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Frölunda HC

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Frölunda HC
CityGothenburg, Sweden
LeagueSwedish Hockey League
Founded3 February 1938
Home arenaScandinavium
Colors   
General managerFredrik Sjöström
Head coachRoger Rönnberg
CaptainMax Friberg
Websitefrolundahockey.com
Franchise history
1944–1984Västra Frölunda IF
1984–2004Västra Frölunda HC
2004–presentFrölunda HC
Championships
Le Mat Trophy5 (1965, 2003, 2005, 2016, 2019)
Champions Hockey League4 (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020)
Current season

Frölunda Hockey Club, previously known as the Frölunda Indians,[1] is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Gothenburg. They currently play in the highest Swedish league, the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), formerly the Elitserien, where they have played for most of the club's existence. They last played in the lower division, the Allsvenskan, in 1995. Frölunda have won the national championship title five times: in 1965, 2003, 2005, 2016 and 2019.

The club was founded on 3 February 1938,[2] as an ice hockey section in Västra Frölunda IF and became independent on 29 March 1984.[3] Prior to the 1995/1996 season, the nickname Indians was adopted. This referring to the successful years of the 1960s, when fans started to call them the "Wild West" (Västra Frölunda is West Frölunda in English). But as they did not want a nickname like cowboys or something with firearms, Indians was selected. On 16 June 2004, the club shortened the name from Västra Frölunda Hockey Club to Frölunda Hockey Club. Frölunda's home venue is the Scandinavium arena in central Gothenburg, which has a capacity of 12,044 people. Frölundaborg is used when Scandinavium is occupied with other events. Frölunda's average home attendance has been the highest in the league for over a decade.[4]

History

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Frölunda's earlier crest to the right which was replaced in 2022.

In 2003 Frölunda became the champions after a 38-year hiatus. The final game in Scandinavium on 7 April against Färjestad BK was ended by late season recruit Tomi Kallio in the third overtime period.[5] In the 2004–05 season, the club's 60th anniversary and 20th as independent club, the team won the league title, by having the best record during the regular season, and the Swedish Championship. That particular year was notable because the National Hockey League had a labour stoppage due to negotiations between the league and the players association. Many professional hockey players who could not play in the NHL chose to play in European or North American leagues. The largest number of professional NHL players were in Sweden during the season, including Gothenburg native Daniel Alfredsson, who joined his hometown club for the season. This increased the quality of play and many observers said that Elitserien was the best league in the world during 2004–05.[6]

Frölunda set a new Elitserien record on 6 April 2006, by winning the Elitserien playoff semi-finals against Linköpings HC 4–3 after trailing the series 1–3. The season ended with a 2–4 defeat against Färjestads BK in the finals. The second game in the finals Ronnie Sundin played his 685th game for Frölunda becoming the player with most career games for the club.

Frölunda has claimed the Champions Hockey League title on four separate occasions in 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19 and 2019–20, the most titles out of any club.

On 2 February 2022, Frölunda Hockey Club presented their new logo. According to the club, the new logo represents the city of Gothenburg, Västra Frölunda, gentleness and excitement. The logo visualizes two F's, two hands and the letter H which stands for hockey. The proposed redesign received negative feedback from fans and media due to similarities of the Nazi Party flag. The previous logo was announced in 1995 and represented the club for 27 years.[7] On April 20, 2022, Frölunda updated their logo, which had been accepted by members of the fan club.[8]

Season-by-season results

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Fredrik Pettersson playing for Frölunda

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Frölunda. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Frölunda HC seasons.

Season League Regular season[9] Post season results
Finish GP W L T GF GA Pts
2019–20 SHL 7th 52 29 21 2 154 126 85 Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 SHL 7th 52 28 23 1 133 131 84 Won in Eighth-finals, 2–1 (Djurgården)
Lost in Quarterfinals, 0–4 (Rögle)
2021–22 SHL 4th 52 31 17 4 155 139 87 Won in Quarterfinals, 4–0 (Växjö)
Lost in Semifinals, 1–4 (Luleå)
2022–23 SHL 6th 52 21 18 13 140 139 81 Won in Quarterfinals, 4–3 (Färjestad)
Lost in Semifinals, 2–4 (Växjö)
2023–24 SHL 4th 52 24 14 14 144 119 96 Won in Quarterfinals, 4–3 (Leksand)
Lost in Semifinals, 3–4 (Skellefteå)

