Emil Martinsen Lilleberg (born 2 February 2001) is a Norwegian ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Internationally, Lilleberg represents the Norwegian national team.[1] He made his NHL debut in 2024.

Emil Lilleberg
Born (2001-02-02) 2 February 2001 (age 23)
Sarpsborg, Norway
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 94 kg (207 lb; 14 st 11 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams
Tampa Bay Lightning
Sparta Warriors
IK Oskarshamn
National team  Norway
NHL draft 107th overall, 2021
Arizona Coyotes
Playing career 2019–present

Playing career

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Lilleberg was originally drafted 107th overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by the Arizona Coyotes.[2]

On 5 June 2023, the Tampa Bay Lightning signed Lilleberg to a two-year deal. Lilleberg had been playing for IK Oskarshamn of the Swedish Hockey League. Lilleberg recorded 8 assists in 46 regular season games, and had one assist in three playoff games last season with IK Oskarshamn.[3]

During his first season in North America, Lilleberg began the 2023–24 campaign with the Lightning's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Following 31 games with the Crunch Lilleberg was recalled and made his NHL debut with the Lightning against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on 6 January 2024.[4] On 10 January 2024, Lilleberg recorded his 1st career NHL assist and point.[5] The assist came in a 3-2 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings at Amalie Arena.[6]

International play

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He represented Norway at the 2021 IIHF World Championship.[7][8]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2018–19 Sparta Sarpsborg GET 37 1 1 2 24 6 0 0 0 4
2019–20 Sparta Sarpsborg GET 39 0 12 12 71
2020–21 Sparta Sarpsborg NOR 18 2 2 4 39
2021–22 IK Oskarshamn SHL 47 0 7 7 16 10 0 0 0 2
2022–23 IK Oskarshamn SHL 46 3 8 11 41 3 0 1 1 2
2023–24 Syracuse Crunch AHL 33 2 11 13 45 5 0 2 2 2
2023–24 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 37 0 5 5 16 5 0 0 0 2
SHL totals 95 3 15 18 57 13 0 1 1 4
NHL totals 37 0 5 5 16 5 0 0 0 2

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2018 Norway WJC18-D1 15th 5 0 1 1 2
2019 Norway WJC18-D1 14th 5 0 2 2 8
2019 Norway WJC-D1 13th 4 0 3 3 6
2020 Norway WJC-D1 14th 5 0 2 2 4
2021 Norway WC 13th 6 1 0 1 14
2021 Norway OGQ NQ 3 0 0 0 2
2022 Norway WC 13th 7 0 0 0 4
2023 Norway WC 13th 7 0 0 0 4
Junior totals 19 0 8 8 20
Senior totals 23 1 0 1 24

References

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  1. ^ "Her er årets VM-tropp" (in Norwegian). hockey.no. 14 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Arizona Coyotes select defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg 107th overall". fiveforhowling.com. 24 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Lightning sign Sean Day, two international free agents to two-way deals". tampabay.com. June 5, 2023.
  4. ^ @TBLightning (January 6, 2024). "Welcome to the big league! Congrats Emil" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ @TBLightning (January 9, 2024). "With an assist on Hagel's goal, Lilleberg has picked up his first NHL point" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "Lightning coach Jon Cooper gets 500th win as Perbix scores in OT to beat slumping Kings 3-2". apnews.com. January 10, 2024.
  7. ^ "Team Roster Norway" (PDF). iihf.com. 20 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Player Statistics Norway" (PDF). iihf.com. 20 August 2021.
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