Elias Lindholm Bio
Elias Viktor Zebulon Lindholm is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who currently plays as a forward for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Born on 2 December 1994 in Boden, Sweden, Lindholm was selected fifth overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2013 NHL Draft. Known for his scoring touch, two-way responsibility, and leadership, he has represented Sweden internationally and played for several NHL organizations over the course of his career.
Standing 6 ft 1 in tall and weighing roughly 200 lb, Lindholm plays centre and shoots right. Across his NHL tenure with Carolina, Calgary, Vancouver, and Boston, he has produced consistent offense while taking on top-line minutes and a defensive role that once placed him among the finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy.
Early Life and Background
Elias Viktor Zebulon Lindholm was born on 2 December 1994 in Boden, a small city in northern Sweden, and grew up in Gävle. Hockey ran in the family from the very beginning. His father, Mikael Lindholm, was a former professional ice hockey player who appeared in 404 Elitserien games and also played 18 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings during the 1989–90 season.
Elias began playing ice hockey at the age of three in Hanover, Germany, while his father was suiting up for the Hannover Scorpions. That early immersion in the sport, combined with a household shaped by professional hockey, gave him a strong technical foundation and a clear sense of the work required to reach the top level.
He is the younger brother of ice hockey player Oliver Lindholm and a cousin of fellow Swedish pro Calle Järnkrok. Despite the shared last name, he is not related to NHL defenseman Hampus Lindholm.
Path to Hockey
Lindholm came up through the youth system of Brynäs IF, one of the most respected development programs in Sweden. He played four games for the Brynäs under-20 team and was the second-leading scorer for the under-18 side, performances that quickly put him on the radar of professional scouts.
In 2011, he was selected in the fourth round, 86th overall, by SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL Junior Draft. That same year, he joined Sweden’s Elitserien, the country’s top professional league at the time, appearing in 14 games for Brynäs, including two playoff contests. He also represented his country at the 2011 World Junior A Challenge and the 2012 World U18 Championships, and led all junior players in the Elitserien with 30 points, recording 11 goals and 19 assists.
At the 2013 World Junior Championship in Ufa, Lindholm registered two goals and two assists in six games as Sweden captured a silver medal, further cementing his status as one of Sweden’s top prospects ahead of the 2013 NHL Draft.
Elias Lindholm Career
Early Career (2011–2013)
Lindholm’s early senior career was spent with Brynäs IF in Sweden’s Elitserien. Over parts of two seasons, he showed he could handle professional minutes, balancing limited top-team appearances with dominant junior production. He totaled 30 points as a junior in the Elitserien, a mark that led all players in his age category in the league.
His two-way play, hockey sense, and offensive upside convinced the Carolina Hurricanes to select him fifth overall in the 2013 NHL Draft, making him one of the highest-drafted Swedish players of that year.
Carolina Hurricanes (2013–2018)
Following the 2013 NHL Draft, Lindholm made the Hurricanes’ opening roster for the 2013–14 season. He scored his first NHL goal in his fourth game on 10 October 2013. By finding the back of the net at 18 years and 311 days old, he became the youngest Swedish-born player to score an NHL goal, surpassing Gabriel Landeskog’s previous record of 18 years and 324 days.
On 8 March 2015, Lindholm recorded his first career hat trick in a 7–4 win against the Edmonton Oilers, a sign of the offensive ceiling that scouts had long projected. He spent his first five NHL seasons in Carolina, gradually taking on a larger role and serving as one of the team’s most reliable young forwards before being traded.
Calgary Flames (2018–2024)
On 23 June 2018, Lindholm was traded to the Calgary Flames along with Noah Hanifin in exchange for Dougie Hamilton, Micheal Ferland, and prospect Adam Fox. He signed a six-year contract with the Flames on 16 July 2018. In his first season in Calgary, he played top-line minutes alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, and all three set new career highs in points, with Lindholm producing 27 goals and 78 points.
He set another career high in goals the following season with 29, even though the year was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. When play resumed in the summer bubble for the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, Lindholm helped the Flames eliminate the Winnipeg Jets in the qualifying round before Calgary fell to the Dallas Stars in the first round. He managed two goals and four assists in 10 playoff games that summer.
Under new head coach Darryl Sutter in 2020–21, Lindholm was moved back to centre and reunited with Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. He finished the shortened 56-game season with 19 goals and 28 assists, though the Flames did not qualify for the 2021 playoffs.
