On behalf of Jon Haukeland, Petter Salsten (left), General Secretary of the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association, accepts the Paul Loicq Award from IIHF President Luc Tardif.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Andre Ringuette
It’s not every day that a longtime friend and colleague receives a lifetime achievement award. So when Norwegian hockey executive Jon Haukeland wasn’t able to accept this year’s Paul Loicq Award for his outstanding contributions to international hockey, Petter Salsten – the General Secretary of the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association – was happy to read his acceptance speech at the IIHF’s 2025 Contributors’ Ceremony in May.
Haukeland’s words were shared as part of the IIHF Hall of Fame inductions in Stockholm, Sweden: “Ice hockey has been my passion and my profession ever since I started at the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association back in 1981. Player development has always been near and dear to my heart. I have witnessed young players from all corners of Norway growing up with dreams in their eyes and fire in their hearts.”
Salsten, 60, was one of those young players. He became a key defenceman on the Norwegian national team, suiting up at three Olympics (1988, 1992, 1994) and six top-level IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships. And today, Salsten’s son Eirik – a fellow former Storhamar skater – is a fixture at centre with the Polar Bears. The 72-year-old Haukeland has seen it all come together.
“Speaking personally, Jon has been a friend and mentor ever since I came into hockey,” Salsten told IIHF.com. “He was at the federation when I grew up and started playing on the youth national teams. So he’s basically been with me for all my career on the ice. After I quit hockey and took on new positions with Norwegian hockey, he’s remained instrumental. He’s always had that focus on player development, thinking about the next generation with our Polar Bear Project, investing time and resources into putting Norwegian hockey in a better place for the future.”
Supporters of the Polar Bears are hungry for greater success on the IIHF stage. Since 2006, their men’s national team has stayed in the top division continuously. However, they haven’t cracked the top 10 finishers since 2016. Norway came 12th in 2025. Genuine highlights – like Patrick Thoresen’s 18-point all-star performance en route to a quarter-final berth in 2012 – have been rare.
“Overall, it's been a roller coaster,” Salsten admitted. “We have been able to stay up, but we haven't been able to separate ourselves in those close games that you need to win, as we hope for. And that's basically our goal, to catch up to the Latvians, the Slovaks, and even the Danes, who are a little bit ahead of us. It’s a struggle. It's a fight for resources. It’s about getting athletes to play hockey, develop them and keep them in the program.”
Two Norwegian prospects currently turning heads were selected in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft. At this year’s Worlds in Herning, Denmark, physical defenceman Stian Solberg (#15, Anaheim) scored a hat trick in a 6-5 overtime loss to the eventual champion Americans. Fellow 19-year-old Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (#23, Detroit) added four assists in that tournament and brings significant power-forward upside.
“Definitely, I think they're a big part of our future,” Salsten said. “Keep in mind also that we now have been playing for four years in the top [U18 men’s] division, and the players there are gaining experience, learning what it takes. So our hope is that Stian and Michael are in the forefront, but also that there will be other players coming through who make the future better for Norwegian hockey.”
Bringing the Worlds back to Norway would be another huge plus. The Nordic nation of 5.5 million has not hosted an Ice Hockey World Championship since the 1999 edition in Lillehammer, although the federation did make and then withdraw bids to host in 2027 and 2028.
“We’re still looking at it,” Salsten said. “We have a job to do. You know, it demands so much in terms of resources to have a good organization and a good championship like we have seen here in Denmark and Sweden. You need to have the right caliber of rink. I think we have that, but we need to have some support from the government as well, so we don't take the risk of losing anything by organizing a World Championship. With government support, I think we could make a great tournament in Oslo for Norwegian and international fans in the future.”
Meanwhile, Salsten, Haukeland, and other Norwegian hockey leaders are also eager to grow women’s hockey. 2025 was a big year for the Norwegian women. For the first time in 28 years, they participated in the top-level Women’s Worlds, finishing ninth in Ceske Budejovice in April. In June, top defender Emma Bergesen signed a one-year deal with the Ottawa Charge, becoming the first Norwegian PWHLer.
Additionally, there is growth at the grassroots level. To illustrate, the number of registered Norwegian girls and women playing hockey skyrocketed by 82.1 percent between 2017 and 2023.
