PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Henrik Lundqvist is one of Swedish hockey’s greatest ever.
But even someone like “King Henrik” has his own idol and role model.
The goalie icon reveals who it was that made him become a hockey goalie.
There are not many Swedish hockey goalies who can compare with Henrik Lundqvist’s fantastic track record in North America. With his 15 years and over 1,000 games for the classic team New York Rangers, he is not only one of the club’s biggest icons, but also one of the best goaltenders in NHL history.
Lundqvist’s career
The Swede has been given the nickname “The King” for a clear reason and along with being damn good at stopping pucks, Lundqvist has also been one of the most popular profiles in the NHL. After “Henke” was forced to end his goaltending career prematurely due to heart problems, he has also been inducted into the exclusive Hockey Hall of Fame, further proof of his greatness.
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Lundqvist has dominated everywhere he has played in the NHL with the Rangers, in the SHL with Frölunda and at the international level with Tre Kronor. But everything started in little Järpens IF for Henrik and the twin brother Joel Lundqvist.
READ MORE: Pekka Lindmark roars and says exactly what he thinks of Henrik Lundqvist: “For me, it’s a given”
Henke’s big idol
Although one brother became a forward and the other became a goalkeeper. How did it actually happen? The answer lies with Henke’s childhood idol in hockey, who was the icon Pekka Lindmark.
– I was a goalkeeper in football, but Pekka Lindmark was my idol. It just happened that way, Pekka was cool. But it could have been the other way around, he himself reveals in an old chat with SVT viewers.
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A few years ago, Henrik Lundqvist had the chance to write a letter to himself as a child for the American site The Players Tribune, and then the focus was once again on childhood hero Pekka.
“When your parents have put on the oversized protections and shown you where to stand, you will feel like your great hero Pekka Lindmark, the goalkeeper in the Swedish national team. All that’s missing is the mustache, you’ll think. When you finally set your sights on the goal, you will do the same things you have seen Pekka do many times on TV,” writes Henke in the personal letter.
“You will hit both posts with the club, then get ready. You will ride out into the goal yard, bend your knees and then slide slowly back towards the goal. You keep sliding. You slide more and more. Eventually, you will hit the target and fall over. You have fallen and you cannot get up”.
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READ MORE: Tommy Salo’s heartwarming thanks to goalkeeper colleague Henrik Lundqvist after the beautiful gesture: “It warmed”