Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (born 29 March 1984) is a Norwegian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

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 la ...

who last played for

Färjestad BK Färjestad Bollklubb (; abbreviated as FBK) is a Swedish professional ice hockey team based in Karlstad. Färjestad has had 21 Swedish Championship final appearances, winning ten times since the Swedish Hockey League (SHL; formerly Elitserien) ...

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 ...

. He was selected by the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

in the 3rd round (65th overall) of the

2002 NHL Entry Draft __NOTOC__ The 2002 NHL Entry Draft was the 40th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 and 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Two hundred and ninety-one players were drafted in total: 35 from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL); ...

. Tollefsen was selected to play for the

Norway men's national ice hockey team The Norway men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team from Norway that participates at the IIHF World Championships. The team is governed by the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association and is coached by Petter Thoresen. History Th ...

at the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

Playing career

Early career

Ole-Kristian Tollefsen started his ice hockey career playing for Nes IK's youth teams, after one of his friends had talked him into it. He played for teams in the club until he turned 16, when he moved to

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

, to attend the Norwegian College of Elite Sport. In Lillehammer, he is known as "Læfsa". Tollefsen played with Lillehammer Ishockeyklubb for two seasons, spending most of that time on the senior team, instead of any of the club's two junior teams where a player his age should have spent that stage of their career. During the 2001–02 season, he was a regular in the team's starting lineup as they reached fourth place in the Norwegian Elite League, and reached the playoff semi-finals for a bronze medal. He also played for both the junior teams in their playoffs, getting a silver medal with the Elder Junior (Under-20) team, and the gold medal with the Younger Junior (U-18) team. The medals were the last thing he accomplished in the Norwegian league system thus far in his career.

Draft and major junior hockey

After that impressive season, Tollefsen was drafted by the

in the third round, 65th overall, in the

, something that made him one of the highest-drafted Norwegians ever (incidentally, the highest-drafted Norwegian ever,

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

prospect

Marius Holtet Marius Holtet (born August 31, 1984) is a Norwegian former professional ice hockey forward (ice hockey), forward. Most of his career, which lasted from 2000 to 2014, was spent with Färjestad BK in the Swedish Hockey League. Internationally Holte ...

, went in the second round, as the 42nd overall pick in the same draft). The next stop for Tollefsen was the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL), where he played the next two seasons for the

Brandon Wheat Kings The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. They are members of the Western Hockey League (WHL) since joining the league in the 1967–68 season. Previously, they played in the Manitoba Junior Hoc ...

. During his time in the WHL, he showed that he could adapt to the North American style of play. His physical style of play showed on the 2003–04 Blue Jackets training camp, when one of his hits put star player

Geoff Sanderson Geoffrey M. Sanderson (born February 1, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger, most notably for the Hartford Whalers and Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Drafted by the Hartford W ...

out of play for a couple of weeks with an injury. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout season, Tollefsen had signed for the Blue Jackets, but spent most of the season with the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL), but also had a short trip to the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

where he played for the

Dayton Bombers The Dayton Bombers were an ECHL ice hockey team located in Dayton, Ohio. The team most recently was in the North Division of the ECHL's American Conference. The Bombers originally played at Hara Arena from 1991 to 1996. The team moved to the Ervi ...

NHL career

For the 2005–06 season he started the season in the AHL, but on 23 November he got his NHL debut in a 4–2 loss against the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

. He played an additional four games for the Blue Jackets, with two penalty minutes, before he was sent down to Syracuse again, where he spent the rest of the season. He played in 70 of the Blue Jackets' games in the 2006–07 season. On 10 November he, and fellow Norwegian NHL player

Patrick Thoresen Patrick Thoresen (born 7 November 1983) is a Norwegian professional ice hockey left winger who is currently playing for the Storhamar in the Fjordkraftligaen. He resides in Hamar, Norway, where he grew up, during the off season. He has a younge ...

, played in the first NHL game ever to have two Norwegian players facing each other, when the Blue Jackets hosted Thoresen's

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. In

Ken Hitchcock Kenneth S. Hitchcock (born December 17, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach. Hitchcock coached the Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League ( ...

's debut as the coach for the Blue Jackets, a 24 November away game against the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

, Tollefsen had his first career NHL point when he assisted on Jason Chimera's second period goal, he scored his first goal against the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

on 20 March 2007. He started a scoring streak when he forced overtime against

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 ...

in the next game, tying

Espen Knutsen Espen Knutsen (born January 12, 1972) is a Norwegian former professional ice hockey player and currently the general manager of Vålerenga in the Norwegian GET-ligaen. He played five seasons in the North American-based National Hockey League (NHL), ...

's Norwegian NHL record. He accumulated 123 penalty minutes during the season, including fights against Mark Smith,

Joffrey Lupul Joffrey Lupul (born September 23, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. In his professional career, Lupul played in the NHL for the Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was select ...

Jordin Tootoo Jordin John Kudluk Tootoo (; born February 2, 1983) is a Canadian former professional hockey player, who played for the Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks. Of Inuit, Ukrainian and English descent, h ...

, and

Bill Guerin William Robert Guerin (born November 9, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player and the current general manager of the Minnesota Wild. He previously was the assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and general mana ...

. On 30 July 2009 Tollefsen signed a one-year contract with the

. On 6 February 2010 Tollefsen, along with a 5th round pick in the

2011 NHL Entry Draft The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars hoste ...

, was traded to the

for Finnish forward

Ville Leino Ville Leino (born 6 October 1983) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. He has played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers and Buffalo Sabres. Playing career Finland At age 17, Lei ...

. In January 2018 Tollefsen officially announced his retirement.

International play

Tollefsen played in three matches for Norway during the 2010 Winter Olympics, with no points. He received a 25-minute penalty after checking Slovakia's

Ľuboš Bartečko Ľuboš Bartečko (born July 14, 1976) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey forward. He began and concluded his career with hometown club, HK ŠKP Poprad in the Slovak Extraliga. He most notably played in the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

in the head during the quarterfinal play-in game on 23 February 2010.

Personal

Tollefsen is one of only eight Norwegians to ever play in the NHL, the others being

Bjørn Skaare Bjørn Skaare (29 October 1958 – 21 June 1989) was a Norwegian ice hockey player. He was the first Norwegian to play in the NHL, playing a single game with the Detroit Red Wings during the 1978–79 NHL season. Playing career Skaare's talent wa ...

, Anders Myrvold,

, Jonas Holøs,

Mats Zuccarello Mats André Zuccarello Aasen (born 1 September 1987) is a Norwegian professional ice hockey winger for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played for the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars. Prior to joining the NHL ...

and Andreas Martinsen.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tollefsen, Ole-Kristian 1984 births Living people Brandon Wheat Kings players Columbus Blue Jackets draft picks Columbus Blue Jackets players Färjestad BK players Grand Rapids Griffins players Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Lillehammer IK players Modo Hockey players Norwegian expatriate ice hockey people Norwegian ice hockey defencemen Olympic ice hockey players of Norway Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics People from Nes, Akershus Philadelphia Flyers players Syracuse Crunch players Ice hockey people from Oslo