Mikael Tjälldén

Mikael Tjälldén (born February 16, 1975) is a Swedish retired professional ice hockey defenceman who played throughout Europe and in North American minor leagues.

Career As a junior player, Tjälldén represented Ångermanland in the 1990 TV-Pucken. Ångermanland won the silver medal, losing to Skåne in the final.

Tjälldén began his professional career in 1990 with home town club Sollefteå HK in Division 1, whilst also playing Junior hockey for Modo. Following the culmination of the 1992-93 season, Tjälldén was selected in the 1993 NHL entry draft, 67th overall by the Florida Panthers. Tjälldén then moved to Timrå IK, also of Division 1, where he played for 3 seasons. Following his time in Timrå, for the 1996-97 season Tjälldén moved up to the SHL and played for Västra Frölunda HC.

Tjälldén moved to North America for the 1997-98 season to play for the Panthers ECHL affiliate team, the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks. During this season, he also dressed 3 times for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. Following his year in North America, Tjälldén returned to Europe this time playing for SM-Liiga outfit Lukko in Finland, as well as Italian Serie A side Asiago.

Tjälldén then moved to the United Kingdom in order to play for the Newcastle Riverkings of the BISL for the 1999-00 season. Tjälldén would stay in the UK for the following season, dressing for the London Knights of the same league. Tjälldén then returned to Sweden to play for Skellefteå AIK in the Allsvenskan for the 2001-02 season.

Tjälldén then moved to Norway to compete for Eliteserien side Storhamar. He would go on to play for the team for 4 years, winning the Eliteserien during the 2002-03 season. On December 13, 2005 whilst playing for Storhamar against Vålerenga, Tjälldén was hit by Aleksander Nervik which resulted in Tjälldén's helmet coming off. Tjälldén then fell, hitting his head on the ice, suffering a fractured skull and a brain bleed. Nervik was suspended for 4 games as a result of the hit. The incident effectively ended Tjälldén's hockey career.

International Tjälldén represented Sweden in the 1993 IIHF European Junior Championships, and helped the team win gold with 5 assists in 6 games.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1990–91 Sollefteå HK Division 1 6 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 1993–94 Sundsvall/Timrå Division 1 26 2 6 8 32 — — — — — 1994–95 ST Hockey Division 1 23 0 9 9 24 — — — — — 1995–96 Timrå IK Division 1 29 1 4 5 38 — — — — — 1996-97 Västra Frölunda HC SHL 32 0 2 2 14 3 0 1 1 4 1997-98 Tallahassee Tiger Sharks ECHL 37 3 13 16 60 — — — — — Syracuse Crunch AHL 3 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 1998-99 Lukko SM-Liiga 18 0 4 4 26 — — — — — Asiago Serie A 18 2 12 14 18 — — — — — 1999-00 Newcastle Riverkings BISL 34 3 11 14 26 8 1 3 4 4 2000-01 London Knights BISL 20 9 5 14 10 — — — — — 2001-02 Skellefteå AIK Allsvenskan 43 4 8 12 52 6 0 3 3 10 2002-03 Storhamar Eliteserien 35 7 11 18 65 8 0 1 1 12 2003-04 Storhamar Eliteserien 31 1 8 9 32 8 0 0 0 10 2004-05 Storhamar UPC-ligaen 39 1 4 5 58 6 0 1 1 8 2005-06 Storhamar UPC-ligaen 23 0 5 5 53 — — — — —