Leif Rohlin
Born (1968-02-26) February 26, 1968
Västerås, Sweden
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Vancouver Canucks
Västerås IK
HC Ambri-Piotta
Djurgårdens IF
National team  Sweden
NHL Draft 33rd overall, 1988
Vancouver Canucks
Playing career 1988–2003

Leif Johan Rohlin (born February 26, 1968) is a former professional ice hockey defenceman who spent 2 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Vancouver Canucks and enjoyed a long career in Europe. He is currently the General Manager of VIK Västerås HK of the second level of Swedish ice hockey, HockeyAllsvenskan.

Playing career

Rohlin was selected 33rd overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, following a strong performance at the 1988 World Junior Championships. While considered a strong NHL prospect, he continued to ply his trade in Sweden with his hometown club, Västerås IK.

Rohlin's game would continue to evolve in Sweden, although he proved difficult for the Canucks to sign. By the mid-1990s, he had earned the tag of 'best defender outside the NHL'. Strong performances at the 1994 Winter Olympics and 1995 World Championships, along with a monster 1994–95 season in the Swedish Elite League in which he scored 15 goals and 30 points in just 39 games, helped cement this status. He was finally signed by the Canucks in the summer of 1995 at the age of 27.

Rohlin entered the NHL with substantial expectations and, while he wasn't an outright flop, his performance did prove disappointing. His offensive game didn't translate to the NHL as well as had been hoped, and he lacked the grit needed to succeed in the more physical North American game. However, his solid puckmoving skills and positional smarts made him a useful depth defender. In 1995–96, he recorded 6 goals and 16 assists for 22 points in 56 games for the Canucks. Following the season, he was selected to represent Sweden in the 1996 World Cup, although he would appear in just 1 game in the tournament. In 1996–97 he would appear in just 40 games, recording 2 goals and 8 assists for 10 points. Rohlin and the Canucks would part ways following the season, and he chose to return to Europe.

Rather than go back to Sweden, Rohlin instead signed with HC Ambri-Piotta of the Swiss Nationalliga A. He would quickly establish himself as one of the top defenders in Switzerland, and helped Ambri-Piotta to two Continental Cups. He would also represent Sweden again at the 2001 World Championships. He would spend 4 seasons in Switzerland before returning to Sweden in 2001 to sign with Djurgårdens IF. After a year at Djurgården, Rohlin would sign at Södertälje SK for the 2002–03 season before retiring.

In 96 NHL games, Rohlin recorded 8 goals and 24 assists for 32 points, along with 40 penalty minutes. Altogether, he would record 270 points in 602 games over 15 seasons of top-level hockey between Europe and North America.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1986–87 Västerås IK Hockey SWE.2 27 2 5 7 12 12 0 2 2 8
1987–88 Västerås IK Hockey SWE.2 30 2 15 17 46 7 0 4 4 8
1988–89 Västerås IK Hockey SEL 22 3 7 10 18 — — — — —
1988–89 Västerås IK Hockey Allsv 18 2 5 7 20 5 0 1 1 2
1989–90 Västerås IK Hockey SEL 32 3 6 9 40 — — — — —
1990–91 Västerås IK Hockey SEL 40 4 10 14 46 — — — — —
1991–92 Västerås IK Hockey SEL 39 4 6 10 52 — — — — —
1992–93 Västerås IK Hockey SEL 37 5 7 12 24 2 0 0 0 0
1993–94 Västerås IK Hockey SEL 40 6 14 20 26 4 0 1 1 6
1994–95 Västerås IK Hockey SEL 39 15 15 30 46 4 2 0 2 2
1995–96 Vancouver Canucks NHL 56 6 16 22 32 5 0 0 0 0
1996–97 Vancouver Canucks NHL 40 2 8 10 8 — — — — —
1997–98 HC Ambrì–Piotta NDA 40 7 29 36 28 14 4 3 7 32
1998–99 HC Ambrì–Piotta NDA 44 8 31 39 58 15 4 9 13 18
1999–2000 HC Ambrì–Piotta NLA 45 5 21 26 56 7 1 3 4 8
2000–01 HC Ambrì–Piotta NLA 36 4 9 13 34 — — — — —
2001–02 Djurgårdens IF SEL 41 2 6 8 34 5 1 0 1 8
2002–03 Södertälje SK SEL 49 2 8 10 44 — — — — —
SEL totals 339 44 79 123 330 15 3 1 4 16
NHL totals 96 8 24 32 40 5 0 0 0 0
NDA/NLA totals 165 24 90 114 176 36 8 16 24 54

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1988 Sweden WJC 7 1 1 2 8
1994 Sweden OG 8 0 1 1 10
1995 Sweden WC 8 0 3 3 0
1996 Sweden WCH 1 0 0 0 2
2001 Sweden WC 9 1 1 2 6
Senior totals 26 1 5 6 18
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