Leonard Paul Lilyholm (April 1, 1941 – December 28, 2024) was an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player who played 77 regular season games in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

for the

Minnesota Fighting Saints The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 1976 ...

in 1972 and 1973.

Early life

Lilyholm was born in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. Lilyholm graduated from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in 1966 and played on the

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team is the college hockey, college ice hockey team at the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. They are members of the Big Ten Conference and compete in National ...

team. As an amateur, he frequently played for the

United States men's national ice hockey team The United States men's national ice hockey team represents the United States in men's international ice hockey. The team is controlled by USA Hockey, the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United States. The U.S. team is currently ...

Career

Lilyholm was a member of Team USA at the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. The 1968 Winter Games marked the first time ...

and the 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, and 1974

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the I ...

. Outside hockey, Len Lilyholm was an architect and builder who participated in the design of the St. Paul Civic Center, the Saints' new home arena which was completed in January 1973. He appeared as a hockey coach in ''

Ice Castles ''Ice Castles'' is a 1978 American romantic drama film directed by Donald Wrye and starring Lynn-Holly Johnson and Robby Benson. It is the story of Lexie Winston, a young figure skater, and her rise and fall from super stardom. Tragedy strik ...

'', a 1978

romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

Death

Lilyholm died at the age of 83 in a head-on traffic collision along with his wife, Carol, on

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bo ...

Worth County, Iowa Worth County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,443. The county seat is Northwood, Iowa, Northwood. The county was founded in 1851 and na ...

on December 28, 2024. Lilyholm, the driver, crossed over the median and drove southbound in the northbound lanes before hitting another car head-on. The driver of the other vehicle was also killed. Everyone involved in the crash, including Lilyholm and his wife, were wearing their seatbelts. Former Robbinsdale HS star, Olympian Len Lilyholm dies
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References

External links

* * * The Complete Historical and Statistical Reference to the World Hockey Association by Scott Surgent, Xaler Press, 1941 births 2024 deaths American men's ice hockey left wingers Ice hockey people from Hennepin County, Minnesota Ice hockey players from Minnesota Ice hockey players at the 1968 Winter Olympics Minnesota Fighting Saints players Olympic ice hockey players for the United States People from Robbinsdale, Minnesota Rochester Mustangs players Suncoast Suns (SHL) players Road incident deaths in Iowa {{US-icehockey-winger-stub