Stefan Persson (ice hockey)

Stefan E. Persson (born December 22, 1954, in Bjurholm, Västerbotten County) is a retired Swedish ice hockey player.

He made his debut as an 18-year-old defenceman with Piteå IF. In 1973 he joined Brynäs. While with Brynäs, he received his first national championship silver medal and two national championship gold medals, in 1976 and 1977. It was during this time that The New York Islanders drafted him, so Persson decided to go overseas to play in the NHL.

Persson's responsible, defensive style was endorsed highly by the Islanders head coach, Al Arbour, and Persson's career in the NHL started swiftly. Persson also showed an adept passing ability and an occasional scoring touch. This was no more apparent than during the Islanders first Stanley Cup playoff run in Game 1 of the 1980 Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers. It was late in the third period, when Persson scored the game-tying goal to force a sudden-death overtime that the Islanders would win. Outdoing his regular season output of four goals, Persson scored five goals in the 1980 playoffs, and had serious consideration to become the first Swede to capture the Conn Smythe Trophy, which is awarded for MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Persson was part of the first NHL team (1979-80 New York Islanders) to win a Stanley Cup with Europeans on its roster.IIHF Top 100 Hockey Stories of All Time, Szymon Szemberg and Andrew Podnieks, p.74, Fenn Publishing, Bolton, Ontario, Canada, 2008, ISBN...
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