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For a country with a long history of excellence in winter sports, Norway has produced surprisingly few hockey players. The Norwegian hockey league, UPC-ligaen, is still dominated by import players, and the national team has enjoyed relatively little international success. A couple of Norwegian players have earned some accolades in the Swedish and German leagues, but only one player, center Espen Knutsen, has spent significant time in the National Hockey League.

With well over 300,000 registered players at different levels, soccer is far and away the dominant sport in Norway, a country of 4.4 million. Hockey lags far behind with only a little more than 6,000 players. One of the major reasons for this discrepancy is the number of available ice rinks. There are less than 30 indoor hockey rinks in Norway, and in the southern and northern regions of a country that stretches nearly 1,100 miles north to south, there are no rinks. This makes hockey a regional sport with limited recruitment.

The Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation (NIF) recently launched an initiative to improve this situation. Over the next decade, NIF hopes to double the number of indoor rinks and bring hockey to new areas of the country. To aid this process, the Norwegian government has initially promised to contribute substantial funding for the first 12 of those rinks, making construction quite likely. If this initiative is successful, and recruitment increases, Norway should eventually become more competitive internationally.

Even with a limited talent pool, there are still some up-and-coming Norwegian prospects currently playing in North America that are worth noting.

Twenty-year-olds Marius Holtet and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen are both playing in the American Hockey League this season. Holtet is the highest drafted Norwegian ever, having been selected in the second round, 42^nd overall, by the Dallas Stars in 2002. The aggressive winger was Norway’s leading scorer at both the 2003 and the 2004 International Ice Hockey Federation’s U20 Division I World Championship. He spent the past three years playing for the junior and farm teams of the Swedish team Färjestad, but never saw any time with the main club. The Stars finally decided to bring Holtet to North America and signed him to a three-year contract in the summer of 2004. He will start his North American career with the Houston Aeros, the Stars’ American Hockey League affiliate.

Tollefsen, a 6’2 stay-at-home defenseman, was selected in the third round, 65^th overall, by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2002 National Hockey League entry draft. Later that summer, Tollefsen was also selected ninth overall by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Canadian Hockey League import draft. Tollefsen spent two seasons with the Wheat Kings, and served as alternate captain in his second year. During his time in Manitoba, the blueliner was also called upon by Team Norway on several occasions. He captained the Norwegian U20 team at the 2004 International Ice Hockey Federation's World Junior B Hockey Championship, and he was the youngest player on the Norwegian roster at the 2004 International Ice Hockey Federation's Division I World Championship.

“[He’s a] gritty kid who’s shown a lot of character coming to the Western League and playing hard. Looks like he’ll have a chance to play,” Columbus General Manager Doug MacLean told Hockey’s Future just a few months before the Blue Jackets signed Tollefsen to his first National Hockey League contract in the summer of 2004. Tollefsen has started the 2004-05 season with the Syracuse Crunch, the Blue Jackets’ American Hockey League affiliate.

In addition to the two prospects currently in the American Hockey League, two other Norwegians are playing in the Canadian Hockey League.

Eighteen-year-old Mathis Olimb is a center with good offensive skills. He spent most of the 2003-04 season playing for Manglerud Star, one of the teams in the Norwegian top league. At only 5’9 and 165 lbs, Olimb lacks the size so many professional scouts seek. He was not selected in the 2004 National Hockey League entry draft, but was ranked 129^th among European skaters. He was, however, a first round selection in this year’s Canadian Hockey League import draft. Olimb was selected 56^th overall by this year’s Memorial Cup hosts, the London Knights. He saw minimal ice time with a Knights team deep with talent and was traded to the Sarnia Sting 10 games into the season.

Joakim Jensen made his debut in the Norwegian top league as a 16-year-old in 2003. The 5’11 right wing was the 12^th overall selection in this year’s Canadian Hockey League import draft. Jensen was selected by Baie-Comeau, a team that two years ago had another Norwegian import on their roster, Patrick Thoresen. Thoresen had 108 points in 71 games for Baie-Comeau in the 2002-03 season, but was passed over by National Hockey League teams in several drafts and is now playing in Sweden.

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