Longtime NHL Veteran Surprises the Sports World by Leaving Hockey to Coach Women's Soccer

Way back in 2005, the Toronto Maple Leafs drafted a Swedish defenseman named Anton Stralman, and while he would play just two seasons with the team, he would go on to have a very long and impressive career in the NHL. The now 38-year old Anton Stralman would go on to play for a total of seven teams throughout his career, with the final one being the Boston Bruins, for whom he played eight games during the 2022/23 season before returning to Sweden last year.

Now, he has officially hung up the skates after 938 games in the NHL that saw him tally 63 goals and 293 points over a 15-year stretch, with the best year of his career being 39 points for Tampa Bay back in 2014/15.

While most would expect him to take up a role somewhere in hockey after retirement, that's not what has happened, as Stralman has taken the opportunity to join the coaching staff of a women's soccer team at Skultorps IF in Sweden. This is a surprising career switch for the veteran blue liner, but given the passion that both soccer and hockey are given in Sweden, there's no doubting that he was likely heavily involved in both growing up there.

While Stralman was never the most decorated player at the NHL level, he put together a very solid career in a tough part of the NHL's history, and to have the longevity that he did suggests he was a fantastic player, and now, to help the next generation of female athletes move forward, he will hopefully be great in his surprising new role.