“We’ve been working hard with the women's side,” Salsten said. “We think that's the future as well. We're developing. There’s more and more girls playing hockey. We have had some success lately with our national team, which is huge. And the role models are there. So building the women's hockey with league structure and games for women and girls in Norway, that’s a big focus for us going forward.”
Haukeland’s words were shared as part of the IIHF Hall of Fame inductions in Stockholm, Sweden: “Ice hockey has been my passion and my profession ever since I started at the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association back in 1981. Player development has always been near and dear to my heart. I have witnessed young players from all corners of Norway growing up with dreams in their eyes and fire in their hearts.”
Salsten, 60, was one of those young players. He became a key defenceman on the Norwegian national team, suiting up at three Olympics (1988, 1992, 1994) and six top-level IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships. And today, Salsten’s son Eirik – a fellow former Storhamar skater – is a fixture at centre with the Polar Bears. The 72-year-old Haukeland has seen it all come together.
“Speaking personally, Jon has been a friend and mentor ever since I came into hockey,” Salsten told IIHF.com. “He was at the federation when I grew up and started playing on the youth national teams. So he’s basically been with me for all my career on the ice. After I quit hockey and took on new positions with Norwegian hockey, he’s remained instrumental. He’s always had that focus on player development, thinking about the next generation with our Polar Bear Project, investing time and resources into putting Norwegian hockey in a better place for the future.”
Supporters of the Polar Bears are hungry for greater success on the IIHF stage. Since 2006, their men’s national team has stayed in the top division continuously. However, they haven’t cracked the top 10 finishers since 2016. Norway came 12th in 2025. Genuine highlights – like Patrick Thoresen’s 18-point all-star performance en route to a quarter-final berth in 2012 – have been rare.
“Overall, it's been a roller coaster,” Salsten admitted. “We have been able to stay up, but we haven't been able to separate ourselves in those close games that you need to win, as we hope for. And that's basically our goal, to catch up to the Latvians, the Slovaks, and even the Danes, who are a little bit ahead of us. It’s a struggle. It's a fight for resources. It’s about getting athletes to play hockey, develop them and keep them in the program.”
Two Norwegian prospects currently turning heads were selected in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft. At this year’s Worlds in Herning, Denmark, physical defenceman Stian Solberg (#15, Anaheim) scored a hat trick in a 6-5 overtime loss to the eventual champion Americans. Fellow 19-year-old Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (#23, Detroit) added four assists in that tournament and brings significant power-forward upside.
“Definitely, I think they're a big part of our future,” Salsten said. “Keep in mind also that we now have been playing for four years in the top [U18 men’s] division, and the players there are gaining experience, learning what it takes. So our hope is that Stian and Michael are in the forefront, but also that there will be other players coming through who make the future better for Norwegian hockey.”
Bringing the Worlds back to Norway would be another huge plus. The Nordic nation of 5.5 million has not hosted an Ice Hockey World Championship since the 1999 edition in Lillehammer, although the federation did make and then withdraw bids to host in 2027 and 2028.
“We’re still looking at it,” Salsten said. “We have a job to do. You know, it demands so much in terms of resources to have a good organization and a good championship like we have seen here in Denmark and Sweden. You need to have the right caliber of rink. I think we have that, but we need to have some support from the government as well, so we don't take the risk of losing anything by organizing a World Championship. With government support, I think we could make a great tournament in Oslo for Norwegian and international fans in the future.”
Meanwhile, Salsten, Haukeland, and other Norwegian hockey leaders are also eager to grow women’s hockey. 2025 was a big year for the Norwegian women. For the first time in 28 years, they participated in the top-level Women’s Worlds, finishing ninth in Ceske Budejovice in April. In June, top defender Emma Bergesen signed a one-year deal with the Ottawa Charge, becoming the first Norwegian PWHLer.
Additionally, there is growth at the grassroots level. To illustrate, the number of registered Norwegian girls and women playing hockey skyrocketed by 82.1 percent between 2017 and 2023.
“We’ve been working hard with the women's side,” Salsten said. “We think that's the future as well. We're developing. There’s more and more girls playing hockey. We have had some success lately with our national team, which is huge. And the role models are there. So building the women's hockey with league structure and games for women and girls in Norway, that’s a big focus for us going forward.”