Updated 11:12 | Posted 10:21 am
Cult player Kjell-Rune Milton is dead at the age of 75.
He was one of Swedish hockey’s great defenders during the 1970s.
“Yesterday evening we received the sad news that our long-time former coach and versatile national team player Kjell-Rune Milton has passed away after a long illness,” writes the club Gothenburg IK.
Kjell-Rune Milton from Umeå played for the parent club Teg in the former division 1 and division 2.
The career continued with games for Modo in Division 1 for three seasons, Västra Frölunda in Division 1 for three seasons and Köln in the German league for three seasons.
In an interview with Hockey Sweden he told about when Teg went up to the highest league to go out straight away.
– There was a drive after me when we left. Rögle was recruiting like only the one. Modo and Brynäs were also looking for me. I went there and talked to those clubs, but then it started to be written that I was just looking for money. Then I chose to stay in Teg to show that it wasn’t about money at all, says Kjell-Rune Milton.
Part of a high-profile national team
For Tre Kronor, he did five WC tournaments and the Olympics in Sapporo in the years 1969–1975.
The national team squad during these years included players such as Börje Salming, Anders Hedberg, Ulf Sterner, Thommie Bergman and Mats Åhlberg.
At his first World Cup in 1969, he scored three goals in the 10–4 victory against the USA at Johanneshov: “On the one they said would be the best goalkeeper of the tournament (Mike Curran), I put all three exactly in the same mesh”.
Before moving to Gothenburg in 1972, Kjell-Rune Milton also had an offer from the Vancouver Canucks as one of 16 teams in the NHL.
Skröna from Ö-vik
The hard-shooting defender is also known for having shot the puck into the ceiling of Kempehallen.
When Kjell-Rune Milton moved home from Germany, he settled on the west coast.
There were games in Bäcken, Mölndal, Lerum and Norwegian Djerv.
After his playing career, Kjell-Rune Milton was, among other things, a coach for Gothenburg’s television puck team, Lerum and Gothenburg’s IK.
“Our thoughts at this difficult time go out to Kjell-Rune Milton’s loved ones,” writes Gothenburg IK.
previousfullscreennextKjell-Rune Milton in Tre Kronor.
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2023-09-07 09:00:00
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