Lars Molin (ice hockey)

Lars-Erik Molin (born May 7, 1956) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey centre. He spent 3 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Vancouver Canucks between 1981 and 1984, and spent the majority of his career with Modo Hockey in the Swedish Elitserien. Many of his finest accomplishments came for Team Sweden in international play, as he helped his country to several medal finishes at both the Winter Olympics and World Championships during the 1980s.

Lars Molin
Born (1956-05-07) 7 May 1956
Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb)
Position Forward
Shot Left
Played for Vancouver Canucks (NHL)
Modo Hockey (SEL)
Örebro HK (SEL)
National team  Sweden
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 1974–1991

Playing career
Medal record
Representing  Sweden
Men's ice hockey
Olympic Games
1980 Lake PlacidIce hockey
1988 CalgaryIce hockey
World Championships
1987 AustriaTeam
1981 SwedenTeam

A skilled playmaking forward who was strong on both the powerplay and penalty kill, Molin broke into the Modo senior squad in 1974–75 at the age of 18. Over the next few seasons, he emerged as one of the club's top two-way players, culminating in his selection to play for Sweden at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. At the Olympics, he was one of Sweden's top players, scoring 7 points in 7 games to help the team to a bronze medal. After another strong season with Modo the following year, Molin was signed by the Vancouver Canucks in 1981 to try his luck in the NHL, joining former Modo teammates Thomas Gradin and Lars Lindgren who were already established at the club.

Fresh off representing Sweden in the 1981 Canada Cup, Molin had a strong rookie season in Vancouver in 1981–82, scoring 15 goals and 46 points in 72 games to finish 6th in club scoring. In the playoffs, he fared even better, notching 11 points in 17 games in helping the Canucks in their run to the Stanley Cup finals.

Molin continued his solid play the following year, notching 12 goals and 39 points in 58 games. However, by 1983–84, he had become a fringe member of the squad and slumped to 6 goals and 13 points in only 42 appearances.

His NHL options at an end, Molin returned to Modo for 1984–85, and turned in the highest-scoring season of his Swedish league career, posting 57 points in just 32 games. He continued his strong play with the club for the next few seasons, and experienced another career highlight when he helped Sweden to a Gold Medal performance at the 1987 World Championships. He would also help Sweden to another bronze in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

Now well into his 30s, Molin left Modo in 1988 and dropped down to the Swedish 2nd division with Örebro IK, where he spent the final 3 seasons of his career before retiring in 1991.

In 172 NHL appearances, Molin scored 33 goals and added 65 assists for 98 points. In 11 seasons in the top Swedish division with Modo, he added an additional 142 goals and 142 assists for 284 points in 335 appearances.

Following his career, Molin moved into coaching, with stints at IF Björklöven and Timrå IK.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1973–74 Modo AIK SWE 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1974–75 Modo AIK SWE 5 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1975–76 Modo AIK SEL 33 12 7 19 22 — — — — —
1976–77 Modo AIK SEL 36 18 11 29 20 4 1 1 2 2
1977–78 Modo AIK SEL 36 15 10 25 24 2 1 0 1 0
1978–79 Modo AIK SEL 36 13 16 29 18 6 3 1 4 6
1979–80 Modo AIK SEL 36 12 8 20 34 — — — — —
1980–81 Modo AIK SEL 30 17 13 30 30 — — — — —
1981–82 Vancouver Canucks NHL 72 15 46 61 10 17 2 9 11 7
1982–83 Vancouver Canucks NHL 58 12 27 39 23 — — — — —
1983–84 Vancouver Canucks NHL 42 6 7 13 4 2 0 0 0 0
1984–85 Modo AIK SWE II 32 31 26 57 22 — — — — —
1985–86 Modo AIK SEL 34 19 19 38 24 — — — — —
1986–87 Modo AIK SEL 34 8 16 24 42 — — — — —
1987–88 Modo AIK SEL 24 7 7 14 54 4 1 0 1 2
1988–89 Örebro IK SWE II 33 11 21 32 68 10 3 7 10 2
1989–90 Örebro IK SWE II 30 23 42 65 30 6 2 6 8 4
1990–91 Örebro IK SWE II 30 16 24 40 28 2 0 0 0 2
SEL totals 299 121 107 228 268 16 6 2 8 10
NHL totals 172 33 80 113 37 19 2 9 11 7
SWE II totals 125 71 123 194 148 18 5 13 18 8

International
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1976 Sweden WJC 4 2 0 2 2
1980 Sweden OG 7 2 5 7 2
1981 Sweden WC 8 2 3 5 4
1981 Sweden CC 5 2 2 4 0
1985 Sweden WC 5 1 2 3 2
1987 Sweden WC 9 1 1 2 8
1988 Sweden OG 7 0 2 2 2
Senior totals 41 8 15 23 18
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