Ronald Pettersson

Team Sweden in November 1958, from the left, standing: Lasse Björn, Karl-Sören "Kalle" Hedlund, Einar Granath, Sigge Bröms, Nils "Double-Nisse" Nilsson, Carl-Göran "Lill-Stöveln" Öberg, Göran Lysén, Uno "Garvis" Öhrlund, Roland "Rolle" Stoltz; front row: Sven "Tumba" Johansson, Hasse Svedberg, Yngve Johansson, Roland "Sura-Pelle" Pettersson, Vilgot "Ville" Larsson and Rune Gudmundsson.

Erik Ronald Pettersson (16 April 1935 – 6 March 2010) was a Swedish ice hockey player. He played 252 international games for Sweden between 1955 and 1967, including thirteen World Championships and three Olympic Games. Between 1951 and 1967 Pettersson played for Surahammars IF, Södertälje SK and Västra Frölunda IF. He won the Swedish championship twice, in 1956 with Södertälje and in 1965 with Västra Frölunda. He won Guldpucken in 1959–60 as the most valuable player in Swedish Championship playoffs.

After suffering a career-ending injury in 1967, Pettersson took on the role as head coach for the Swedish national junior team from 1968 to 1974, the Swedish national senior team from 1974 to 1976, and the Norwegian national men's team from 1978 to 1981. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2004, and his jersey #14 was retired by Västra Frölunda in 2002.

Early life Pettersson was born in Surahammar, a rural industrial town where the name Ronald was unusual, thus the locals nicknamed him Collman, after the famous actor Ronald Colman. Pettersson was a natural athletic talent, in his youth he played tennis and table tennis with good results. He started playing bandy as a goalkeeper since his skating was of poor quality, as he developed his skating ability he moved to the outfield. He played his first ice hockey game with Surahammars IF's senior team in an exhibition game against Avesta BK during the autumn of 1952.

Playing career During the 1952–53 season Pettersson debuted at age 17 for his hometown team Surahammars IF in Division 1, the highest level of ice hockey in Sweden at the time. He played five games, scoring no goals. The following season Pettersson played ten games, scoring nine goals, only one goal shy of the team's scoring leader Arne Holmgren. Surahammar were relegated to Division 2 for the 1954–55 season, where Pettersson set a new club record as he scored 23 goals in seven games. In 1955 Pettersson left Surahammar as he was enlisted to do conscript service in the Swedish Navy, stationed in Stockholm's archipelago.

International play

Pettersson played for Sweden in all thirteen international championships between 1955 and 1967, totaling 252 games for the national team. Pettersson, a right winger, together with centre Nisse Nilsson and left winger Lars Erik Lundvall, formed the legendary ungdomskedjan (youth line), one of the most successful and considered as Tre Kronor's best line ever.

He made his debut for Juniorkronorna in February 1954, His feat was long considered an unbreakable record, but he was surpassed by Thomas Rundqvist in 1993 and later by Jonas Bergqvist and Jörgen Jönsson.

He was inducted to the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) Hall of Fame in 2004.

He became the fiftieth ice hockey player to receive Stora Grabbars Märke.

His jersey #14 is retired by Frölunda.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1952–53 Surahammars IF Division 1 50—00 ————— 1953–54 Surahammars IF Division 1 109—92 ————— 1954–55 Surahammars IF Division 2 723—238 24—40 1955–56 Södertälje SK Division 1 1011—11— 68—8— 1956–57 Södertälje SK Division 1 141213252 65380 1957–58 Södertälje SK Division 1 142415392 65272 1958–59 Södertälje SK Division 1 14147216 ————— 1959–60 Södertälje SK Division 1 1419163510 671812 1960–61 Västra Frölunda IF Division 2 1433—33— 69—9— 1961–62 Västra Frölunda IF Division 1 1491322— 7448— 1962–63 Västra Frölunda IF Division 1 13231437— 7314— 1963–64 Västra Frölunda IF Division 1 2120103020 ————— 1964–65 Västra Frölunda IF Division 1 1436923 14142162 1965–66 Västra Frölunda IF Division 1 2112172918 883116 1966–67 Västra Frölunda IF Division 1 2016132914 74370 1967–68 Västra Frölunda IF Division 1 14115168 ————— Division 1 totals 198183129312105 6758197722 Division 2 totals 2156—568 813—130

International Year Team Event GPGAPtsPIM 1955 Tre Kronor WC 8101— 1956 Tre Kronor OG 9505— 1957 Tre Kronor WC 79716— 1958 Tre Kronor WC 755100 1959 Tre Kronor WC 8606— 1960 Tre Kronor OG 748122 1961 Tre Kronor WC 7527— 1962 Tre Kronor WC 73470 1963 Tre Kronor WC 73140 1964 Tre Kronor OG 73362 1965 Tre Kronor WC 75382 1966 Tre Kronor WC 72242 1967 Tre Kronor WC 41010

Football career

Pettersson had a two-year stint with IFK Göteborg in Allsvenskan, the top-level football league in Sweden. When Pettersson was acquired by Västra Frölunda IF in 1960, Västra Frölunda's manager Anders Bernmar had talked IFK Göteborg into helping Västra Frölunda with the acquisition, after convincing them that Pettersson not only was a good ice hockey player but a good football player too. During the 1960 season, his first season with IFK, he scored two goals in eight matches in Allsvenskan, and fourteen goals in seven friendly matches. IFK Göteborg finished eight in Allsvenskan. The following season Pettersson scored two goals in six matches in Allsvenskan and matched the numbers in friendly matches. IFK Göteborg won bronze this season, Västra Frölunda had won promotion to Division 1 in ice hockey and Pettersson did not play football again.