This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(October 2015) |
Pelle Eklund | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born | Solna, Sweden | 22 March 1963||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
Weight | 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb) | ||
Position | Winger | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for | AIK Leksands IF Philadelphia Flyers Dallas Stars | ||
National team | Sweden | ||
NHL draft | 161st overall, 1983 Philadelphia Flyers | ||
Playing career | 1981–1999 |
Per-Erik "Pelle" Eklund (born 22 March 1963) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey winger. He played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars from 1985 to 1994 and nine seasons in the Swedish Elitserien (SEL) with AIK and Leksands IF from 1981 to 1985 and 1994 to 1999. Internationally Eklund played for the Swedish national team at several World Championships, winning gold in 1991 and silver in both 1990 and 1995, and the 1984 Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal.
Pelle Eklund played as a Bantam for Stocksund in team 63 where he was the captain of the team. This team made a huge impact in international Batam tournaments such as the annual Lahr Cup at the Canadian Forces Base in Lahr where top Bantam teams from Europe competed ( Poldi Kladno, Kosice, Schwenningen, la Chaux des Fonds, Freiburg etc). Eklund played for AIK of the Elitserien between 1981 and 1985, winning the league championship in 1984. He quickly became one of the top players in the league, winning the Golden Puck as Sweden's top player in 1984 - one of the youngest winners ever at the age of only 21.
He came to the NHL in 1985, joining the Philadelphia Flyers who had selected him 161st overall in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. He made an immediate impact, leading all rookies in assists with 51 and finishing 3rd in overall rookie scoring (behind only Kjell Dahlin and Gary Suter) in the 1985–86 season.
Over the next nine seasons, Eklund made a name for himself as a slick playmaking center, topping the 50 assist mark on three occasions. He was also noted for his gentlemanly play, always finishing amongst the least-penalized players in the NHL. The high point of his career came in the 1987 playoffs, when his outstanding play helped carry Philadelphia to the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals, as his 27 points were fourth in overall scoring and his 20 assists were second to only Wayne Gretzky.
Eklund's scoring touch mysteriously disappeared in the 1993–94 season, as he recorded only one goal and 18 points in 48 games for the Flyers. At the trade deadline, he was dealt to the Dallas Stars, where he had a brief stint to finish his NHL career.
Eklund then returned to Sweden to play for Leksands IF for the 1994–95 season. He re-discovered his scoring touch in one of the finest seasons of his career, as he led the SEL in assists and points and was named league MVP. He played four more seasons for Leksand before retiring in 1999 at age 36.
In 2005–2006, he served as an assistant coach for Leksand. He served as a scout for the Montreal Canadiens until fired on 31 May 2010. [1] Currently he is an amateur scout with the Edmonton Oilers.
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Representing Sweden | ||
Olympics | ||
1984 Sarajevo | ||
World Championships | ||
1991 Finland | ||
1995 Sweden | ||
1990 Switzerland | ||
European Junior Championships | ||
1981 Soviet Union |
Eklund played 126 international games for the Swedish national team. He played in six World Championships and was on the gold medal Swedish team of 1991. He played in the 1984 Winter Olympics on the bronze medal team, and in the 1984 Canada Cup, in which Sweden made the finals. He was also on the European Championships gold-medal team in 1990.
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1978–79 | Stocksunds IF | SWE-3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1979–80 | Stocksunds IF | SWE-3 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1980–81 | Stocksunds IF | SWE-3 | 19 | 13 | 20 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1981–82 | AIK | SWE | 23 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1982–83 | AIK | SWE | 34 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
1983–84 | AIK | SWE | 35 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 24 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 2 | ||
1984–85 | AIK | SWE | 35 | 16 | 33 | 49 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1985–86 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 70 | 15 | 51 | 66 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
1986–87 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 72 | 14 | 41 | 55 | 2 | 26 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 2 | ||
1987–88 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 71 | 10 | 32 | 42 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
1988–89 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 79 | 18 | 51 | 69 | 23 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 2 | ||
1989–90 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 70 | 23 | 39 | 62 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1990–91 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 73 | 19 | 50 | 69 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1991–92 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 51 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1992–93 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 55 | 11 | 38 | 49 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1993–94 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 48 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1993–94 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |||
1994–95 | Leksands IF | SWE | 32 | 13 | 36 | 49 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
1995–96 | Leksands IF | SWE | 30 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
1996–97 | Leksands IF | SWE | 36 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | ||
1997–98 | Leksands IF | SWE | 38 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
1998–99 | Leksands IF | SWE | 37 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
SWE totals | 300 | 81 | 174 | 255 | 106 | 32 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 16 | ||||
NHL totals | 594 | 120 | 335 | 455 | 109 | 66 | 10 | 36 | 46 | 8 |
Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1981 | Sweden | EJC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
1982 | Sweden | WJC | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
1983 | Sweden | WJC | 7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | |
1984 | Sweden | OLY | 7 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | |
1984 | Sweden | CC | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
1985 | Sweden | WC | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | |
1986 | Sweden | WC | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
1990 | Sweden | WC | 10 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | |
1991 | Sweden | WC | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
1995 | Sweden | WC | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
1996 | Sweden | WC | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
Junior totals | 18 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 8 | |||
Senior totals | 63 | 9 | 27 | 36 | 16 |
The Swedish Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Swedish ice hockey champions have been crowned through various formats since 1922, the title and the Le Mat Trophy have been awarded to the winner of the SHL playoffs since the league's inaugural 1975–76 season.