Players and personnel

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Current roster

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No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
1 Sweden Lars Johansson G L 37 2022 Avesta, Sweden
30 Norway Tobias Normann G L 23 2024 Fredrikstad, Norway
2 Sweden Christian Folin (A) D R 33 2021 Kungsbacka, Sweden
3 Sweden Albin Sundin D R 20 2022 Kungsbacka, Sweden
6 Sweden Filip Hasa D L 24 2022 Uppsala, Sweden
7 Sweden Henrik Tömmernes D L 34 2023 Karlstad, Sweden
26 Sweden Isac Heens D L 25 2023 Vansbro, Sweden
33 Sweden Linus Högberg D L 26 2023 Stockholm, Sweden
43 Sweden Tom Nilsson D R 31 2022 Tyresö, Sweden
46 Switzerland Dominik Egli D R 26 2024 Frauenfeld, Switzerland
9 Sweden Linus Weissbach RW L 26 2024 Gothenburg, Sweden
12 Sweden Max Friberg (C) LW R 31 2017 Skövde, Sweden
15 Sweden Gustav Rydahl C L 30 2023 Karlstad, Sweden
17 Sweden Isac Born LW L 20 2022 Onsala, Sweden
22 Sweden Linus Nässén C L 24 2018 Hönö, Sweden
25 Finland Arttu Ruotsalainen RW L 27 2024 Oulu, Finland
31 Sweden Nicklas Lasu (A) C L 35 2019 Mölndal, Sweden
32 Sweden Noah Hasa C L 21 2021 Uppsala, Sweden
39 Finland Mikael Ruohomaa C L 35 2024 Alastaro, Finland
44 Sweden Noah Dower Nilsson C L 19 2022 Strömstad, Sweden
48 Sweden Carl Klingberg RW R 33 2023 Gothenburg, Sweden
62 Sweden Wiktor Nilsson RW R 22 2024 Vendelsö, Sweden
75 Sweden David Edstrom C L 19 2022 Gothenburg, Sweden
86 Sweden Erik Thorell LW L 32 2023 Karlstad, Sweden
92 Sweden Filip Cederqvist C L 24 2024 Skara, Sweden

Updated July 24, 2024[10]

Team captains

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Head coaches

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Honored members

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Team captain and playing coach Lars-Eric Lundvall hoisting the Le Mat Trophy when Frölunda won the Swedish Championship in 1965. Lundvall's jersey number 13 is retired by Frölunda.
Frölunda HC retired numbers
No. Player Position Career No. retirement
5 Christian Bäckman D 1998–2002
2004–2005
2009–2015		 January 27, 2024
13 Lars Erik Lundvall RW 1960–1968 March 3, 2002
14 Ronald Pettersson RW 1960–1968 March 3, 2002
14 Patrik Carnbäck RW 1986–1992
1994–1995
1997–2003		 October 4, 2014
19 Jörgen Pettersson RW 1973–1980
1986–1991		 March 3, 2002
23 Ronnie Sundin D 1992–1997
1998–2009		 October 15, 2016
24 Niklas Andersson LW 1987–1991
2001–2011		 October 21, 2017
29 Stefan Larsson D 1983–1987
1989–2001		 March 3, 2002

Frölunda retired the numbers of four players, all on March 3, 2002. The number retired were; the number 13 worn by Lars Erik Lundvall, who spent eight seasons with Frölunda, all of them serving as team captain. The number 14 worn by Ronald Pettersson, who spent seven seasons with Frölunda before suffering a career-ending injury on 14 December 1967. The duo of Lundvall and Pettersson was one of the reason behind Frölunda's success in the 60's and secured that hockey got a strong foothold in Gothenburg. The number 19 worn by Jörgen Pettersson during his two stints with Frölunda. Pettersson joined the club in 1970 and played ten seasons for the club before joining the St. Louis Blues of the NHL. After five seasons in the NHL he returned and played another three seasons for the club. The number 29 worn by Stefan Larsson during his sixteen seasons with Frölunda. With the exception of two seasons, Larsson played for Frölunda his entire professional career. Since then an additional four players have had their numbers retired; number 14 a second time for Patrik Carnbäck on October 4, 2014. Number 23 for Ronnie Sundin on October 15, 2016. Number 24 for Niklas Andersson on October 21, 2017. And number 5 for Christian Bäckman on January 27, 2024.

