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Lasse Björn

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Lasse Björn
Björn at the 1957 World Championships
Born (1931-12-16)16 December 1931
Stockholm, Sweden
Died 14 August 2024(2024-08-14) (aged 92)
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 103 kg (227 lb; 16 st 3 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Djurgårdens IF
National team  Sweden
Playing career 1949–1966
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  Sweden
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1952 Oslo Team competition
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1958 Oslo Team
Gold medal – first place 1957 Moscow Team
Bronze medal – third place 1954 Stockholm Team
Gold medal – first place 1953 Basel and Zurich Team

Lars Gunnar Raldo "Lasse" Björn (16 December 1931 – 14 August 2024) was a Swedish ice hockey player. As a defenceman, he played 216 games for the Sweden men's national team and participated in nine Ice Hockey World Championships and three Winter Olympics. He won nine Swedish ice hockey championships with Djurgårdens IF, who retired jersey number 12 in his honor. He was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1998.

Early life

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Lars Gunnar Raldo Björn[1] was born on 16 December 1931 in Stockholm, Sweden.[2] He grew up in the Traneberg district, and played football as a youth with Westermalms IF.[3][4] He began playing hockey with BK Cometen in Traneberg, then was recruited to join Djurgårdens IF at age 17 in 1949.[2][4]

Career

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Sweden men's national ice hockey team in 1958 (Björn standing on left end)

As a defenceman, Björn played for Djurgårdens IF from 1949 to 1966. He won a Swedish ice hockey championship in his first season with Djurgården, then won an additional eight championships by his retirement.[2] He was a longtime defense partner with Roland Stoltz.[3][4] As of 2024, Björn's nine Swedish championships is tied with Tord Lundström for the most by any player.[5][6]

Internationally, he played 216 games for the Sweden men's national ice hockey team.[4] He began with the national team in 1951 and competed in his first international tournament at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo.[4] He participated in three Winter Olympics, winning one bronze medal in 1952; he also played in nine IIHF World Championship tournaments, winning gold in 1953 and 1957 and three bronze medals.[7] He served as captain of the Sweden national team in 1957.[3] He played only one game in the 1960 Winter Olympics after breaking his rib cage in a collision with Canadian player Floyd Martin.[4]

Björn retired from the Sweden national team and Djurgårdens IF after the 1965–66 season to spend more time with his family, following a dispute with Swedish Ice Hockey Association chairman Helge Berglund. Björn later spent several years coaching with Djurgårdens IF and Stockholm TV.[4]

Personal life and death

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Björn was the maternal grandfather of retired player Douglas Murray, who played defense in the National Hockey League and one season with Djurgårdens IF.[2][8]

Björn operated a haulage company, was married to Margareta, had two children, and resided on Stora Essingen in Stockholm.[3] He died on 14 August 2024, at age 92.[2][5][9]

Honors and legacy

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Björn was primarily known by the nickname "Lasse".[5][6] He was the second person elected to Djurgården's hall of fame,[2] and had his jersey number 12 retired by the club in his honor.[10] He was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1998.[3][11]

Statistics

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Individual statistics from the top level of international play at the Olympic Games and the Ice Hockey World Championships (IHWC):[1]

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1952 Sweden Olympics 7 0 2 2 10
1953 Sweden IHWC 3 1 1 2 2
1954 Sweden IHWC 7 1 0 1 6
1955 Sweden IHWC 8 1 2 3 14
1956 Sweden Olympics 7 3 1 4 10
1957 Sweden IHWC 7 3 0 3 6
1958 Sweden IHWC 7 1 1 2 10
1959 Sweden IHWC 8 0 1 1 10
1960 Sweden Olympics 1 0 0 0 2
1961 Sweden IHWC 6 1 2 3 8
Totals 61 11 10 21 78

References

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  1. ^ a b "Lasse Björn". Hockey Archives. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Djurgården sörjer Lasse Björns bortgång" [Djurgården mourns Lasse Björn's passing]. Djurgårdens IF (in Swedish). Stockholm, Sweden. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Legendaren firar 90 år" [The legend celebrates 90 years]. Idrottens Affärer [Sports Affairs] (in Swedish). Stockholm, Sweden. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Rönnkvist, Ronnie (16 December 2018). "Var med och vann Sveriges första VM-guld – Old School Hockey Lasse Björn" [Participated and won Sweden's first WC-gold – Old School Hockey Lasse Björn]. Hockey Sverige (in Swedish). Stockholm, Sweden. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Jemtelius, Filip (15 August 2024). "Lasse Björn är död – blev 92 år" [Lasse Björn is dead – was 92 years old]. Sveriges Television (in Swedish). Stockholm, Sweden. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  6. ^ a b Calle, Jonsson; Ros, Tomas; Abrahamsson, Hans (15 August 2024). "Lasse Björn är död – blev 92 år gammal". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Stockholm, Sweden. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  7. ^ Stark, Jan; Gidén, Carl; Feltenmar, Anders. "Team Sweden players record in World Championship, Olympic Games, World Cup Cup of Hockey and Canada Cup year by year since 1920" (PDF). Swedish Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  8. ^ "Svensk NHL-doldis gjorde första målet". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Stockholm, Sweden. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Lars Gunnar Raldo Björn". Ratsit.se (in Swedish). 24 August 2024. Archived from the original on 24 August 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  10. ^ Jörnmark, Moa (23 November 2011). "Listan på tröjorna som hänger i taket". Expressen. Stockholm, Sweden. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  11. ^ "IIHF Hall of Fame". International Ice Hockey Federation. 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
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