.no. 14 May 2021.
2. "Arizona Coyotes select defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg 107th overall". Five For Howling. fiveforhowling.com. 24 July 2021.
3. "Lightning sign Sean Day, two international free agents to two-way deals". tampabay.com. 5 June 2023.
4. @TBLightning (6 January 2024). "Welcome to the big league! Congrats Emil" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
5. @TBLightning (10 January 2024). "With an assist on Hagel's goal, Lilleberg has picked up his first NHL point" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
6. "Lightning coach Jon Cooper gets 500th win as Perbix scores in OT to beat slumping Kings 3-2". apnews.com. 10 January 2024.
7. "Lilleberg of Lightning suspended 2 games for interference". National Hockey League. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
8. "Lilleberg suspended two games". National Hockey League. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
9. "Team Roster Norway" (PDF). iihf.com. 20 August 2021.
10. "Player Statistics Norway" (PDF). iihf.com. 20 August 2021.

External links

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