:Växjö Lakers

{{Infobox Pro hockey team

| current = 2024–25 SHL season

| text_color = #000000

| bg_color = background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#f37932 5px solid; border-bottom:#003781 5px solid;

| team = Växjö Lakers

| logo = Växjö Lakers logo.svg

| logosize = 195px

| city = Växjö, Sweden

| league = Swedish Hockey League

| conference =

| division =

| founded = 1997

| arena = Vida Arena

| capacity = 5,750

| uniform =

| colors = {{Color box|#003781}} {{Color box|#f37932}} {{Color box|#FFFFFF}}

| owner =

| GM = Henrik Evertsson

| coach = Jörgen Jönsson

| captain = Erik Josefsson

| website = [https://www.vaxjolakers.se/p/ vaxjolakers.se]

| name1 =

| dates1 =

| name2 =

| dates2 =

| le_mat_trophies = 2015, 2018, 2021, 2023

}}

The Växjö Lakers Hockey Club (often referred to as the Växjö Lakers or VLH) are a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Växjö in Sweden. The club plays at the Vida Arena and plays in the Swedish Hockey League (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, 2018, 2021 and 2023 (the most of any SHL clubs since their promotion).{{cite web|url=http://www.swehockey.se/Nyheter/NyheterfranSvenskaIshockeyforbundet/2015/April2015/VaxjoLakersHCsvenskamastare/|title=Växjö Lakers HC svenska mästare|publisher=Swedish Ice Hockey Association|language=sv|author=Anders Feltenmark|date=24 April 2015|access-date=31 October 2015}} 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 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, four divisions below the Elitserien/SHL, Växjö worked its way to HockeyAllsvenskan within 6 years, being promoted 3 times. With a perfect record in the 2003 HockeyAllsvenskan Kvalserien, the club qualified for HockeyAllsvenskan. Sensationally, during their debut season in HockeyAllsvenskan, the club acquired Shjon Podein, an NHL-merited North American player who played 699 NHL games and won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001. The acquirement was described as "årets värvning" (acquirement of the year) by some people.{{cite web |url=http://lakejer.griffel.net/kronikor.php?id=85 |title=Änderson om avund |publisher=LakersLakejer.net |language=sv |date=2003-11-04 |access-date=2011-06-25 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} During Podein's years in Växjö he became a crowd favorite.{{cite news |url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=106&artikel=489947 |title=Shjon Podein har landat i Växjö |newspaper=Sveriges Radio |publisher=Sveriges Radio'|language=sv |date=2004-10-19 |access-date=2011-06-25}} 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 and 2010 respective Kvalserien qualifications, but after winning the 2010–11 HockeyAllsvenskan season 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.{{cite web |url=http://smp.se/sport/orange-revolution-i-vaxjo-lakers%282734267%29.gm |title=Orange revolution i Växjö Lakers |publisher=Smålandsposten |date=2011-04-18 |access-date=2011-04-21 |language=sv |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722142112/http://www.smp.se/sport/orange-revolution-i-vaxjo-lakers(2734267).gm |archive-date=2012-07-22 |url-status = dead}} 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=

File:Vida Arena.jpg

The club's first game in the Elitserien league was played on 13 September 2011, losing 0–2 to Frölunda HC in front of an outsold Scandinavium. Two days later, the club historically took their first points in Elitserien, beating Luleå HF on away ice 3–2 in a shootout, despite trailing by two goals in the third period.{{cite web |url=http://www.vaxjolakers.se/artikel/3764/ |title=Kallio fixade historisk vinst |publisher=Växjö Lakers Hockey |author=Jonas Gustavsson |language=sv |date=2011-09-15 |access-date=2011-09-15}} Their first home game was played on September 17, against Linköpings HC, 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.vaxjolakers.se/artikel/3826/ |title=Invigningsöverraskningen: Podein på plats i VIDA Arena |publisher=Växjö Lakers Hockey |author=Jonas Gustavsson |language=sv |date=2011-09-16 |access-date=2011-09-16}} Their first home points and regulation-time win came on September 27, when the Lakers won 4–1 against Modo Hockey.{{cite web |url=http://www.vaxjolakers.se/artikel/4234/ |title=Första segern i VIDA Arena |publisher=Växjö Lakers Hockey |author=Jonas Gustavsson |date=2011-09-27 |access-date=2011-10-02}} The Lakers' first shutout came on away ice when Modo were beaten 2–0 on 25 October 2011.{{cite web |url=http://www.vaxjolakers.se/artikel/12449/ |title=Seger – och första nollan |publisher=Växjö Lakers Hockey |author=Jonas Gustavsson |language=sv |date=2011-10-25 |access-date=2011-10-25}}

