Maja Nylén Persson
| Maja Nylén Persson | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Nylén Persson with the New York Sirens in 2025 | |||
| Born |
20 November 2000 Avesta, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) | ||
| Weight | 63 kg (139 lb; 9 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| PWHL team Former teams |
New York Sirens Leksands IF Brynäs IF | ||
| National team |
 Sweden | ||
| Playing career | 2014–present | ||
Maja Nylén Persson (born 20 November 2000) is a Swedish ice hockey player who is a defender for the New York Sirens of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). A member of the Swedish national team, she was drafted tenth overall in the second round of the 2024 PWHL draft by New York.
Playing career
Nylén Persson grew up cheering for Leksands IF, and made her debut in what is now the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) for their women's team at the age of 13.[1] She played five seasons for the club, scoring over 60 points.[2] In March 2019, she won the EliteProspects Award for the SDHL's youth player of the year, becoming the inaugural recipient of the women's hockey version of the award.[3]
After graduating from high school, she left Leksands to sign a three-year contract with Brynäs IF.[4] She scored 26 points in 36 games in her first season with Brynäs, serving as an assistant captain.[5] Following the season, she repeated as the recipient of the EliteProspects Award.[6]
The 2021–22 season saw Nylén Persson record 15 goals and 47 points in 35 games, good for fifth in league scoring and first among defenders. In the playoffs, her four goals and 13 points helped Brynäs to their second consecutive finals appearance. She won the SDHL awards for player of the year and defender of the year, and became the first woman to win the Salming Trophy as the best Swedish-born defender playing in Sweden. Following the season, she signed a two-year contract extension with Brynäs.[7]
In the 2023–24 season as the captain of Brynäs, Nylén Persson finished fifth in the league and led all defenders with 38 points in 36 games. She won the SDHL top defender award for the third consecutive season.[8][9]
Nylén Persson chose to move to North America for the 2024–25 season, declaring for the 2024 draft of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), where she was selected tenth overall by New York. She signed a three-year contract with the club on 11 July.[10] Prior to the start of the PWHL season, she was loaned back to Brynäs, where she played the first five games of the SDHL season and recorded five points, all assists.[11] Her season in the PWHL was ended prematurely by an upper-body injury sustained against the Minnesota Frost on 16 March 2025, before which she had recorded two goals and six points in 23 games.[12]
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women's ice hockey | ||
| Representing Sweden | ||
| World U18 Championship | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2018 Russia | |
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2016 Canada | |
Nylén Persson was part of the Swedish squad that won gold at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.[13] She made her senior national team debut at the 2017 World Championship.[14]
Nylén Persson represented Sweden at the 2017 World U18 Championship, where they faced Russia in the bronze-medal match. Scoreless after two periods, the Russians scored twice in the third period to deprive Sweden of a medal. Nylén Persson was named the best player of the match for the Swedes.[15]
Returning for the 2018 World U18 Championship, Nylén Persson was named to the media all-star team as she and Sweden claimed a silver medal. A month later, she made her Olympic debut as the youngest on her team at the 2018 Winter Olympics, recording four points in six games despite the Swedes' worst-ever seventh-place finish.[16]
In the 2022 Olympic qualifying tournament, Sweden won all three matches to qualify for the games, with Nylén Persson recording an assist in the final match, a 3–2 victory over France.[16] As an alternate captain at the Olympic tournament, she was an integral part of the Swedish delegation, who would be eliminated in the quarterfinals.[17]
Nylén Persson represented Sweden at the 2024 World Championship in Utica, New York, where she led Swedish defenders in ice time with an average of 20 minutes per game and recorded three points in five games before being named a top three player on the Swedish team.[10][18]
On 12 January 2026, she was named to Sweden's roster to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics.[19]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2014–15 | Leksands IF | Riksserien | 22 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Leksands IF 2 | Div. 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Sandvikens IK | Div. 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Leksands IF | Riksserien | 27 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Leksands IF | SDHL | 34 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Leksands IF | SDHL | 33 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Leksands IF | SDHL | 35 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Brynäs IF | SDHL | 36 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Brynäs IF | SDHL | 36 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | Brynäs IF | SDHL | 35 | 15 | 32 | 47 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Brynäs IF | SDHL | 32 | 16 | 32 | 48 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Brynäs IF | SDHL | 36 | 11 | 27 | 38 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Brynäs IF | SDHL | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2024–25 | New York Sirens | PWHL | 23 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2025–26 | New York Sirens | PWHL | 30 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Riksserien/SDHL totals | 331 | 81 | 178 | 259 | 50 | 53 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 4 | ||||
