Bjørn Skaare (29 October 1958 – 21 June 1989) was a Norwegian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player. He was the first Norwegian to play in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

, playing a single game with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

during the

1978–79 NHL season The 1978–79 NHL season was the 62nd season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals four games to one for their fourth consecutive Cup; two " Original Six" teams would not meet a ...

Playing career

Skaare's talent was evident at an early age. He made his debut for

Furuset Furuset is residential and suburban area, situated in the northeast of Oslo, Norway. It was a separate borough of Oslo up to January 1, 2004, when it became part of the new borough of Alna. Furuset is a suburb in eastern Groruddalen The Gror ...

before he had turned 16. In 1976, he was signed by Färjestad of the Swedish

Elitserien Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan. Elitserien leagues at present: * Elitserien (badmint ...

, although he returned to Furuset within a year. In the fall of 1977, Skaare moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, where he was signed by the

Ottawa 67's The Ottawa 67's are a major junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Established during Canada's centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's currently play thei ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

, where he became a teammate of future NHL star Bobby Smith. Skaare scored 12 goals and had 30 assists for Ottawa, and was drafted in the 4th round (62nd pick overall) of the 1978 NHL Entry Draft by the

. Skaare was assigned to the

Kansas City Red Wings The Kansas City Red Wings were a professional hockey team that operated in the Central Hockey League for two seasons, 1977–78 and 1978-79. They were the top farm team of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings. They played in what was then called Kemper Ar ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

. After an impressive play for Kansas City, he was called up to Detroit. He made his NHL debut against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

on November 29, 1978. However, this would also be Skaare's only appearance in the NHL. He picked up an injury when he was checked by Barry Beck, and was later sent back to Kansas City. Skaare had 8 goals and 26 assists in 37 games for Kansas City, but decided to move back to Norway in February 1979. Back in Norway, Skaare helped Furuset win the Norwegian championship in 1981 and 1983. He was named player of the year in 1981, earning him the

Golden Puck Guldpucken (''The Golden Puck'') is awarded annually to the ice hockey player of the year in Sweden. It is similar to the NHL's Hart Memorial Trophy. Originally it was awarded to a player in the Swedish hockey system, the top-level ice hockey lea ...

. In 1981–82, he played for Klagenfurt of the Austrian hockey league, and was named the league's best player. However, Skaare was homesick, and once again moved back to Furuset. In 1984, he briefly returned to North America, playing for the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tulsa ...

of the

, but once again returned home within a few months. He was a member of the

( CHL) team that suspended operations on February 16, 1984, playing only road games for the final six weeks of the 1983–84 season. Despite this adversity, the team went on to win the league's championship. Skaare played in all nine playoff games, scoring nine points to help his team win the Adams Cup. On the night of 21 June 1989, Skaare was killed in a car accident. He was driving from

Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...

in Sweden towards Oslo. He lost control of the car between

Karlskoga Karlskoga () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Karlskoga Municipality, Sweden. It is located within Örebro County, 45 km (28 mi) west of Örebro, and 10 km (6 mi) north of Degerfors. With a 2020 population o ...

and

Kristinehamn Kristinehamn is a locality and the seat of Kristinehamn Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden, with 24,053 inhabitants in 2022. Geography Kristinehamn is situated by the shores of lake Vänern where the small rivers ''Varnan'' and ''Löt'' ...

Championships

He won the 1983–84 CHL Championship (Adams Cup) as a member of the

team coached by Tom Webster. His number 7 jersey has been retired by

Furuset Ishockey Furuset Ishockey is an Oslo-based ice hockey club, and a part of the Furuset IF multi-sports club. They play their home games in Furuset Forum. Their team colours are blue and white. History Through different eras Furuset have made their name as ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

Bjørn Skaare memorial site
(in Norwegian) *
Norwegian NHL records

Norwegian born players drafted by NHL teams
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skaare, Bjoern 1958 births 1989 deaths Detroit Red Wings draft picks Detroit Red Wings players Färjestad BK players Furuset Ishockey players Ice hockey players at the 1984 Winter Olympics Kansas City Red Wings players EC KAC players NIHF Golden Puck winners Norwegian expatriate ice hockey people Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Norwegian ice hockey centres Olympic ice hockey players for Norway Ottawa 67's players Road incident deaths in Sweden Ice hockey people from Oslo Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players

Playing career

Championships

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

See also

References

External links