It’s rare to see an NHL netminder playing in his early 20s. Teenage goalies are unheard of in this era.
Things are a bit different in Sweden, however. When HV71 was facing Modo in a recent SHL game, HV71 suited up not one, but two teenagers to man the nets.
Olof Glifford, 19, got the start. His backup was 18-year-old Filip Karlsson. Both play regularly for the HV71 under-10 club, but injuries led to each being brought up to play in Sweden’s top pro league. Glifford was born in 2005 and Karlsson was born in 2006.
Hugo Alnefelt and Frederik Dichow, the regular netminders for HV71, were both out of action due to illness. Oddly enough, by recalling the two junior netminders, it was the first time since the 1996-97 season that HV71 was playing a game featuring two homegrown goaltenders in their lineup. Boo Ahl and Kenneth Johansson were the HV71 goalies that day.
And it turned out that the kids were alright. Glifford made 21 saves, posting a .913 save percentage in a 4-2 victory for HV71.
“He makes a fantastic effort, he makes some important saves for us,” HV71 coach Johan Davidsson told Swedish website Expressen of his young netminder’s SHL debut.
Glifford, selected 123rd overall in the 2023 NHL entry draft by the Florida Panthers, was trying to keep his sudden success in perspective.
“Always nice to win the first game,” Glifford said. “I got very good help.”
Still, it could prove to be the beginning of a beautiful thing for Glifford. Davidsson wasn’t ready to guarantee that he was going to be handing the net back to either Alnefelt or Dichow once they regained their health.
“They will have to fight for the place, because Olof played well,” Davidsson said.
This was music to Glifford’s ears.
“It feels good that they believe in me and that they can trust me,” he said. “I trust them. It's nice to build a good bond.”