Pontus Holmberg (born 9 March 1999) is a Swedish 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 for the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL).

Playing career

He made his debut for

Växjö Lakers The Växjö Lakers Hockey Club (often referred to as the Växjö Lakers or VLH) are a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Växjö in Sweden. The club plays at the Vida Arena and plays in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL; formerly Elitserien), ...

in the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...

(SHL) in 2018, playing two games. In the

2020–21 SHL season The 2020–21 SHL season was the 46th season of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). The regular season began in September 2020 and ended on 3 April 2021, it was then followed by the playoffs and the relegation playoffs. The league consisted of the 14 ...

, the Växjö Lakers were the top team in the regular season. They won the

Le Mat Trophy The Le Mat Trophy (, ) is the trophy awarded to Swedish champions in ice hockey. The trophy has been awarded since the 1926 season and starting with the 1975–76 season – it has been awarded to the winners of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) p ...

as the playoff winners, with Holmberg awarded the Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy as the playoff MVP with seven goals and 14 points in 14 playoff games. He was drafted 156th overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2018 NHL entry draft after the team traded for the opportunity to select him. On 4 June 2021, Holmberg was signed by the Maple Leafs to a two-year, entry-level contract. He would remain in the SHL with the Växjö Lakers on loan from Toronto for the 2021–22 season, but after his team's SHL season ended, he played the last six games of 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 are owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

season, scoring two goals and four points. Holmberg joined the Maple Leafs for training camp before the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season. He was considered among the young players who could make the team out of camp. Holmberg was demoted to the

and played seven games with them before being recalled to the Maple Leafs. He played his first NHL game on 2 November versus the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

, and scored his first NHL goal on

Vítek Vaněček Vítek Vaněček (born 9 January 1996) is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Vaněček originally played as a youth with BK Havlíčkův Brod, HC Havlíčkův B ...

on 23 November versus the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

in New Jersey. Holmberg took part in the Maple Leafs' 2023 training camp but failed to make the team. He was assigned to the Marlies to begin the season. However, after

Tyler Bertuzzi Tyler Bertuzzi (born February 24, 1995) is a Canadian professional hockey left winger for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bertuzzi was drafted 58th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2013 NHL entry draft. He has ...

was injured, Holmberg was recalled on 20 October. He played in seven games with the Maple Leafs before being returned to the Marlies. He made the Maple Leafs out of the 2024 training camp, playing on third line with

Max Pacioretty Maximillian Kolenda Pacioretty (born November 20, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey left winger for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Pacioretty was drafted in the first round, 22nd overall, in the 2007 NH ...

and Nick Robertson. Upon the conclusion of the 2024–25 season, Holmberg was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Maple Leafs to retain his rights and subsequently released to unrestricted free agency, largely due to the arbitration rights Holmberg would have been privy to as an experienced restricted free agent. On 1 July 2025, the opening day of free agency, Holmberg signed a two-year deal with the

, carrying an average annual value of $1.55 million.

International play

Holmberg was selected for Sweden's junior team at the 2019 World Juniors where the team was upset by

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in the quarterfinals of the tournament. He represented

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

at the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

, where Sweden was defeated by

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

in the bronze medal game. At the

2024 IIHF World Championship The 2024 IIHF World Championship was hosted by Czechia from 10 to 26 May 2024. It was held in Prague and Ostrava, and organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. It was the most attended Hockey Championship in history with a total atte ...

he won a bronze medal, while playing on a line with

Lucas Raymond Lucas Raymond (born 28 March 2002) is a Swedish professional ice hockey winger for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. He was drafted fourth overall by the Red Wings in the 2020 NHL entry draft. Playing career On 4 October 20 ...

and André Burakovsky. He appeared in ten games, registering six assists.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmberg, Pontus 1999 births Living people Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players for Sweden Ice hockey people from Västerås Swedish ice hockey left wingers 21st-century Swedish sportsmen Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players Växjö Lakers players VIK Västerås HK players