Emma Eliasson

Emma Maria Josefin Eliasson (born 12 June 1989 in Kiruna, Sweden) is a Swedish retired ice hockey player. Considered one of the greatest Swedish defenders to ever play the game and known for her offensive abilities and physical style of play, she averaged over a point per game in her 10-year SDHL career, playing in five SDHL championship finals, and made over 230 appearances for the Swedish national team, winning a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics.[1][2][3]

Emma Eliasson
Born (1989-06-12) 12 June 1989
Kiruna, Sweden
Height 167 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Weight 72 kg (159 lb; 11 st 5 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Luleå HF/MSSK
Munksund-Skuthamns SK
Brynäs IF
Modo Hockey
Kiruna IF
National team  Sweden
Playing career 2005–2017
Medal record
Women's ice hockey
Representing  Sweden
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2006 Turin Team
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2005 Sweden
Bronze medal – third place2007 Canada

Career

Growing up in Kiruna, first in the Karesuando district and then in central Kiruna, Eliasson often played on boys' hockey teams. She has spoken out about her experience being ridiculed for being a girl playing a hockey, stating that she had to "show that she was better than them, or just simply run over them in order to win respect."[4] Between the ages of 14 and 15, she played for Modo Hockey, taking the bus to commute from Kiruna to Örnsköldsvik.[5]

In 2006, she moved to Gävle to attend high school and play for Brynäs IF.[6] For three years in a row between 2010 and 2012, Brynäs made it to the playoff finals and lost, with her scoring a semi-finals hat-trick to take the club to finals in 2012.[7]

She signed for Munksund-Skuthamns SK ahead of the 2012–13 season, and was named an assistant captain for the club.

After facing financial difficulties, Munksund-Skuthamns SK merged with Luleå HF in 2015 to form Luleå HF/MSSK.[8] She was named captain of the newly formed team, scoring a career-best 45 points in 2015–16, leading the team to a championship victory, her first in her career, and being named Riksserien Defender of the Year. She was named Swedish Hockey Girl of the Year in 2016.[9] After receiving the award, she called on the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation to change the name of the award to something less outdated.[10]

She put up 37 points in 36 games in 2016–17, as Riksserien changed its name to become the SDHL, leading Luleå to a first-place finish in the regular season for the second year in a row. She added another 3 points in 4 playoff games as the club was eliminated in the playoff semi-finals by HV71.

In May 2017, she announced her retirement from hockey, citing high levels of stress leading to heart palpitations and her controversial removal from the Swedish national team as reasons. Upon her retirement, Luleå head coach Fredrik Glader stated that "The best defender ever in Swedish women's hockey has ended her career."[11]

In 2018, Kiruna IF announced that she named an honorary club member along with former NHL-defender Börje Salming, the first two players to be awarded that honour in 15 years.[12] The next year, the club announced that they would be retiring her number, making her the first player in the club's history to be awarded the honour.[13]

International career

She made over 200 international appearances for the Sweden women's national ice hockey team.[14] She won a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, and would again represent Sweden at the Olympics in 2010 and 2014.[15] She scored a total of 7 points in 16 Olympic matches.[16]

After her 2006 silver medal, a portrait of her was hung inside the Kiruna hockey arena, but was removed after being repeatedly vandalised.[17][18] The portrait was later put back up permanently.[19]

After Sweden lost to Finland in the 2014 Olympic quarterfinals, she announced that she was retiring from international play. She returned to the national team in 2015.[20]

Controversial removal

In 2017, she was controversially kicked out of the Swedish national team by head coach Leif Boork. After not having spoken to her in months, Boork told the press that the national team "leadership has been too weak" and that it was "time to stop compromising."[21] A year later, Boork would be fired as Sweden's coach after leading to a seventh-place finish at the 2018 Olympics, allegations of bullying Jenni Asserholt into retirement, and a player petition for his resignation.[22] After her retirement, Eliasson harshly criticised the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation, stating that the Federation "betrayed [the players] when we were most vulnerable." She stated that after Sweden's quarter-finals defeat in the 2016 World Championships, 14 players on the team met in a hotel room in Norrtälje to discuss the team's poor moral and performance, and to attempt to address complaints over poor conditions such as being fed outdated food and strict rules of conduct intruding into their personal lives, including dictating what clothes players could wear. The Swedish Ice Hockey Federation refused to meet with the players.[23]

In 2019, after the country was relegated from the top IIHF division for the first time, the players went on strike. She spoke out in support of the striking players, stating that she felt like "a lot of good will come from it."[24]

Personal life

Eliasson has a degree in economics from the Luleå University of Technology.[25][26] She has also spent most of her summers working as a miner in Kiruna's magnetite mines.

After her retirement from hockey, she played football for a year as a midfielder for Notvikens IK in Luleå.[27][28] In 2018, she returned to the Luleå HF organisation to become an assistant coach for the boy's U16 side.[29][30]

Career statistics

Club statistics

Note: Riksserien changed its name to the SDHL in 2016.

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
2007–08 Brynäs IF Riksserien 14841214 41122
2008–09 Brynäs IF Riksserien 2023538 74482
2009–10 Brynäs IF Riksserien 1916102626 21124
2010–11 Brynäs IF Riksserien 2421153622 44156
2011–12 Brynäs IF Riksserien 2212142628 43472
2012–13 Munksund-Skuthamns SK Riksserien 241872575 20112
2013–14 Munksund-Skuthamns SK Riksserien 283141752 44484
2014–15 Munksund-Skuthamns SK Riksserien 2713223532 20226
2015–16 Luleå HF/MSSK Riksserien 3410354526 702214
2016–17 Luleå HF/MSSK SDHL 3611263726 42136
SDHL totals 248114150264339 4019214048

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2005 Sweden WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 50004
2006 Sweden Oly 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 50116
2007 Sweden WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 50118
2008 Sweden WC 5th 41236
2009 Sweden WC 4th 50222
2010 Sweden Oly 4th 50226
2011 Sweden WC 5th 51126
2013 Sweden WC 7th 51232
2014 Sweden Oly 4th 61346
2016 Sweden WC 5th 51346
Senior totals 505172252

References
  1. "Svensk damhockeys All-Star Team – förstafemman". Hockeysverige. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  2. "Rönnkvist: Här är decenniets SDHL-lag". Hockeysverige. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  3. "Emma Eliasson lägger av - 27 år gammal: "Jättetråkigt"". expressen.se. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  4. "Emma Eliasson fick sitt porträtt i Kiruna vandaliserat". Aftonbladet. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  5. Pettersson, André (21 August 2015). "Hockeyspelaren Emma Eliasson är fredagsgäst - P4 Norrbotten". Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  6. "Emma Eliasson kan bli elitseriespelare - P4 Norrbotten". Sveriges Radio. 18 June 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  7. "Emma Eliasson hjälte för Brynäs". Svenska Dagbladet. 25 March 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  8. Norrbotten, P4 (13 February 2015). "Luleå hockey och Munksund-Skuthamn SK går nu samman - P4 Norrbotten". Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  9. "Historiskt guld – inför rekordpublik". Aftonbladet. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  10. "Emma Eliasson: "Ett ruskigt tråkigt namn" | Hockey". Expressen. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  11. "Luleå HF's Emma Eliasson announces retirement". The Ice Garden. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  12. Nyheter, S. V. T.; Haupt, Inger (16 June 2018). "Eliasson och Salming hedersmedlemmar i Kiruna AIF | SVT Nyheter". SVT Nyheter. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  13. "Emma Eliasson historisk – tröjan hissas i taket hos Kiruna AIF". Aftonbladet. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  14. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. "Emma Eliasson: "Det svider till i kroppen" | Hockey". Expressen. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  16. (Swedish) "Damkronorna". Archived from the original on 5 October 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2007.
  17. "Emma Eliassons "Sommar i P1": Jag är den jag vill va". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  18. "Emma Eliassons tavla i Lombiahallen vandaliserades: "Det gjorde ont"". gd.se. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  19. "Emma Eliassons tavla hängs upp på nytt i Lombia-hallen i Kiruna: "Ett föredöme för alla"". Aftonbladet. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  20. "Emma Eliasson slutar i gruvan i jakt". aftonbladet.se. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  21. "Landslagsbråk i Damkronorna – nu petar Leif Boork Emma Eliasson". Aftonbladet. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  22. "The curious case of Leif Boork". The Ice Garden. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  23. "Emma Elisson om bråken med Leif Boork i Damkronorna". Aftonbladet. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  24. "Fyra profiler inom sport blir värdar i Sommar i P1". Aftonbladet. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  25. "Wholehearted effort by the team captain - Luleå University of Technology". ltu.se. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  26. "New goals for Sweden's best defender - Luleå University of Technology". ltu.se. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  27. "Emma Eliasson om sin nya karriär: "Jag är inte skitdålig" | SVT Sport". svt.se. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  28. "Emma Eliasson: "Jag kommer ha brutal träningsvärk"". NSD. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  29. Nyheter, S. V. T.; Nyberg, Micke (15 May 2018). "Emma Eliasson tillbaka till Luleå Hockey | SVT Nyheter". SVT Nyheter. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  30. "Eliasson om nya livet: "Nästa steg är att få barn"". NSD. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
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