Five former Frölunda players have been inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation's Hall of Fame. Forward Ulf Sterner, played three seasons for Frölunda before becoming the first European-trained player to play in the NHL during his short sojourn with the New York Rangers during the 1964–65 NHL season; he was inducted in 2001.[11] Forward Ronald "Sura Pelle" Pettersson, represented team Sweden in three olympic games and ten IIHF World Championships, totaling 252 games played for the national team; he was inducted in 2004.[11] Ville Peltonen played the 1997–98 season for Frölunda, where he was both the team's and the league's leading scorer, he was inducted in 2016.[12] Daniel Alfredsson played a total of four seasons for Frölunda, winning the Swedish Championships with Frölunda during the 2004–05 season. In 2006 he was a member of Sweden's gold medal-winning team at the Winter Olympics, he was inducted in 2018.[13] Petteri Nummelin played two seasons for Frölunda between 1995 and 1997, he was inducted in 2024.[14]

In 2003, former Frölunda players Christian Ruuttu and Jorma Salmi were inducted to the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame.[15] Ville Peltonen was inducted in 2014. Trio of former Frölunda players who all won the Swedish Championships with Frölunda; Antti-Jussi Niemi, Fredrik Norrena, and Sami Salo were inducted in 2017.[16] Petteri Nummelin was inducted in 2019.

Club records and leaders

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Career

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Regular season

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Playoffs

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Team

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  • Most points in a season: 112 (2004–05)
  • Most wins in a season: 33 (2004–05)
  • Most goals in a season: 181 (2001–02)
  • Fewest goals against in a season: 96 (2004–05)

Scoring leaders

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These are the top-ten point-scorers of Frölunda HC since the 1975–76 season. Figures are updated after each completed regular season.[18]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game;   = current Frölunda HC player

Points
Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Niklas Andersson LW 548 176 297 473 0.86
Joel Lundqvist C 727 151 252 403 0.55
Jonas Johnson C 513 156 196 352 0.68
Tomi Kallio RW 433 168 180 348 0.80
Magnus Kahnberg RW 587 169 168 337 0.57
Patrik Carnbäck LW 379 133 179 312 0.82
Peter Ström F 472 86 127 213 0.45
Ronnie Sundin D 705 63 141 204 0.28
Ove Karlsson C 294 103 87 190 0.64
Stefan Larsson D 463 83 101 184 0.39

Awards and honours

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Team

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Individual

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Guldpucken
The Golden Puck: Player of the year

Guldhjälmen
The Gold Helmet: Most valuable player as judged by the league's players

Honken Trophy
Goaltender of the year

Håkan Loob Trophy
Top goal scorer

Skyttetrofén
Top point scorer

Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy
Playoffs' most valuable player

SHL Rookie of the Year

Årets junior
Junior of the year in Swedish hockey

Champions Hockey League MVP
Most valuable player

Salming Trophy
Best Swedish-born defenceman

Rinkens riddare
Knight of the rink: The most gentlemanly player

Swedish All star team

Stora Grabbars Märke
Big Boys' Badge: Honorary award within Swedish sports

Coach of the Year

Leader of the Year

References

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  1. ^ "Facts". Frölunda HC. Archived from the original on 24 May 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
  2. ^ Szemberg, Szymon. Västra Frölunda 50 År. p. 12.
  3. ^ Szemberg, Szymon. Västra Frölunda 50 År. p. 170.
  4. ^ "Official Statistics". Swedish Ice Hockey Federation.
  5. ^ Szemberg, Szymon (1994). Västra Frölunda 50 År (in Swedish). Sweden: Sportförlaget. ISBN 978-91-88540-34-8.
  6. ^ "Elitserien världens bästa hockeyliga" (PDF) (in Swedish). Pro Hockey. 27 April 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2006. Retrieved 25 January 2007.
  7. ^ "Swedish ice hockey team withdraws the redesign of a controversial logo". Newsendip. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Frolunda gets another new logo after recent redesign rejected by fans". Markerzone.com. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  9. ^ Code explanation; GP—Games played, W—Wins, L—Losses, T—Tied games, GF—Goals for, GA—Goals against, Pts—Points
  10. ^ "Frölunda HC current roster". Elite Prospects. 24 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Complete list of IIHF Hall of Fame Inductees from 1997 to 2006". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 11 December 2006. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
  12. ^ "Ville Peltonen Valittiin IIHF:N Hall of Fameen". Pallomeri (in Finnish). 22 May 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Alfredsson invald i IIHF Hall of Fame". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Stockholm, Sweden. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  14. ^ Nynäs, Nicolina (15 January 2024). "Petteri Nummelin utsågs till IIHF:s Hall of Fame – är en av åtta nya medlemmar". Yle (in Swedish). Helsinki, Finland. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Finnish Hall of Fame – Honoured Members". Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 20 March 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
  16. ^ Mennander, Pasi (15 October 2017). "Kuusi uutta Jääkiekkoleijonaa aateloitiin Suomen Hockey Hall Of Fameen" [Six new Ice Hockey Lions were honored by the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame]. Leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  17. ^ "Artturi Lehkonen". Elite Prospects.
  18. ^ "Frolunda HC – All Time SHL leaders". quanthockey.com. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
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