| PWHL totals | 53 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Sweden | U18 |  |
6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2017 | Sweden | U18 | 4th | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | Sweden | WC | 6th | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | Sweden | U18 |  |
5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2018 | Sweden | OG | 7th | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Sweden | WC | 9th | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022 | Sweden | OG | 8th | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2022 | Sweden | WC | 7th | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2023 | Sweden | WC | 6th | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2024 | Sweden | WC | 7th | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2026 | Sweden | OG | 4th | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 17 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | ||||
| Senior totals | 46 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 10 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| SDHL | ||
| Elite Prospects Award | 2019, 2020 | [6] |
| Defender of the Year | 2022, 2023, 2024 | [8] |
| Player of the Year | 2022 | [7] |
| Salming Trophy | 2022 | |
| All-Star Team | 2023 | [20] |
| International | ||
| World U18 Championship – Media All-Star Team | 2017 | [21] |
References
- ↑ Rönnkvist, Ronnie (9 February 2019). "Släkt med Nicklas Lidström – nu gör hon OS-debut: "En inspirationskälla för mig"". Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ↑ "CLOSE-UP SDHL: Leksand IF:s Maja Nyhlén Persson". Hockeysverige. 18 December 2018. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ↑ Rönnkvist, Ronnie (29 March 2019). "En historisk första vinnare av EliteProspects Award: "Hon är komplett"". Hockeysverige. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ↑ Foster, Meredith (29 May 2019). "Maja Nylén Persson signs with Brynäs IF". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ↑ Dahlén, Johanna (12 September 2020). ""Hoppas att yngre tjejer ser mig som en förebild"". Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- 1 2 Karlsson, Måns (27 May 2020). "Vinnare igen – hon får Elite Prospects Award". Hockeysverige. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- 1 2 "Maja Nylén-Persson stannar i Brynäs IF" (in Swedish). Brynäs IF. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- 1 2 Kennedy, Ian (28 April 2024). "Nylen Persson Named SDHL Defender of the Year Ahead of PWHL Draft". The Hockey News. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ↑ Pakarinen, Risto (3 May 2023). "SDHL Hands Out Awards, Meixner Named MVP". The Hockey News. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- 1 2 Kennedy, Ian (11 July 2024). "PWHL New York Signs Maja Nylén Persson To A Three-Year Deal". The Hockey News. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ↑ Kennedy, Ian (6 October 2024). "Nylen Persson Leaves Brynas To Prepare For PWHL". The Hockey News. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ↑ Kuehl, Tyler (25 March 2025). "Sirens place Maja Nylen Persson on long-term injured reserve". Daily Faceoff. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ↑ Rönnkvist, Ronnie (17 January 2020). "SDHL-stjärnan minns tillbaka på guldet 2016". Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ↑ "2017 World Championship roster" (PDF). IIHF. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ↑ "Sverige föll tungt i bronsmatchen i JVM". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). 14 January 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- 1 2 O'Brien, Derek (2 February 2022). "New blood leading Swedes". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ↑ Fundaro, Gabriella (30 April 2022). "2022 Top 25 Under 25 | Honorable Mentions: Maja Nylén Persson and Emma Söderberg". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ↑ Kennedy, Ian (16 April 2024). "Sweden's Maja Nylen Persson Coming To The PWHL". The Hockey News. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ↑ "Tre Kronor dams OS-trupp är presenterad". swehockey.se (in Swedish). 12 January 2026. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
- ↑ Öberg, Niklas. "All Star Team Damer 2022/2023". Swedish Ice Hockey Association (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ↑ "Media All Stars" (PDF). IIHF.com. International Ice Hockey Federation. 13 January 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database, or ThePWHL.com
- Maja Nylen Persson at Milano Cortina 2026
- Maja Nylen Persson at Olympics.com
- Maja Nylén-Persson at Olympedia
- Maja Nylén Persson at Sveriges Olympiska Kommitté (in Swedish) (in English)
- Maja Nylén Persson on Instagram
- 2000 births
- Living people
- Swedish women's ice hockey defencemen
- People from Avesta (locality)
- Ice hockey players at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics
- Olympic ice hockey players for Sweden
- Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 2026 Winter Olympics
- Youth Olympic gold medalists for Sweden
- Brynäs IF (women) players
- Leksands IF (women) players
- Ice hockey people from Dalarna County
- 21st-century Swedish sportswomen
- New York Sirens players
- New York Sirens draft picks
- Medalists at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics