The Växjö Lakers Hockey Club (often referred to as the Växjö Lakers or VLH) are a Swedish professional
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 ...
club from
Växjö
Växjö () is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 71,282 inhabitants (2020) out of a Municipalities of Sweden, municipal population of 97,349 (2024). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial ce ...
in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. The club plays at the
Vida Arena and plays in the
Swedish Hockey League
The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...
(SHL; formerly Elitserien), the top-level league of Swedish ice hockey, and made its debut there in
2011–12. Since entering the SHL the club has become known as one of the premier SHL clubs, winning the
Le Mat Trophy as
Swedish national Champions four times in
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
,
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
,
2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
and
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
(the most of any SHL clubs since their promotion). Forwards
Erik Josefsson and
Robert Rosén are the only players to be a part of all four Championship-winning teams.
History
The club was founded in 1997, after
Växjö HC went
bankrupt
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...
that year. Växjö Lakers originally played in
Växjö Ishall as their home arena, but prior to the
2011–12 season they moved to
Vida Arena. The construction of the Vida Arena was finished in summer 2011.
The club began play in the 1997–98 season. Starting in
Division 4
''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series broadcast by the Nine Network and created by Crawford Productions airing between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes.
Synopsis
The series was one of the first to follow up on the enor ...
, four divisions below the
Elitserien/SHL, Växjö worked its way to
HockeyAllsvenskan
HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league, and the second-highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system, after the Swedish Hockey League, SHL. Since the 2009–10 season, t ...
within 6 years, being promoted 3 times. With a perfect record in the
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
HockeyAllsvenskan Kvalserien, the club qualified for HockeyAllsvenskan. Sensationally, during their debut season in HockeyAllsvenskan, the club acquired
Shjon Podein, an
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 ...
-merited
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
n player who played 699 NHL games and won the
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
with the
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...
in
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
. The acquirement was described as "årets värvning" (''acquirement of the year'') by some people.
During Podein's years in Växjö he became a crowd favorite.
Prior to the following season, the 2004–05 season, the team also acquired
Brad DeFauw, another NHL-merited North American player who played 9 NHL games and 154
AHL games. Both Shjon Podein and Brad DeFauw left the team after the 2004–05 season.
The club would spend 8 seasons in HockeyAllsvenskan and, during that time, reach the
Kvalserien qualification for
Elitserien three times. Växjö did not manage to promote to Elitserien in the
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
and
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
respective Kvalserien qualifications, but after winning the
2010–11 HockeyAllsvenskan season
The 2010–11 HockeyAllsvenskan season was the sixth season of the HockeyAllsvenskan, the second level of ice hockey in Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsu ...
for the first time in club history and earning a third consecutive trip to Kvalserien, Växjö secured promotion to the top-tier league Elitserien in the eighth round (of ten) in the
2011 Kvalserien. The team finished the 2011 Kvalserien with 26 points, which is a record in the Kvalserien history.
The team formerly used red, yellow and blue as its colours, both in the team's logo and the team's jerseys. On 18 April 2011 it was announced that the club had changed the colours of their jerseys to blue and orange prior to the
2011–12 season.
At that time it was also announced that the club's logo had been changed to an orange shield containing the name of the club beneath a lion holding a crossbow – an image from the
Småland coat of arms.
Elitserien/Swedish Hockey League

The club's first game in the
Elitserien league was played on 13 September 2011, losing 0–2 to
Frölunda HC
Frölunda Hockey Club, previously known as the Frölunda Indians, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Gothenburg. They currently play in the highest Swedish league, the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), formerly the Elitserien, where th ...
in front of an outsold
Scandinavium
Scandinavium () is an indoor arena located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Construction on Scandinavium began in 1969 after decades of setbacks, and was inaugurated on 18 May 1971.
Scandinavium has been selected as a championship arena at least fifty t ...
. Two days later, the club historically took their first points in Elitserien, beating
Luleå HF on away ice 3–2 in a
shootout
A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...
, despite trailing by two goals in the third period. Their first home game was played on September 17, against
Linköpings HC Linköpings may refer to:
*Linköpings ASS, Linköpings Allmänna Simsällskap is a Swedish swim team
*Linköpings FC, an association football club
*Linköpings FF, premier men's football team
*Linköpings HC, Linköpings Hockey Club
See also< ...
, in front of an outsold Vida Arena. Linköping won the game 4–2. Former Växjö Lakers crowd favorite
Shjon Podein watched the game in the arena. Their first home points and regulation-time win came on September 27, when the Lakers won 4–1 against
Modo Hockey. The Lakers' first
shutout
In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...
came on away ice when Modo were beaten 2–0 on 25 October 2011.
Växjö Lakers played the first
Småland
Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...
derby
Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
game in Elitserien history, which was on away ice against reigning regular-season champions
HV71, on 8 October 2011 in front of an outsold
Kinnarps Arena—exactly 7,000 spectators—in
Jönköping
Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland.
The city is the seat o ...
. Växjö Lakers came out on top with a 3–2 victory in a
shootout
A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...
. Växjö Lakers forward
Mike Iggulden scored three
penalty shot
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a Goal (sport), goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or k ...
goals in the game, two of them counted in the statistics.
Season-by-season record
Players and personnel
Current roster
Updated 15 February 2025.
Team captains
* Mikael Bjerdahl, 2003–04
* Torsten Yngvesson, 2004–07
*
Johan Markusson, 2008–14
*
Tomi Kallio, 2014–15
*
Liam Reddox, 2015–19
*
Erik Josefsson, 2019–23
*
Joel Persson, 2023–Present
Honored members
Club records and leaders
Scoring leaders
These are the top-ten point-scorers of the Växjö Lakers since their promotion to the SHL in the
2011–12 season. Figures are updated after each completed season.
''Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game;'' = ''current Växjö Lakers player''
Trophies and awards
Team
Le Mat Trophy
* 2014–15, 2017–18, 2020–21, 2022–23
Individual
Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award.
Some of the ...
* Sam Hallam: 2017–18
Honken Trophy
*
Viktor Fasth: 2017–18
Rookie of the Year
*
Elias Pettersson
Fredrik Elias Pettersson (born 12 November 1998) is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Pettersson was selected fifth overall by the Canucks in the 20 ...
: 2017–18
References
External links
Official websiteLakers Lakejer official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:VAxjo Lakers Hockey
Swedish Hockey League teams
Sport in Växjö
Ice hockey clubs established in 1997
1997 establishments in Sweden
Ice hockey teams in Kronoberg County
20th-century establishments in Kronoberg County