Emma Eliasson

Did You Know?

• Eliasson has a degree in economics from Luleå University of Technology.
• She spent most of her summers working as a miner in Kiruna's magnetite mines.
• After retiring from hockey, she played football for a year as a midfielder for Notvikens IK in Luleå.

Career

Eliasson grew up in Kiruna, first in the Karesuando district and later in central Kiruna, often playing on boys' teams. She has said she had to show she was better than the boys or simply run over them to earn respect. From ages 14 to 15 she played for Modo Hockey, commuting by bus from Kiruna to Örnsköldsvik. In 2006 she moved to Gävle to attend high school and play for Brynäs IF. Between 2010 and 2012, Brynäs reached the playoff finals three consecutive years and lost each time; in 2012 she scored a hat-trick in the semi-finals to send the club to the finals. She signed with Munksund-Skuthamns SK for the 2012–13 season and was named an assistant captain. When that club merged with Luleå HF in 2015 to form Luleå HF/MSSK, she became captain. In 2015–16 she recorded a career-best 45 points, led the team to its first championship, and was named Riksserien Defender of the Year. She was also named Swedish Hockey Girl of the Year in 2016 and afterward called on the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation to change the award's name. In 2016–17 she posted 37 points in 36 games as the league became the SDHL, and Luleå finished first in the regular season for a second straight year; she added 3 points in 4 playoff games before the club lost in the semi-finals to HV71. She announced her retirement in May 2017, citing stress causing heart palpitations and her controversial removal from the national team. Luleå head coach Fredrik Glader said that the best defender ever in Swedish women's hockey had ended her career. In 2018 Kiruna IF named her an honorary club member alongside Börje Salming, the first such honours in 15 years. The next year the club retired her number, making her the first player in club history to receive that honour.

International career

Eliasson made over 200 international appearances for Sweden. She won a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and also represented Sweden at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, scoring 7 points in 16 Olympic matches. After the 2006 silver medal, a portrait of her was hung inside the Kiruna hockey arena but was removed after repeated vandalism; it was later put back up permanently. Following Sweden's quarterfinal loss to Finland at the 2014 Olympics, she announced her retirement from international play but returned in 2015. In 2017 she was controversially removed from the national team by head coach Leif Boork, who said the leadership had been too weak and it was time to stop compromising. Boork was fired a year later after a seventh-place finish at the 2018 Olympics, allegations of bullying Jenni Asserholt into retirement, and a player petition for his resignation. After retiring, Eliasson criticised the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation, saying it betrayed the players when they were most vulnerable. She described how after Sweden's quarterfinal defeat at the 2016 World Championships, 14 players met in a hotel room in Norrtälje to discuss poor morale and performance and to address complaints about outdated food and strict rules intruding on personal lives; the Federation refused to meet with them. In 2019, after Sweden was relegated from the top IIHF division, players went on strike, and she spoke in support, saying she felt a lot of good would come from it.