The 2021–22 campaign proved to be the high point of his time in Calgary. Lindholm scored his 40th goal of the season on 23 April 2022 in a 6–3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, reaching the mark for the first time in his career. He finished with 42 goals and 40 assists for 82 points, while Gaudreau and Tkachuk also topped 40 goals, marking the first time in 28 years that linemates had all reached the milestone. The Flames won the Pacific Division, and Lindholm was voted a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward. In the playoffs, he scored the lone goal in a 1–0 series-opening win over Dallas, helped the Flames win that series in seven games, and faced the Edmonton Oilers in the first Battle of Alberta in 31 years, a series Calgary ultimately lost in five games.
Vancouver Canucks (2024)
With Calgary out of playoff contention and Lindholm in the final year of his contract, the Flames traded him to the Vancouver Canucks on 31 January 2024 in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, unsigned prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo, and first-round and conditional fourth-round picks in the 2024 NHL Draft. Lindholm became only the fifth player in franchise history to score two or more goals in his first game with the Canucks, and he tied the franchise record for most game-winning goals through a player’s first six games with the team.
Boston Bruins (2024–Present)
Leaving the Canucks as a free agent, Lindholm signed a seven-year, $54.25 million contract with the Boston Bruins on 1 July 2024. He entered the 2024–25 season as the Bruins’ projected first-line centre, opening with two goals and three assists in his first three games before enduring a stretch of 18 straight games without a goal. He was named to Sweden’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off but went scoreless in three games, and he finished the year on a stronger note, producing four goals and five assists in his final eight games.
Driving Style and Strengths
Lindholm’s game is built on hockey sense, two-way responsibility, and a heavy shot from the right side. He reads the play at a high level, drives possession through the middle of the ice, and has shown the ability to play with elite wingers, including Gaudreau, Tkachuk, and Tkachuk, while shouldering difficult defensive matchups, the qualities that once made him a Selke Trophy finalist.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among his signature moments are becoming the youngest Swedish-born NHL goal-scorer in 2013, his first NHL hat trick against Edmonton in 2015, his 40-goal season and Selke Trophy finalist campaign with Calgary in 2021–22, and the trade-deadline move to Vancouver in 2024 that produced a record-tying debut stretch with the Canucks.
Elias Lindholm Career Wins
While individual NHL game-by-game win totals are not fully verifiable in the available sources, Lindholm’s career has been defined by team success at key moments, including a Pacific Division title with Calgary, a Selke Trophy finalist season, a Western Conference semifinal appearance with the Flames, and an NHL career-high 82-point campaign in 2021–22. He has also been a steady contributor on the international stage, where Sweden has earned multiple medals with him in the lineup.
NHL Highlights
Across stops with Carolina, Calgary, Vancouver, and Boston, Lindholm has produced career highs of 42 goals and 82 points, earned a Selke Trophy nomination, and scored the series-opening goal in a memorable 2022 playoff win over Dallas. He has skated in playoff series with the Hurricanes and the Flames, including the 2022 Battle of Alberta against Edmonton.
Other Wins & Performances
Internationally, Lindholm has captured a gold medal with Sweden at the 2017 IIHF World Championship and a bronze medal in 2025, when he led the tournament in goals with eight and was named to the all-star team. He has also won four silver medals with Sweden’s junior program, at the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, the 2012 World U18 Championships, and the 2013 and 2014 World Junior Championships, while serving as an assistant captain in 2012 and 2014.
Elias Lindholm Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Lindholm comes from a deep hockey family. His father, Mikael Lindholm, played 404 Elitserien games in Sweden and 18 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings in 1989–90, then continued his career in Europe, including time with the Hannover Scorpions in Germany, where Elias first laced up skates at age three.
Personal Life
Lindholm is the younger brother of professional ice hockey player Oliver Lindholm and a cousin of fellow Swedish forward Calle Järnkrok. He grew up primarily in Gävle, Sweden, after being born in Boden, and continues to make his off-season home in Sweden while playing in North America.
2025 Season Performance
Heading into the 2025 calendar year, Lindholm was in the first season of a seven-year, $54.25 million contract with the Boston Bruins. He opened his Bruins tenure with two goals and three assists in his first three games, giving Boston a glimpse of the top-line production the team had signed him to deliver, before an 18-game goal drought followed.
He was selected to Sweden’s roster for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, where he went scoreless in three games. Later in the year, he represented Sweden at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, leading the tournament with eight goals and earning a bronze medal along with a place on the all-star team.
Although the Bruins struggled as a team and ultimately missed the playoffs, Lindholm closed the 2024–25 regular season strongly, posting four goals and five assists over his final eight games, and was later named to Sweden’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics, where he was held scoreless. The longer-term outlook centers on stabilizing his role as Boston’s top two-way centre, building chemistry with new linemates, and translating his international scoring touch back into consistent NHL production.
