Jakob Lilja


Jakob Lilja is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for Barys Nur-Sultan of the Kontinental Hockey League.

Playing career

Lilja made his Elitserien debut playing with Rögle BK during the 2012–13 Elitserien season.
In the 2018–19 season, Lilja registered 12 goals and 25 assists for a career high 37 points in 52 games with Djurgårdens IF. Leading the club and finishing tied 8th in the SHL in assists, and 10th in points, he added 8 points in 19 playoff games to help reach the SHL finals.
Having made 222 appearances in the top flight SHL, Lilja gained the interest of NHL clubs as an undrafted free agent. He later agreed to pursue a North American career with the Columbus Blue Jackets, signing a one-year, entry-level contract on June 15, 2019.
In his first North American season in 2019–20, Lilja made the Blue Jackets opening night roster out of training camp and made his NHL debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs on 4 October 2019. Given a role on the fourth-line, Lilja appeared in 37 games over the course of the regular season, registering 2 goals and 5 points. He split the season with AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, notching 13 points through 25 contests.
After receiving permission by the Blue Jackets to find a new team during the suspension of the NHL season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Lilja returned to Europe after he was signed to a one-year deal with Barys Nur-Sultan of the KHL on 24 June 2020.

Assault case

On March 5, 2015 Lilja, while with Rögle BK in Allsvenskan, cross-checked Malmö Redhawks player Jens Olsson from behind in the neck, for which he earned a 10-game suspension. The incident was later brought up in court on an assault charge where on July 10, 2018 the Supreme Court of Sweden, after the case had first gone through the lower District Court of Malmö, handed Lilja a one-month probation sentence.

Career statistics