Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Lina Ljungblom

Lina Ljungblom
Born (2001-10-15) 15 October 2001 (age 23)
Skövde, Sweden
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight 79 kg (174 lb; 12 st 6 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
PWHL team
Former teams
Montreal Victoire
MoDo Hockey
HV71
Skövde IK
National team  Sweden
Playing career 2018–present

Lina Elsa Ljungblom (born 15 October 2001) is a Swedish ice hockey player for the Montreal Victoire of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and member of Sweden women's national ice hockey team.

Playing career

From 2015 to 2019, Ljungblom played for Skövde IK, splitting her time between the club's boys' U16 and U18 teams, as well as the club's Damtvåan women's team. In October 2018, she was loaned to HV71 in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) for a game after HV71 suffered a number of injuries. She scored twice in her SDHL debut, as HV71 beat Brynäs IF 6–1.[1]

For the 2019–20 season, she chose to spend most of her time with HV71 in the SDHL, appearing in only four games with Skövde's boys' U20 squad – though she scored five points in that span.[2] She missed large parts of the season, however, after breaking her collarbone in October 2019. She finished the season with 5 points in 20 games for HV71, adding another 3 points in 6 playoff games as the club made it to the championship finals before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden.[3]

After voicing concerns about her development with HV71, she left the club to sign with Modo Hockey ahead of the 2020–21 SDHL season.[4] In November 2020, she was suspended for three matches for abuse of an official after shouting "fuck you" at the referee in a 5–3 loss to SDE Hockey.[5]

Ljungblom was drafted by PWHL Montreal with the final pick of the 2023 PWHL Draft. Ljungblom was obligated to finish her contract with MoDo Hockey, which extended through the conclusion of the 2023–24 SDHL season, as the club chose not to relinquish her rights early.[6] After her contract was up, she signed a three-year contract with Montreal and joined them for the 2024-25 season.[7]

International play

As a member of the Swedish national under-18 team, Ljungblom participated in the IIHF World U18 Championships in 2017, 2018, and 2019, picking up a total of 10 points across 16 games and winning silver in 2018.[8][9]

Ljungblom made her senior national team debut during the 2018–19 Women's Euro Hockey Tour.[10] Her first major tournament representing Sweden was the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship, at which she did not pick up any points in five games and the team was relegated from the IIHF Top Division for the first time in history.[11][12][13]

She contributed 3 goals in three games at the qualification tournament for the 2022 Winter Olympics, helping Sweden secure placement in the Games.[14] As a member of the Swedish delegation at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Ljungblom played in the women's ice hockey tournament and notched 1 assist in five games.[15]

Career statistics

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2016 Sweden YOG 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 0 1 1 4
2017 Sweden U18 4th 6 0 1 1 4
2018 Sweden U18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 4 2 6 10
2019 Sweden U18 5th 5 2 1 3 6
2019 Sweden WC 9th 5 0 0 0 0
2022 Sweden OGQ Q 3 3 0 3 2
2022 Sweden OG 8th 5 0 1 1 0
2022 Sweden WC 8th 5 1 1 2 25
2023 Sweden WC 6th 7 7 3 10 6
2024 Sweden WC 7th 5 2 1 3 2
Junior totals 16 6 4 10 20
Senior totals 30 13 6 19 35

References

  1. ^ Skoglund, Henrik (20 October 2018). "Lånades in inför matchen – 17-åringen blev tvåmålsskytt i debuten". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  2. ^ Skoglund, Henrik (2 August 2019). "Jättetalangen till storsatsande klubben". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  3. ^ Rönnkvist, Ronnie (14 May 2020). ""Säsongen var för jävlig"". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Lina Ljungblom byter till Modo – hoppas få spela mer". Sveriges Radio (Radio broadcast) (in Swedish). 11 August 2020. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  5. ^ Almroth, Martin (18 November 2020). "Stängs av tre matcher – påstås ha sagt "fuck you"". SVT Sport (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  6. ^ Kennedy, Ian (20 September 2023). "Swedish Officials: Ljungblom Won't Join PWHL Montreal This Season". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  7. ^ Canadian Press (16 November 2024). "From last pick to first-liner: Swedish star Ljungblom making waves with Victoire". Sportsnet. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  8. ^ Karlsson, Rasmus (4 April 2019). "Supertalangen laddar för VM – "Ska göra mål och täcka skott"". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  9. ^ Rönnkvist, Ronnie (9 January 2018). "Lina satsar mot toppen genom att spela med killarna: "Det är roligare"". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  10. ^ Norberg, Simon (23 August 2018). "16-åringen som spelar med killar gör debut i Damkronorna". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Damkronornas trupp uttagen till VM". swehockey.se. 19 March 2019.
  12. ^ "2019 IIHF Women's World Championship roster" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  13. ^ Aykroyd, Lucas (9 April 2019). "Japan's sun shines - Sweden relegated!". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  14. ^ Houston, Michael (13 November 2021). "Hosts Sweden and Czech Republic top of Beijing 2022 ice hockey qualifiers". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Beijing 2022 – Ice Hockey, Women – Player Statistics by Team: SWE - Sweden". International Ice Hockey Federation. 11 February 2022. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.