Lars Gunnar Raldo "Lasse" Björn (16 December 1931 – 14 August 2024) was a Swedish

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. As a

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

, he played 216 games for the Sweden men's national team and participated in nine

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the I ...

and three

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

. He won nine

Swedish ice hockey champions The Swedish ice hockey champions () is a title awarded annually to the winning playoff team of the top-tier ice hockey league in Sweden, which currently is the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) since 1975. It was first awarded to IK Göta Ishockey, IK ...

hips with

Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Djurgårdens IF is an s ...

, who retired jersey number 12 in his honor. He was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1998.

Early life

Lars Gunnar Raldo Björn was born on 16 December 1931 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden. He grew up in the

Traneberg Traneberg is a residential district in western Stockholm ( Västerort) and part of the Bromma borough. For the 1912 Summer Olympics, Tranebergs Idrottsplats hosted some of the football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to v ...

district, and played football as a youth with

Westermalms IF Westermalms IF FK is a football club located in Stockholm, Sweden, that competed in the Allsvenskan for two seasons in the late 1920s. The club currently play eight tiers lower in Division 7 Stockholm D. The original colours of the team were bla ...

. He began playing hockey with BK Cometen in Traneberg, then was recruited to join

at age 17 in 1949.

Career

As a

, Björn played for

from 1949 to 1966. He won a

hip in his first season with Djurgården, then won an additional eight championships by his retirement. He was a longtime defense partner with Roland Stoltz. As of 2024, Björn's nine Swedish championships is tied with

Tord Lundström Tord Göte Lundstrom (born 4 March 1945) is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey player and coach. Lundström won the Swedish Championship nine times playing for Brynäs IF, he also played for the Detroit Red Wings of the Nation ...

for the most by any player. Internationally, he played 216 games for the

Sweden men's national ice hockey team The Sweden men's national ice hockey team () is governed by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called " Big Six", the unofficial group of the six ...

. He began with the national team in 1951 and competed in his first international tournament at the

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, were a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Discussions about Oslo hosting ...

in Oslo. He participated in three

, 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. He served as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the Sweden national team in 1957. He played only one game in the 1960 Winter Olympics after breaking his

rib cage The rib cage or thoracic cage is an endoskeletal enclosure in the thorax of most vertebrates that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum, which protect the vital organs of the thoracic cavity, such as the heart, lungs and great ve ...

in a collision with Canadian player Floyd Martin. 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 The Swedish Ice Hockey Association () in Swedish, is an association of Swedish ice hockey clubs. It was established in Stockholm on 17 November 1922 by representatives from seven clubs. Before then, organized ice hockey in Sweden had been admi ...

chairman Helge Berglund. Björn later spent several years coaching with Djurgårdens IF and Stockholm TV.

Personal life and death

Björn was the maternal grandfather of retired player Douglas Murray, who played defense in the

National Hockey League 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 ...

and one season with Djurgårdens IF. Björn operated a haulage company, was married to Margareta, had two children, and resided on Stora Essingen in Stockholm. He died on 14 August 2024, at age 92.

Honors and legacy

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

Statistics

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bjorn, Lasse 1931 births 2024 deaths 20th-century Swedish sportsmen Djurgårdens IF (men's hockey) players Ice hockey captains Ice hockey people from Stockholm Ice hockey players at the 1952 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1956 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1960 Winter Olympics IIHF Hall of Fame inductees Medalists at the 1952 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden Olympic ice hockey players for Sweden Olympic medalists in ice hockey Swedish ice hockey coaches Swedish ice hockey defencemen