Facts: Joel Lundqvist
Born: 2 March 1982 in Åre.
Clubs: Järpens IF, Rögle BK, Frölunda, Mölndal, Dallas Stars.
A international matches: 146
Merit in selection: Three WC golds (2006, 2013, 2017). Four SM golds (2003, 2005, 2016, 2019). Four CHL titles (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020).
Historic in the SHL: In November 2022, Joel Lundqvist became the most SHL player of all time when he played match number 1,048.
In total, he appeared in 1,209 games in the Frölunda jersey, including the CHL. Lundqvist is Frölunda’s top scorer so far with 683 points (268 goals, 415 assists).
The supporters chanted Joel Lundqvist’s name over and over during the sixth semi-final.
And then the suspended star wasn’t even on the ice.
However, after the final whistle and Växjö’s overtime victory, Joel Lundqvist stepped out, wearing a suit and tie instead of a hockey uniform, and thanked the crowd after his last day as an ice hockey professional.
It was a contrast that was difficult to handle.
— From walking in circles down in the dressing room, to going out there and meeting the fans… normally you enter “game mode” by stepping in there. Now you just have to thank one team, congratulate and then thank everyone, he says, noticeably taken.
— There was more focus out there, but I feel that everything will come now.
Watched TV
It has been an emotional hockey winter for the Lundqvist family.
Just before the New Year, Henrik Lundqvist was thanked in front of the Frölunda audience in Scandinavium. Just over a month later, twin brother Joel also announced that his career would soon be over.
Joel Lundqvist says goodbye to coach Roger Rönnberg after the last match of his career as a Frölunda player.
And now it’s over.
Joel Lundqvist, who received a match penalty in Växjö last Saturday and was therefore suspended, followed the match via a television in a dressing room, but appeared shortly afterwards for a final press conference as a Frölunda player.
At the time, his teammates had just lost the sixth SHL semi-final against Växjö and thus also lost the chance to get the team captain back on the ice again.
— It was hard, painful. The team played fantastically well with a wonderful energy, it was fun to watch while it was very hard, says Joel Lundqvist, who turned 41 recently.
“Must land”
Joel Lundqvist played a total of 20 years in Frölunda, with, among other things, four SM gold medals as a result. There was also a total of three seasons in the Dallas Stars in the NHL, as well as 146 international games and three World Cup golds: 2006, 2013 and most recently in 2017.
But after the New Year, the decision emerged that the winter season would be the last.
A little later, he informed his teammates of his decision. And now the career is finally over.
— It is clear that I have prepared. But you can’t prepare for a moment like this until you’re in it. I thought all along that we would make it, it will be tough to say the least, he says.
— I need to land as a human being, as a person, and with my family who have lived this with me.