Sabina Küller
{{short description|Swedish ice hockey player and on-ice official}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox ice hockey biography
| image_size =
| caption =
| image =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1994|9|22|df=y}}
| birth_place = Norrtälje, Sweden
| height_m = 1.76
| weight_kg = 71
| position = Centre
| shoots = Left
| played_for = AIK IF
| sex = f
| ntl_team = SWE
| career_start = 2009
| career_end = 2022
}}
Anna Sabina Lambertz Küller (born 22 September 1994) is a Swedish ice hockey official, retired ice hockey player, and former member of the Swedish national ice hockey team.{{cite web |title=2019 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship – Team Roster: SWE - Sweden |url=https://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/510/IHW5100SWE_33_2_0_SWE.pdf |website=International Ice Hockey Federation |access-date=7 January 2025 |date=4 April 2019}}[https://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/510/IHW5100SWE_33_2_0_SWE.pdf 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship roster] She played the entirety of her senior club career with AIK IF and served as the team's captain from 2016 until her retirement in 2022.
Playing career
Küller began playing ice hockey at the age of 3 in Norrtälje, just outside of Stockholm. She grew up playing on mixed-gender teams until the age of nine, when an AIK coach scouted her for their girls' team.{{Cite web|last=Oliver|first=Nathaniel|date=2018-02-08|title="Humbled and Honored": Sweden's Sabina Küller|url=https://thehockeywriters.com/team-sweden-sabina-kuller/|access-date=2021-06-30|website=The Hockey Writers|language=en-us}} She would make her first Riksserien appearance with AIK in 2009–10 against Leksands IF, scoring her first goal on her first shot.{{Cite web|date=2020-07-22|title=Sommarprat i SDHL: Sabina Küller, AIK|url=http://www.sdhl.se/artikel/guqjakbgd-5nfcdd/sommarprat-i-sdhl-sabina-kueller-aik|access-date=2021-06-30|website=SDHL.se|language=sv}}
She was named AIK captain ahead of the 2016–17 SDHL season.
She missed seven weeks of the 2018–19 season after suffering a broken arm before the Christmas break.{{Cite web|date=2019-01-26|title=Lagkapten Küller på väg tillbaka efter armbrott: "Det har inte varit kul"|url=https://www.norrteljetidning.se/logga-in/lagkapten-kuller-pa-vag-tillbaka-efter-armbrott-det-har-inte-varit-kul|url-access=subscription|access-date=2021-06-30|website=Norrtelje Tidning|language=sv}} She ended up scoring 11 points in 26 games that season, her lowest total in six years as the team finished in 8th in the league for the first team in its history.{{Cite web|last=Rönnkvist|first=Ronnie|date=2019-04-01|title=Från armbrott till VM-spel: "Någon gång måste det vända"|url=https://hockeysverige.se/2019/04/01/sabina-kuller-infor-vm|access-date=2021-06-30|website=HockeySverige|language=sv}}
After scoring just one goal in her first 19 games in the 2020–21 SDHL season, she scored a hat-trick against Leksands IF in December 2020.{{Cite web|last=Murphy|first=Mike|date=2020-12-07|title=Dam Good: Lara Stalder explodes for 7 points against SDE|url=https://www.theicegarden.com/2020/12/7/22157745/dam-good-lara-stalder-brynas-explodes-for-7-points-against-sde-sdhl-womens-hockey|access-date=2021-06-30|website=The Ice Garden|language=en}}
= International =
Küller made her first senior IIHF World Championship appearance with Sweden at the 2015 IIHF Women's World Championship and competed in the 2016, 2017, and 2019 tournaments.[https://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/486/IHW486000_33_15_0_SWE.pdf 2015 IIHF World Championship roster] She scored one goal and 3 points across six games in the women’s ice hockey tournament at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Officiating career
Küller was encouraged by several acquaintances to consider on-ice officiating shortly after her retirement in 2022. She was quickly recruited into a program and became invested in officiating as she learned about the development curve and found "new goals to aim for."{{cite news |last1=Störlinge |first1=Svante |title=Ex-stjärnans nya jobb: Domare i toppserien |url=https://www.expressen.se/sport/hockey/sdhl/sabina-kuller-blir-ny-domare-i-sdhl/ |access-date=7 January 2025 |work=Expressen |date=8 September 2023 |language=sv}}
In her second season as an official, she was selected by SDHL players and coaches to receive the {{Lang|sv|Guldpipan}} ({{lit|Golden Whistle}}) as the best referee of the 2023–24 SDHL season.{{cite news |last1=Kågström |first1=Rasmus |title=Sabina Küller tilldelas Guldpipan |url=https://hockeysverige.se/sdhl/sabina-kuller-tilldela-guldpipan/ |access-date=7 January 2025 |work=HockeySverige |date=25 April 2024 |language=sv-SE}}{{cite news |title=Blir hon första kvinnliga domaren i SHL? |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/senastenytt/ttsport/sport/a/8qvm52/blir-hon-forsta-kvinnliga-domaren-i-shl |access-date=7 January 2025 |work=Aftonbladet |date=1 January 2025 |language=sv}}
Alongside her work in Swedish leagues, Küller officiates for International Ice Hockey Federation events. As of January 2025, she has served as a referee for the Group A tournament of the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II, the Group A tournament of the 2024 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship Division I, and the 2025 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship.
Personal life
In 2011, Küller experienced a serious health scare after she accidentally received six-times the standard adult dose of morphine while being treated in hospital for a herniated disc.{{Cite web|last=Persson|first=Pove|date=2011-12-28|title=Sabina Küller NT-sportens stipendiat|url=https://www.norrteljetidning.se/artikel/sabina-kuller-nt-sportens-stipendiat|access-date=2021-06-30|website=Norrtelje Tidning|language=sv}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{icehockeystats}}
- {{Olympedia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuller, Sabina}}
Category:AIK Hockey Dam players
Category:Ice hockey people from Stockholm County
Category:Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Category:Ice hockey players at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics
Category:Olympic ice hockey players for Sweden
Category:People from Norrtälje
Category:Swedish ice hockey officials
Category:Swedish women's ice hockey centres
Category:Youth Olympic gold medalists for Sweden
Category:21st-century Swedish sportswomen
{{Sweden-icehockey-player-stub}}