Linus Hultström (born December 9, 1992) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently signed under contract with Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

Linus Hultström
Born (1992-12-09) December 9, 1992 (age 31)
Vimmerby, Sweden
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Right
SHL team
Former teams
Linköping HC
Leksands IF
Djurgårdens IF
HC Vityaz
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
National team  Sweden
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2010–present

Playing career edit

A product of Vimmerby HC, Hultström joined the youth ranks of Linköpings HC in 2008. He made his debut in Sweden's top-flight Elitserien with the club's men's team during the 2009–10 Elitserien season. In October 2014, he signed with another Elitserien team, Leksands IF,[1] before moving on to Djurgårdens IF, where he inked a three-year deal in April 2015.[2]

Hultström made 60 appearances for the Stockholm-based team during the 2015–16 season, tallying 15 goals and 28 assists. He also saw action in eight contests of the Champions Hockey League (two goals, four assists).[3]

On May 3, 2016, he put pen to paper on a two-year, entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL).[4] He was returned on loan to Djurgårdens IF for the first season of his contract with the Panthers, in 2016–17. He remained in the SHL for the entire duration of his contract with the Panthers, eventually signing a two-year contract extension with Djurgårdens IF on January 10, 2017.

As a free agent following the shortened 2019–20 season due to the COVID-19, Hultström left Sweden for the first time in his professional career by agreeing to a two-year contract with Russian club, HC Vityaz of the KHL, on May 2, 2020.[5] In the 2020–21 season, Hultström quickly adapted to the new league, continuing to produce on the blueline in posting seven goals and 23 points through 53 regular season games.

On May 1, 2021, Hultström left Vityaz after just one year, remaining in the KHL by agreeing to a one-year contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk.[6] During his lone season with Metallurg in 2021–22, Hultström recorded a career-high of 24 assists, in posting 28 points through 48 regular season games. In the post-season, he added a further 7 points from the blueline before losing in the Gagarin Cup finals to CSKA Moscow.

As a free agent, Hultström left the KHL and returned to his original club, Linköping HC of the SHL, signing a four-year contract on May 4, 2022.[7]

Career statistics edit

 
Hultström with Linköping HC

Regular season and playoffs edit

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08 Vimmerby HC SWE.4 1 0 1
2008–09 Linköpings HC J18 16 1 4 5 0
2008–09 Linköpings HC J18 Allsv 14 2 2 4 4 2 0 0 0 0
2009–10 Linköpings HC J18 22 4 14 18 18
2009–10 Linköpings HC J18 Allsv 8 4 3 7 2 3 0 3 3 0
2009–10 Linköpings HC J20 13 1 2 3 4 6 1 3 4 2
2009–10 Linköpings HC SEL 1 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Linköpings HC J20 41 11 10 21 55 3 1 2 3 2
2011–12 Linköpings HC J20 2 0 1 1 2 6 2 4 6 4
2011–12 Linköpings HC SEL 5 0 0 0 4
2011–12 IK Oskarshamn Allsv 47 5 12 17 26 6 0 1 1 0
2012–13 Linköpings HC SEL 55 5 3 8 32 10 0 2 2 2
2013–14 Linköpings HC J20 3 2 2 4 14
2013–14 Linköpings HC SHL 31 1 1 2 8 11 0 3 3 4
2013–14 IK Oskarshamn Allsv 23 2 9 11 6
2014–15 Linköpings HC SHL 5 0 0 0 0
2014–15 Leksands IF SHL 48 10 23 33 20
2015–16 Djurgårdens IF SHL 52 12 19 31 16 8 3 9 12 6
2016–17 Djurgårdens IF SHL 44 7 13 20 24 3 0 1 1 2
2017–18 Djurgårdens IF SHL 44 5 19 24 16 11 5 1 6 4
2018–19 Djurgårdens IF SHL 52 9 18 27 4 19 5 8 13 10
2019–20 Djurgårdens IF SHL 52 15 17 32 20
2020–21 HC Vityaz KHL 57 7 16 23 28
2021–22 Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 48 4 24 28 22 20 2 5 7 12
2022–23 Linköping HC SHL 52 9 20 29 22
SHL totals 441 73 133 206 166 62 13 24 37 28
KHL totals 105 11 40 51 50 20 2 5 7 12

International edit

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2022 Sweden OG 4th 2 0 0 0 0
Senior totals 2 0 0 0 0

References edit

  1. ^ "Hultström förstärker Leksands IF". Leksands IF. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  2. ^ "Linus Hultström till Djurgården". Djurgården Hockey. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  3. ^ "Statistics | Champions Hockey League". www.championshockeyleague.net. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  4. ^ "Florida Panthers sign defenseman Linus Hultström". Florida Panthers. May 3, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  5. ^ "Vityaz sign Swedish blueliner Linus Hultstrom" (in Russian). HC Vityaz. May 2, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  6. ^ "Linus Hultstrom with Metallurg" (in Russian). Metallurg Magnitogorsk. May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  7. ^ "Linus Hultstrom back in LHC". Linköping HC. May 4, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022.

External links edit