Joel Lundqvist has played his last hockey game.
Afterwards, coach Roger Rönnberg could not hold back the tears.
– This was not how it was supposed to end, he says.
Joel Lundqvist was suspended in the sixth semi-final between Frölunda and Växjö, and the Gothenburg team was beaten to win if they wanted to extend the captain’s career a little more. The stalwart announced earlier in the year that this will be his last season, and when Frölunda conceded the decisive goal in extra time, which sent Växjö to the SM final, it was clear.
Rönnberg’s tears
There will be no more hockey games for Joel Lundqvist, and no more games for Frölunda this season. Lundqvist was in Scandinavium and was on the ice afterwards, to console his teammates, and to be the team captain for the last time. And a lot was about Lundqvist afterwards.
The crowd chanted his name, and coach Roger Rönnberg stood with tears in his eyes when he reached C More’s interview microphone afterwards.
– He is the leader of this team. He has supported me in tough times. He has stood up for his fellow players and stood up for Frölunda through thick and thin. It’s an awfully big person and an even bigger person. I’m so damn disappointed that it has to end like this, says Frölunda’s coach Roger Rönnberg.
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The Rival’s Tribute
Robert Rosén was the player who sent Växjö to the final with his overtime goal, and he too paid tribute to Lundqvist afterwards.
– It is quite obvious what he meant to Swedish hockey and to Frölunda, he is truly an icon. There is no question that he meant an awful lot and will be a legend for a long time to come, he says.
Joel Lundqvist spent a total of 20 seasons in the SHL and Frölunda. He managed to reach 915 regular season games, where he accounted for 511 points, and another 174 games in the playoffs. He now ends his career as one of Frölunda’s and the entire SHL’s greatest ever players.
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