Växjö Lakers played the first Småland derby 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.{{cite web |url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=179&artikel=4736183 |title=Historiskt derby i Småland |publisher=Sveriges Radio |author=Bosse Johander |language=sv |date=2011-10-08 |access-date=2011-10-08}} Växjö Lakers came out on top with a 3–2 victory in a shootout. Växjö Lakers forward Mike Iggulden scored three penalty shot goals in the game, two of them counted in the statistics.{{cite web |url=http://www.vaxjolakers.se/artikel/10289/ |title=Iggulden straffade HV71 i smålandsderbyt |publisher=Växjö Lakers Hockey |author=Per Johansson |language=sv |date=2011-10-08 |access-date=2011-10-08}}

Season-by-season record

class="wikitable"
rowspan="2" \| Season ! rowspan="2" \| Level ! rowspan="2" \| Division ! colspan="2" \| Record ! rowspan=2 \| {{abbr\|Avg. home atnd.\|Average home attendance}} ! rowspan="2" \| Notes
Position ! W-T-L W-OT-L
colspan=7 style="text-align=center" \| This list features the five most recent completed seasons. For prior seasons, see List of Växjö Lakers seasons.
rowspan=2 \|2017–18 \| style="background:#FFFF00;" \| Tier 1 \| SHL \| 1st \| 34–6–2–10 \| 4,658 \|
colspan=2 \| Swedish Championship playoffs \| — \| 12–1 \| 5,629 \| Won finals, 4–0 vs Skellefteå AIK
rowspan="3" \|2018–19 \| style="background:#FFFF00;" \| Tier 1 \| SHL \| 7th \| 22–3–10–17 \| 4,691 \|
colspan=2 \| Eighth-finals \| — \| 2–0 \| 4,579 \| Won 2–0 vs Örebro HK
colspan="2" \|Swedish Championship playoffs \|— \|1–4 \|5,223 \|Lost in quarterfinals, 1–4 vs Luleå HF
rowspan="2" \|2019–20 \| style="background:#FFFF00;" \| Tier 1 \| SHL \| 10th \| 20–26–4–2 \| 4,835 \|
colspan="2" \| Swedish Championship playoffs \| — \| — \| — \| Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
rowspan="2" \|2020–21 \| style="background:#FFFF00;" \| Tier 1 \| SHL \| 1st \| 34–11–6–1 \| — \|
colspan="2" \| Swedish Championship playoffs \| — \| 11–3 \| — \| Won finals, 4–1 vs Rögle BK
rowspan="2" \|2021–22 \| style="background:#FFFF00;" \| Tier 1 \| SHL \| 5th \| 28–17–5–2 \| 3,691 \|
colspan="2" \| Swedish Championship playoffs \| — \| 0–4 \| \| Lost in quarterfinals 0–4 vs Frölunda HC
rowspan="2" \|2022–23 \| style="background:#FFFF00;" \| Tier 1 \| SHL \| 1st \| \| \|
colspan="2" \| Swedish Championship playoffs \| — \| \| \| Won finals, 4–1 vs Skellefteå AIK

class="wikitable"

rowspan="2" | Season

! rowspan="2" | Level

! rowspan="2" | Division

! colspan="2" | Record

! rowspan=2 | {{abbr|Avg.
home
atnd.|Average home attendance}}

! rowspan="2" | Notes

Position

! W-T-L
W-OT-L

colspan=7 style="text-align=center" | This list features the five most recent completed seasons. For prior seasons, see List of Växjö Lakers seasons.

