Timothy Winston Liljegren (born 30 April 1999) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

. He is currently playing with the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Swedish Hockey League

Liljegren made his Swedish Hockey League debut on 3 December 2015 playing with

Rögle BK Rögle BK (Rögle Bandyklubb) is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Ängelholm that has been playing in the SHL since the 2015–16 season. Rögle has previously played in the SHL (previously named Elitserien) in 1992–1996, 2008–20 ...

during the

2015–16 SHL season The 2015–16 SHL season was the 41st season of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). The regular season began in September 2015 and ended in March 2016. The playoffs were played in March–April 2016. Modo Hockey and Karlskrona HK were forced to pla ...

. Liljegren missed the first two months of the 2016–17 season after getting

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...

National Hockey League

Marlies-vs-stars---060218 42521997941 o (43026270961)

On 23 June 2017, Liljegren was selected in the first-round, 17th overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He later agreed with the Maple Leafs to a three-year, entry-level contract on 12 July 2017. Liljegren was assigned to the Maple Leafs'

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) affiliate, the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

, for their 2017–18 season. In his rookie season, he was the youngest defenceman in the AHL. That same season, the Marlies beat the

Texas Stars The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin, with home games at the H-E-B Center. They are owned by the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars and are the ...

to win the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...

. Liljegren made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs on 18 January 2020 in a 6–2 defeat against the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

. He earned his first NHL point in his sixth NHL game; an assist in a 4–2 victory over the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

. Liljegren scored his first

goal on 15 January 2022 against

Jordan Binnington Jordan Binnington (born July 11, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). Binnington was raised in Richmond Hill and Toronto. He was drafted by the Blues in the third ...

of the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

. On 27 June 2022, Liljegren signed a two-year $2.8 million contract with the Maple Leafs. He missed the beginning of the 2022–23 season with a

hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the groin. Groin herni ...

. He played his first game of the season on 5 November against the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

Personal life

Liljegren was born and grew up in

Kristianstad Kristianstad (, ; older spelling from Danish ''Christianstad'') is a city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 40,145 inhabitants in 2016. During the last 15 years, it has gone from a garrison town to a devel ...

. He and his two older brothers were raised by a single mother. At age 14, his family moved to

Ängelholm Ängelholm is a locality and the seat of Ängelholm Municipality in Skåne, Sweden with 39,612 inhabitants in 2010. History The old settlement ''Rynestad'' was mentioned around the year 1600. The city was founded in 1516 as Engelholm by King Chri ...

, home of the Rögle BK hockey program, to further his hockey career. Liljegren holds American citizenship through his father, who is from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* 1999 births Living people Swedish people of American descent National Hockey League first-round draft picks Newfoundland Growlers players People from Kristianstad Municipality People from Ängelholm Municipality Rögle BK players Swedish ice hockey defencemen Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players Sportspeople from Skåne County {{Sweden-icehockey-defenceman-stub