Leon Reuterström | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Uppsala, Uppland, Sweden | 30 November 1996||
Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
Weight | 63 kg (139 lb; 9 st 13 lb) | ||
Position | Goaltender | ||
Caught | Left | ||
Played for |
Leksands IF Almtuna IS | ||
Playing career | 2011–2018 |
Leon Reuterström (born 30 November 1996) is a Swedish former ice hockey goaltender and advocate for transgender inclusion in sports. From 2012 to 2018, he played for Leksands IF Dam in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL; previously called Riksserien), the top flight of Swedish women's hockey, before coming out to the public as a transgender man and retiring to pursue his medical transition. [1]
Reuterström began his career with Almtuna IS of the Division I (renamed Damettan in 2015) and women's ice hockey AllEttan ( Swedish: AllEttan i ishockey för damer). In 2012, he signed with Leksands IF, splitting the 2012–13 season between the team's top Riksserien side and the B-side playing in Damettan. He established himself fully as a top-side goaltender the next season, and would take over as Leksands' starting goalie in 2015.
In 2018, he publicly came out as a transgender man and announced his retirement from the SDHL in order to pursue his medical transition, as testosterone hormone replacement therapy conflicts with anti-doping rules in the sport. [2] [3]
Since his retirement, he has been outspoken about the difficulties trans people face in sports. [4] [5] [6] In 2020, he returned to the ice for the first time in two years to participate in a charity match. [7]
Rueterström represented Sweden at the 2014 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, playing one game and posting a .941 save percentage. [8]