Holger "Hogge" Nurmela (28 October 1920 – 1 March 2005) was a Swedish ice hockey, football and bandy player and manager, known for representing Hammarby IF in all three sports.
Holger Nurmela | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Holger Nurmela in 1949. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 28 October 1920 Stockholm, Sweden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 1 March 2005 (aged 84) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Athletic career
editIce hockey
edit
In 1937, Nurmela made his debut for Hammarby IF in Elitserien, Sweden's top tier.[2] He won three Swedish championships – 1942, 1943 and 1945 – with the club.[3] He formed a feared line together with right winger Stig Emanuel Andersson and centre Kurt Kjellström.[4]
Nurmela was known as a versatile player with great skating abilities: a sniper, playmaker and grinder combined.[1][5] He won the scoring league in the Swedish top division in both 1949 and 1950.[1] In total, he made 204 competitive appearances for Hammarby, scoring 154 goals.[6]
In 1950, Nurmela joined rivals AIK, which caused some upset among the Hammarby supporters.[7] He stayed with the club for two seasons, after which he played three years with Saltsjöbadens IF in the lower divisions.[8]
He returned to Hammarby in 1955–56 as a player-coach, before retiring from hockey after the Elitserien season.[9] He worked as the head coach of Hammarby between 1955–1957 and 1966–1971.[8]
Nurmela played 121 international games for the Sweden national team, scoring 84 goals, and regularly captained the side.[5][1] Nurmela represented his country at several major tournaments, such as several World Championships. He competed at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Winter Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1952, finishing fourth in 1948 and 1956.[5]
He is a recipient of the honorary award "Big boy" and was inducted into the Swedish Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012; both awards are handed out by Swedish Ice Hockey Association.[10][1]
Football
editIn 1939, at age 18, Nurmela debuted in the senior football team of Hammarby IF.[11] During his full first season, in 1939–40, Hammarby competed for one season in Allsvenskan, the domestic top league, with Nurmela playing 16 of 22 fixtures and scoring 7 goals, but was relegated immediately.[12][5]
Up until 1950, Nurmela made a total of 111 league appearances for Hammarby, mostly in the Swedish second tier Division 2, scoring 77 goals playing as a forward.[13]
Bandy
editNurmela was also a prominent bandy player for Hammarby IF between 1940 and 1950.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Holger Nurmela" (in Swedish). Svenska Ishockeyförbundet. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ "1938" (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ "Svenska mästare i ishockey" (PDF) (in Swedish). Swedish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ "#17 Kurt Kjellström" (in Swedish). Swedish Hockey Association. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Holger Nurmela" (in Swedish). SOK. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Holger Nurmela" (in Swedish). Hammarby Hockey. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ "1951" (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Holger Nurmela" (in Swedish). Eliteprospects. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ "1956" (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ "Stora Grabbar" (PDF) (in Swedish). Svenska Ishockeyförbundet. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ "1938" (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ "1940" (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ "Hammarby IF:s historia" (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com