| Lars Molin | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1956-05-07)7 May 1956 (age 69) 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 | ||
Lars-Erik Molin (born 7 May 1956) is a Swedish former professionalice hockeycentre. He spent 3 seasons in theNational Hockey League with theVancouver Canucks between 1981 and 1984 and spent the majority of his career withModo Hockey in the SwedishElitserien. Many of his finest accomplishments came forTeam Sweden in international play, as he helped his country to several medal finishes at both theWinter Olympics andWorld Championships during the 1980s.
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men'sice hockey | ||
| Representing Sweden | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 | 1980 Lake Placid | Ice hockey |
| 1988 Calgary | Ice hockey |
| World Championships | ||
 | 1987 Austria | Team |
 | 1981 Sweden | Team |
A skilled playmaking forward who was strong on both the powerplay and penalty kill, Molin broke into theModo 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 the1980 Winter Olympics inLake 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 theVancouver Canucks in 1981 to try his luck in the NHL, joining former Modo teammatesThomas Gradin andLars Lindgren who were already established at the club.
Fresh off representing Sweden in the1981 Canada Cup, Molin had a strong rookie season in Vancouver in1981–82, 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 theStanley Cup finals.
Molin continued his solid play the following year, notching 12 goals and 39 points in 58 games. However, by1983–84, 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 the1987 World Championships. He would also help Sweden to another bronze in the1988 Winter Olympics inCalgary.
Now well into his 30s, Molin left Modo in 1988 and dropped down to the Swedish 2nd division withÖrebro 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 142 goals and 142 assists for 284 points in 335 appearances.
Following his career, Molin moved into coaching, with stints atIF Björklöven andTimrå IK.
| 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 | ||||
| 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 | |||