Salsten touts Norway’s bright future

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…