rowspan=2 |2017–18

| style="background:#FFFF00;" | Tier 1

| SHL

| 1st

| 34–6–2–10

| 4,658

colspan=2 | Swedish Championship playoffs

| —

| 12–1

| 5,629

| Won finals, 4–0 vs Skellefteå AIK

rowspan="3" |2018–19

| style="background:#FFFF00;" | Tier 1

| SHL

| 7th

| 22–3–10–17

| 4,691

colspan=2 | Eighth-finals

| —

| 2–0

| 4,579

| Won 2–0 vs Örebro HK

colspan="2" |Swedish Championship playoffs

|—

|1–4

|5,223

|Lost in quarterfinals, 1–4 vs Luleå HF

rowspan="2" |2019–20

| style="background:#FFFF00;" | Tier 1

| SHL

| 10th

| 20–26–4–2

| 4,835

colspan="2" | Swedish Championship playoffs

| —

| Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

rowspan="2" |2020–21

| style="background:#FFFF00;" | Tier 1

| SHL

| 1st

| 34–11–6–1

| —

colspan="2" | Swedish Championship playoffs

| —

| 11–3

| —

| Won finals, 4–1 vs Rögle BK

rowspan="2" |2021–22

| style="background:#FFFF00;" | Tier 1

| SHL

| 5th

| 28–17–5–2

| 3,691

colspan="2" | Swedish Championship playoffs

| —

| 0–4

| Lost in quarterfinals 0–4 vs Frölunda HC

rowspan="2" |2022–23

| style="background:#FFFF00;" | Tier 1

| SHL

| 1st

colspan="2" | Swedish Championship playoffs

| —

| Won finals, 4–1 vs Skellefteå AIK

Players and personnel

=Current roster=

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Brian | last = Cooper | dab = Brian Cooper (ice hockey) | num = 21 | pos = D | nat = United States | s/g = L | birthyear = 1993 | birthmonth = 11 | birthday = 1 | acq = 2022 | birthplace = Anchorage, Alaska, United States | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Filip | last = Eriksson | dab = | num = 25 | pos = C | nat = SWE | s/g = L | birthyear = 2004 | birthmonth = 11 | birthday = 5 | acq = 2022 | birthplace = Ljungby, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Zach | last = Giuttari | dab = | num = 8 | pos = D | nat = USA | s/g = R | birthyear = 1996 | birthmonth = 4 | birthday = 17 | acq = 2023 | birthplace = Warwick, Rhode Island, United States | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Petter | last = Granberg | dab = | num = 6 | pos = D | nat = SWE | s/g = R | birthyear = 1992 | birthmonth = 8 | birthday = 27 | acq = 2024 | birthplace = Gällivare, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Hugo | last = Gustafsson | dab = | num = 28 | pos = C | nat = Sweden | s/g = L | birthyear = 2000 | birthmonth = 2 | birthday = 23 | acq = 2021 | birthplace = Södertälje, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Karl | last = Henriksson | dab = | num = 24 | pos = C | nat = SWE | s/g = L | birthyear = 2001 | birthmonth = 2 | birthday = 5 | acq = 2024 | birthplace = Malmö, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Otto | last = Koivula | dab = | num = 12 | pos = LW | nat = FIN | s/g = L | birthyear = 1998 | birthmonth = 9 | birthday = 1 | acq = 2024 | birthplace = Nokia, Finland | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Emil | last = Larmi | dab = | num = 33 | pos = G | nat = Finland | s/g = L | birthyear = 1996 | birthmonth = 9 | birthday = 28 | acq = 2021 | birthplace = Lahti, Finland | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Emil | last = Larsson | dab = Emil Larsson (ice hockey) | num = 26 | pos = LW | nat = Sweden | s/g = L | birthyear = 1993 | birthmonth = 8 | birthday = 4 | acq = 2025 | birthplace = Lugano, Switzerland | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Keegan | last = Lowe | dab = | num = 4 | pos = D | nat = Canada | s/g = L | birthyear = 1993 | birthmonth = 3 | birthday = 29 | acq = 2022 | birthplace = Greenwich, Connecticut, United States | inj = no | cap = A | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Martin | last = Lundberg | dab = Martin Lundberg | num = 27 | pos = F | nat = Sweden | s/g = L | birthyear = 1990 | birthmonth = 6 | birthday = 7 | acq = 2017 | birthplace = Skellefteå, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Eric | last = Martinsson | dab = | num = 64 | pos = D | nat = SWE | s/g = L | birthyear = 1992 | birthmonth = 10 | birthday = 22 | acq = 2023 | birthplace = Klippan, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Dylan | last = McLaughlin | dab = Dylan McLaughlin (ice hockey) | num = 13 | pos = C | nat = United States | s/g = L | birthyear = 1995 | birthmonth = 6 | birthday =5 | acq = 2023 | birthplace = Lancaster, New York, United States | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Ludvig | last = Nilsson | dab = Ludvig Nilsson | num = 41 | pos = LW | nat = Sweden | s/g = L | birthyear = 1994 | birthmonth = 3 | birthday = 28 | acq = 2019 | birthplace = Stockholm, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Joel | last = Persson | dab = Joel Persson | num = 94 | pos = D | nat = Sweden | s/g = R | birthyear = 1994 | birthmonth = 3 | birthday = 4 | acq = 2020 | birthplace = Kristianstad, Sweden | inj = no | cap = C | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Dennis | last = Rasmussen | dab = Dennis Rasmussen (ice hockey) | num = 40 | pos = C | nat = SWE | s/g = L | birthyear = 1990 | birthmonth = 7 | birthday = 3 | acq = 2024 | birthplace = Västerås, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Félix | last = Robert | dab = | num = 91 | pos = C | nat = CAN | s/g = L | birthyear = 1999 | birthmonth = 7 | birthday = 24 | acq = 2024 | birthplace = Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Elias | last = Rosén | dab = | num = 36 | pos = D | nat = Sweden | s/g = L | birthyear = 1999 | birthmonth = 1 | birthday = 4 | acq = 2023 | birthplace = Landshut, Germany | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Robert | last = Rosén | dab = | num = 87 | pos = C | nat = Sweden | s/g = R | birthyear = 1987 | birthmonth = 6 | birthday = 25 | acq = 2020 | birthplace = Alvesta, Sweden | inj = no | cap = A | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Victor | last = Stjernborg | dab = Victor Stjernborg | num = 9 | pos = C/LW | nat = Sweden | s/g = L | birthyear = 2003 | birthmonth = 5 | birthday = 22 | acq = 2020 | birthplace = Malmö, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Sebastian | last = Strandberg | dab = | num = 29 | pos = C | nat = SWE | s/g = L | birthyear = 1992 | birthmonth = 6 | birthday = 4 | acq = 2024 | birthplace = Visingsö, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Ville | last = Svensson | dab = | num = 69 | pos = C | nat = Sweden | s/g = L | birthyear = 2005 | birthmonth = 6 | birthday = 8 | acq = 2023 | birthplace = Kalmar, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Emil | last = Sylvegård | dab = | num = 51 | pos = LW | nat = SWE | s/g = L | birthyear = 1993 | birthmonth = 3 | birthday = 2 | acq = 2023 | birthplace = Malmö, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Marcus | last = Sylvegård | dab = | num = 18 | pos = RW | nat = SWE | s/g = R | birthyear = 1999 | birthmonth = 5 | birthday = 4 | acq = 2025 | birthplace = Gessie, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Leo Sahlin | last = Wallenius | dab = | num = 49 | pos = D | nat = Sweden | s/g = L | birthyear = 2006 | birthmonth = 4 | birthday = 10 | acq = 2024 | birthplace = Skövde, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Manuel | last = Ågren | dab = | num = 62 | pos = LW | nat = Sweden | s/g = L | birthyear = 1994 | birthmonth = 3 | birthday = 4 | acq = 2022 | birthplace = Oskarshamn, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

