Jakob Lilja

Jakob Lilja (born 23 July 1993) is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for HC Ambrì-Piotta of the National League (NL).

Jakob Lilja
Lilja with Djurgårdens IF in 2019
Born (1993-07-23) 23 July 1993
Limhamn, Sweden
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
NL team
Former teams		 HC Ambrì-Piotta
Rögle BK
Linköping HC
Djurgårdens IF
Columbus Blue Jackets
Barys Nur-Sultan
Dynamo Moscow
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2011–present

Playing career

Lilja made his Elitserien (now the SHL) debut playing with Rögle BK during the 2012–13 Elitserien season.[1]

In the 2018–19 season, Lilja registered 12 goals and 25 assists for a career high 37 points in 52 games with Djurgårdens IF. Leading the club and finishing tied 8th in the SHL in assists, and 10th in points, he added 8 points in 19 playoff games to help reach the SHL finals.

Having made 222 appearances in the top flight SHL, Lilja gained the interest of NHL clubs as an undrafted free agent. He later agreed to pursue a North American career with the Columbus Blue Jackets, signing a one-year, entry-level contract on June 15, 2019.[2]

In his first North American season in 2019–20, Lilja made the Blue Jackets opening night roster out of training camp and made his NHL debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs on 4 October 2019.[3] Given a role on the fourth-line, Lilja appeared in 37 games over the course of the regular season, registering 2 goals and 5 points. He split the season with AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, notching 13 points through 25 contests.

After receiving permission by the Blue Jackets to find a new team during the suspension of the NHL season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lilja went to play in Kazakhstan after he was signed to a one-year deal with Kazakh club, Barys Nur-Sultan of the KHL, on 24 June 2020.[4]

Lilya played two seasons with Barys Nur-Sultan before continuing in the KHL on a two-year contract with Russian based club, HC Dynamo Moscow, on 1 August 2022.[5] In the 2022–23 season, Lilja matched his previous season totals in notching 13 goals and 14 assists fro 27 points in his lone season with Dynamo Moscow.

As a free agent, Lilja left the KHL in the off-season and was signed to a two-year contract with Swiss club, HC Ambrì-Piotta of the NL, on 1 June 2023.[6]

Assault case

On March 5, 2015 Lilja, while with Rögle BK in Allsvenskan, cross-checked Malmö Redhawks player Jens Olsson from behind in the neck, for which he earned a 10-game suspension. The incident was later brought up in court on an assault charge where on July 10, 2018 the Supreme Court of Sweden, after the case had first gone through the lower District Court of Malmö, handed Lilja a one-month probation sentence.[7]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Sunne IK Div.1 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2010–11 Rögle BK J20 39 12 13 25 18 3 0 0 0 0
2011–12 Rögle BK J20 20 8 13 21 16 — — — — —
2011–12 Rögle BK Allsv 23 2 2 4 6 10 0 0 0 2
2012–13 Rögle BK J20 11 10 2 12 6 2 0 1 1 2
2012–13 Rögle BK SEL 29 1 0 1 4 — — — — —
2012–13 IF Troja/Ljungby Allsv 10 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
2013–14 Rögle BK Allsv 47 15 7 22 10 8 0 3 3 12
2014–15 Rögle BK Allsv 51 23 12 35 28 4 1 0 1 25
2015–16 Linköping HC SHL 52 12 11 23 8 6 0 0 0 0
2016–17 Linköping HC SHL 49 11 5 16 31 6 0 0 0 0
2017–18 Linköping HC SHL 40 12 10 22 10 7 3 2 5 0
2018–19 Djurgårdens IF SHL 52 12 25 37 18 19 3 5 8 6
2019–20 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 37 2 3 5 2 — — — — —
2019–20 Cleveland Monsters AHL 22 5 8 13 2 — — — — —
2020–21 Barys Nur-Sultan KHL 59 20 15 35 8 6 1 0 1 0
2021–22 Barys Nur-Sultan KHL 47 16 11 27 2 5 2 1 3 0
2022–23 Dynamo Moscow KHL 52 13 14 27 14 6 1 3 4 0
SHL totals 222 48 51 99 71 38 6 7 13 6
NHL totals 37 2 3 5 2 — — — — —
KHL totals 158 49 40 89 24 17 4 4 8 0

References
  1. "2012–13 Rögle BK player statistics". Eliteprospects.com. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  2. "Blue Jackets sign Jakob Lilja". Columbus Blue Jackets. 15 June 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  3. "Marner has two goals, assist, in win over Blue Jackets". National Hockey League. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  4. "Jakob Lilja: Signs KHL deal". CBS Sports. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  5. "Jakob Lilja to Dynamo" (in Russian). HC Dynamo Moscow. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  6. "Termination with Chlapik; Lilja and Dauphin are coming" (in French). HC Ambrì-Piotta. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  7. "Sweden: Supreme Court Rules Ice Hockey Player’s Cross-Check Constitutes Assault, Not Excused as Part of Game" Library of Congress – Law (loc.gov/law). Hofverberg Elin. July 19, 2018. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
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