PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Börje Salming has left us and the tributes have poured in.
Now the hockey icon is to be immortalized in several different places in Sweden.
Today, the ice hotel in Jukkasjärvi announces that Salming will get a very unique statue made of ice.
The grief has been great for the Swedish hockey icon Börje Salming last week. After the tragic announcement that the legend passed away in the aftermath of the nerve disease ALS.
Tribute to Salming
Since then, the tributes have poured in and last night the Toronto Maple Leafs honored their club icon with 21 seconds of silence in connection with the first home game in the NHL after Salming’s passing. On Sunday, Börje will also be celebrated in a big way at home in Kiruna.
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Then the municipality will honor the city’s son by changing the name of Matojärvigatan to Börje Salmings gata. Now comes the next big gesture of tribute to the late 71-year-old.
READ MORE: Börje Salming’s last wish in life – older brother Stig Salming reveals the icon’s plea: “It was his demand”
Börje gets his own statue
The world-famous ice hotel in Jukkasjärvi, located just over two kilometers outside Kiruna, will create a truly unique statue of Börje Salming made of pure ice. The statue will be proportionally sized and will depict Salming in full hockey uniform and wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs game jersey.
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The statue is created by the artist Tjåsa Gusfors and will be placed inside the ice hotel.
– Börje Salming has meant a lot to so many and not least to the residents here in Kiruna where he grew up and began his hockey career. An athlete of dignity, but also a generous person who acted as a mentor to other athletes and was involved in social issues. An icon strongly linked to the ice, just like the Icehotel. He has an obvious place here, says the ice hotel’s CEO Marie Herrey in a press release.
Ishotellet announces that Börje Salming’s immediate family will be present at the unveiling of the ice statue on Sunday. The ceremony will also focus on and raise money for the hockey icon’s own organization Salming’s ALS Foundation.
READ MORE: Here Börje Salming is celebrated in the most powerful way in Toronto last night – the arena was completely silent for 21 seconds