{{Ice hockey team player

| first = Adam | last = Åhman | dab = | num = 70 | pos = G | nat = Sweden | s/g = L | birthyear = 1999 | birthmonth = 7 | birthday = 31 | acq = 2021 | birthplace = Västervik, Sweden | inj = no | cap = | fa = }}

Updated 15 February 2025.{{citeweb|url = https://www.eliteprospects.com/team/339/vaxjo-lakers-hc | title = Växjö Lakers roster | publisher = eliteprospects.com | date = 15 February 2025 | accessdate = 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=

width=40px \| No. ! width=130px \|Player ! width=40px \|Position ! width=150px \|Career ! width=150px \|No. retirement
class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" \|+ style="background:#FFFFFF;border-top:#f37932 3px solid;border-bottom:#003781 3px solid; color:#000000;" \| Växjö Lakers retired numbers
14	Stefan Nilsson	F	1990–1991, 1997–2003	–
38	Johan Markusson	RW	2005–2014	–
85	Liam Reddox	LW	2011–2019	–

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.{{Cite web| url = https://www.quanthockey.com/shl/en/teams/lulea-hf-players-career-shl-stats.html | title = Växjö Lakers - All Time SHL leaders | website = quanthockey.com | date = 2019-05-31 | access-date = 2019-05-31}}

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; {{Color box|#cfc|border=darkgray}} = current Växjö Lakers player

class="wikitable" \|+ style="background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#f37932 3px solid; border-bottom:#003781 3px solid; color:#000000;" \| Points ! Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	P/G
align="center" \| align="left" bgcolor ="#cfc" \| Robert Rosén	C	499	147	208	355	.71
align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee" \| align="left" bgcolor ="#cfc" \| Joel Persson	D	348	43	191	234	.67
align="center" \| align="left" \| Liam Reddox	LW	386	72	78	150	.39
align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee" \| align="left" \| Erik Josefsson	C	607	73	75	148	.24
align="center" \| align="left" \| Richard Gynge	C	191	72	76	148	.78
align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee" \| align="left" \| Tuomas Kiiskinen	LW	206	58	72	130	.63
align="center" \| align="left" \| Cory Murphy	D	208	28	89	117	.56
align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee" \| align="left" \| Tomi Kallio	RW	204	43	73	116	.57
align="center" \| align="left" bgcolor ="#cfc" \| Dennis Rasmussen	C	196	49	58	107	.55
align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee" \| align="left" \| Emil Pettersson	C	131	41	58	99	.75