Modo Hockey is a professional ice hockey club in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The team currently plays in Sweden's first-tier league SHL after having won promotion from HockeyAllsvenskan following the 2022/23 season. The club was founded in 1987 and has won one title, SHL championships;2007. The team's home arena since 2006 is the Hägglunds Arena. Before then, the team played at Kempehallen, beginning in 1964.
Thomas Kjell Gradin is a Swedish associate head scout for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) and a former professional ice hockey centre who played in the NHL and the Swedish Elite League (SEL) from 1975 to 1990.
Dick Tärnström is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman. During the majority of his 21-year-long playing career, Tärnström played for AIK of the Swedish top-tier league Elitserien (SEL). He was the captain for AIK during the five last seasons of his career. He also spent five years in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing for the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Göran Per-Eric "Pelle" Lindbergh was a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender who played five seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the first European-born goaltender to be drafted in the NHL Entry Draft and the first to achieve success in North America.
Allmänna Idrottsklubben Ishockeyförening, is the ice hockey department of sports club AIK based in Stockholm, Sweden. Since 2014, AIK's men's team compete in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier of ice hockey in Sweden, following a four-year spell in the top flight, the SHL. The women's team competes in Swedish Women's Hockey League, the highest division of women's ice hockey. AIK's home games are mainly played at Hovet, which seats 8,050 spectators, though some high-profile games may be played at Avicii Arena which has a larger capacity of 13,850.
Håkan Per Loob is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player for Färjestad BK of the Elitserien and the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the head of European Scouting for the Calgary Flames after resigning as president of Hockey Operations for Färjestad. Considered one of the greatest Swedish hockey players of all time, he was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1998, and the Swedish ice hockey Hall of Fame in 2012. The Elitserien created the Håkan Loob Trophy, awarded to the league's top goal scorer, in his honour in 2005 and Färjestad has retired his jersey number 5.
Mikael Bo Renberg is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player, last playing for Skellefteå AIK in Elitserien. He spent ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and eight in the Swedish Elite League.
Guldhjälmen comprises two Swedish annual ice hockey awards that recognize the most valuable player of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) as judged by each league's players, respectively. Guldhjälmen is sponsored by the Swedish Magasinet Hockey in cooperation with CCM Hockey and TV4.
Pelle Per-Erik Lennart Prestberg is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player.
Esa Pirnes is a Finnish former professional ice hockey centre. He played most of his career, which lasted from 1995 to 2016, in the Finnish Liiga. He also played 57 games in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings during the 2003–04 season, after the Kings selected him in the 6th round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Internationally Pirnes played for the Finnish national team at four World Championships, winning two bronze medals.
Kvalserien, also known as Kvalserien till SHL, was the Swedish round-robin ice hockey tournament to qualify for play in the next season of the Swedish Hockey League, Sweden's top-level ice hockey league for men. It was replaced by a playoff round in the 2014–15 season.
Huddinge IK, is a Swedish ice hockey team from Huddinge, a southern suburb in Stockholm County. The team is currently playing in the third highest league in Sweden, Hockeyettan. In the middle of the 1990s, a women's floorball section was founded, whose A-team advanced to Elitserien, the highest league, in 2008.
Anders Karl Daniel Eldebrink is a Swedish former ice hockey defenceman who played in the SEL in the 1970s and 1980s. He also played 165 games for the Swedish national team.
Robert Burakovsky is a Swedish professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the current head coach for the Malmö team in Sweden's U16 Elit league. Before turning to coaching, Burakovsky played 17 seasons of professional hockey, including 23 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Ottawa Senators during the 1993–94 NHL season.
Roger Melin is a Swedish ice hockey coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of Leksands IF of the SHL. He has also previously coached SHL clubs Brynäs IF, Färjestad BK, Frölunda HC, AIK and Linköping HC, as well as Hammarby IF and Rögle BK in the Swedish second-tier league. His playing career included five seasons in the Elitserien, with AIK, Örebro IK, and Hammarby, as well as several seasons in the second and third tiers with Väsby IK. His brief stint in North America during the 1980–81 and 1981–82 seasons was mostly spent in the Central Hockey League, though he also played 3 National Hockey League games with the Minnesota North Stars
Tomas Mikael Nord is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman. He played fifteen seasons in Elitserien, for Leksands IF and AIK IF. He won the Swedish Championship in 1984 with AIK.
Joacim Eriksson is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing with Schwenninger Wild Wings of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Eriksson played several years in the Swedish junior leagues, making his professional debut in 2008. He was subsequently drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, though never signed with the team. In 2013 Eriksson signed with the Vancouver Canucks and joined their minor league affiliate in the American Hockey League. He appeared in one game for the Canucks in 2014 and returned to Sweden after two years in North America. Internationally Eriksson played for Sweden at both the under-18 and senior level, winning a gold medal at the 2007 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and a bronze at the 2014 World Championships.
Pierre-Édouard Bellemare is a French professional ice hockey forward who is currently on a professional tryout (PTO) with the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Vegas Golden Knights, Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning and Seattle Kraken.
Lars Linus Persson is a Swedish professional ice hockey right winger, currently playing for Leksands IF in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Persson won TV-pucken with Värmland in 2000, won four Swedish Junior Championships with Västra Frölunda HC in 2002 and 2003, won promotion to Elitserien with Rögle BK in the 2008 Kvalserien, and won the 2012 European Trophy with Luleå HF.