Maja Nylén Persson Bio
Maja Nylén Persson (born 20 November 2000) is a Swedish ice hockey defenceman who plays for the New York Sirens of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). A longtime captain and award winner in the Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL), she is also a senior member of the Swedish national team and represented her country at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Standing 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) tall and weighing 63 kg (139 lb), she shoots right and has built a reputation as one of the top defensive players of her generation.
Early Life and Background
Maja Nylén Persson was born on 20 November 2000 in Avesta, Sweden, a small municipality in Dalarna County. She grew up cheering for Leksands IF, the local club of the same region, and first laced up her skates in the youth programs around that storied franchise. The proximity of professional women’s hockey in Sweden allowed her to dream of a senior career from a young age.
Her early exposure to the sport came through Leksands’ developmental setup, and she was already dreaming of a top-flight career before she turned 13. Surrounded by family and a tight hockey community, she absorbed the rhythms of the Swedish game, learning the small-area skills and puck-moving style that have since defined her play.
Path to Hockey
Nylén Persson made her debut in what is now the Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL) for Leksands IF’s women’s team at the age of 13, becoming one of the youngest players to appear in the top Swedish women’s league. She went on to play five seasons for the club, scoring more than 60 points while developing into one of the league’s most promising defenders.
In March 2019, she won the EliteProspects Award for the SDHL’s youth player of the year, becoming the inaugural recipient of the women’s hockey version of the prize. The award signaled her arrival on the national radar and set the stage for her move to a bigger role in the SDHL.
Maja Nylén Persson Career
Early Career (2014–2019)
Nylén Persson spent her formative senior years with Leksands IF, suiting up for the women’s team from the 2014–15 season onward. As a teenager, she produced steadily on the blue line and grew into a minute-munching defender for the club. Her five seasons in Leksand included her inaugural EliteProspects youth award in 2019.
Leksands IF (2014–2019)
During her time with Leksands IF, Nylén Persson appeared in more than 100 senior matches and accumulated over 60 points across her five seasons. Her final year with the club coincided with graduation from high school, and she also repeated as the EliteProspects youth player of the year in 2019, becoming the first back-to-back winner of the award.
Brynäs IF (2019–2024)
After completing her schooling, Nylén Persson left Leksands to sign a three-year contract with Brynäs IF ahead of the 2019–20 season. She scored 26 points in 36 games in her first season with the club, serving as an assistant captain, and her production only climbed from there. In 2021–22, she registered 15 goals and 47 points in 35 games, finishing fifth in league scoring and first among defenders, while adding four goals and 13 points in the playoffs to help Brynäs reach a second consecutive finals appearance.
That 2021–22 campaign brought a sweep of individual honours: she won the SDHL player of the year and defender of the year awards and became the first woman to capture the Salming Trophy as the best Swedish-born defender playing in Sweden. She then signed a two-year contract extension with Brynäs and, in 2023–24, wore the captain’s ‘C’ for the first time, finishing fifth in league scoring and leading all defenders with 38 points in 36 games. She also took the SDHL top defender award for the third straight season.
New York Sirens (2024–Present)
Following her final year in Sweden, Nylén Persson chose to move to North America for the 2024–25 season and declared for the PWHL’s 2024 draft. New York selected her tenth overall in the second round, and she signed a three-year contract with the club on 11 July 2024. Prior to the PWHL’s start, she was loaned back to Brynäs, where she played the first five SDHL games of the season and recorded five assists.
Her first PWHL season, however, was cut short. Nylén Persson suffered an upper-body injury against the Minnesota Frost on 16 March 2025, ending her year prematurely after she had tallied two goals and six points in 23 games. The injury interrupted what had been a steady adjustment to the North American game, but her rookie contract keeps her in New York through 2027.
Playing Style and Strengths
Nylén Persson is a right-shooting defender whose strengths lie in her skating, puck distribution, and poise under pressure. Coaches have leaned on her for top-pair minutes and power-play responsibility, and she has led the SDHL in scoring among defenders multiple times, an indication of her offensive instincts from the blue line. Her 2024 World Championship workload of roughly 20 minutes per game with Sweden underscored her two-way reliability at the international level.
Notable Events and Milestones
Her career highlights include a 2016 Winter Youth Olympics gold medal, an SDHL best-defender award streak of three consecutive seasons, a Salming Trophy as the best Swedish-born defender, and a tenth-overall selection in the 2024 PWHL draft. She has also represented Sweden at the 2018 Winter Olympics, the 2022 Olympic qualifying tournament, and multiple senior and U18 World Championships, earning media all-star and top-three player honours along the way.
Maja Nylén Persson International Play
Nylén Persson has been a fixture in Sweden’s youth and senior setups. She was part of the Swedish squad that won gold at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics and made her senior national team debut at the 2017 World Championship. She also appeared at the 2017 and 2018 World U18 Championships, where she was named Sweden’s best player in the 2017 bronze-medal match and a media all-star during Sweden’s 2018 silver-medal run. A month after that 2018 U18 tournament, she debuted at the 2018 Winter Olympics as the youngest member of the Swedish team, recording four points in six games.
At the senior level, she helped Sweden win all three matches at the 2022 Olympic qualifying tournament, assisting on a goal in the 3–2 final victory over France. She served as an alternate captain at the 2022 Winter Olympics before Sweden was eliminated in the quarterfinals. At the 2024 World Championship in Utica, New York, she led Swedish defenders in ice time with about 20 minutes per game and recorded three points in five games, earning a top-three player nod for Sweden. On 12 January 2026, she was named to Sweden’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Maja Nylén Persson Awards and Honours
Among her verified honours, Nylén Persson was the inaugural women’s recipient of the EliteProspects youth award in 2019 and repeated as the winner the following year. She is a three-time SDHL best defenceman (2022, 2023, 2024), the 2021–22 SDHL player of the year, and the first woman to win the Salming Trophy as the top Swedish-born defender. She is also a 2016 Winter Youth Olympics gold medallist and a 2018 World U18 Championship silver medallist with Sweden.
Maja Nylén Persson Personal Life
Off the ice, Nylén Persson keeps a relatively private life. She maintains a public Instagram account under the handle @majanylenpersson, where she shares occasional updates from her professional and personal life. Beyond her role with the New York Sirens and her commitments to the Swedish national team, no further personal details have been publicly verified.
2025 Season Outlook
After an injury-shortened 2024–25 PWHL debut, Nylén Persson’s focus in 2025 turns to recovery and a return to full health for the New York Sirens. The Sirens will look to integrate her more fully into the lineup as she continues to adjust to the North American style, leaning on her top-pair experience and her offensive upside from the blue line.
On the international stage, 2025 is expected to feature a heavy slate of preparation for the 2026 Winter Olympics, where she has already been confirmed on Sweden’s roster. Her combination of league-tested leadership and tournament-tested poise should keep her central to Sweden’s plans as the team builds toward Milan–Cortina. For both club and country, the 2025 calendar represents a chance for her to reset, rehab, and re-establish herself among the premier defenders of her generation.
