Lara Stalder

Playing career

Lara Stalder put up 148 points across 134 games over four seasons at Minnesota Duluth, leading her team in scoring during her final year. She was named WCHA Player of the Year and Student-Athlete of the Year, and finished as a top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award. In 2016, the Boston Pride selected her 20th overall in the NWHL draft. After a shoulder injury sidelined her for most of the 2018–19 season, she left Linköping and signed with Brynäs. In 2020, she was named SDHL Player of the Year after recording 71 points in 36 games, becoming the first woman to win the Guldhjälmen. Her 42 goals that season rank second all-time in the SDHL for a single season, while her 71 points rank third. Stalder made her senior national team debut at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. She played for Switzerland at the 2014 Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the bronze medal playoff. At the 2018 Olympics, she scored six points in six games as Switzerland finished fifth. During the quarterfinal round of the 2026 Winter Olympics, Stalder assisted on Alina Müller’s goal in a 1-0 win over Finland, sending Switzerland to the semifinals for the third time in four Olympic appearances. Stalder and Müller were the only players on the 2026 Olympic roster who had also been part of the Swiss team at the 2014 Games.