Mattias Norlinder returns to Sweden; donations raised to pay contract
© David Kirouac-Imagn Images - Mattias Norlinder returns to Sweden; donations raised to pay contractSwedish defenseman Mattias Norlinder, 24, has signed a two-year contract with MoDo Hockey, the SHL club announced on Wednesday. Norlinder previously played with the club from 2016 to 2020 at the U16 and U18 levels and also played 55 games in the second-tier professional HockeyAllsvenskan, where he recorded 34 points.
“It feels fantastic to be able to return to MoDo Hockey,” said Norlinder.
Norlinder was a third-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2019. After leaving MoDo in 2020, Norlinder played 74 SHL regular-season and playoff games with Frölunda Gothenburg over the next two seasons, and also played six NHL games with Montreal, tallying one assist. Over the past two seasons, Norlinder played exclusively for the AHL’s Montreal Rocket.
“I initially had an ambition to continue playing in North America, but when it came down to it in the end, I preferred to stay here,” he admitted. “I’m very happy that it was resolved even though MoDo was already so far ahead in its roster building.”
MoDo has historically been a successful club in Sweden, developing legendary players Anders Hedberg, Peter Forsberg, Markus Näslund, Daniel and Henrik Sedin and current Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman. However, since winning its last national title in 2007, on-ice success has been hard to come by. The club was relegated to the Allsvenskan in 2016 and just returned to the SHL in 2023.
With financial resources being limited, the club needed to raise money from supporter groups and sponsors before it was able to offer Norlinder the contract. Exact financial terms were not disclosed.
“The reason why we started the collection was simply because we did not want to take any unnecessary risks and put the club in any financial danger,” said CEO Johan Widebro. “We have only done this once before and for us, it takes something exceptional for us to go that way. We were basically finished building the team but suddenly had the opportunity to bring home one of our own, a young guy brought up in Kramfors and MoDo, who has his best years ahead of him. It felt important to ask our members if they wanted to join and contribute.”
Describing Norlinder as a player, MoDo sports director Henrik Gradin said, “He’s a skilled, strong-skating defenseman who has offensive upside, which he may not have really been able to show while in North America. It should also be remembered that he is still young and still developing. We see him as an important piece of our team for the next two seasons.”
Related articles: