Joel Lundqvist

Joel Per Lundqvist (born 2 March 1982) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player. He played as a centre, spending the majority of his career with Frölunda HC of Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and also played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Dallas Stars from 2006 to 2009. He holds the record for most appearances in the SHL. His identical twin brother is former NHL goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

Early life

Joel and identical twin brother Henrik, a retired 15-year goaltender with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), were born to Eva Johansson and Peter Lundqvist. They grew up in Åre, Jämtland, an area where alpine skiing is the most popular winter activity, but Henrik and Joel chose to play ice hockey over the more popular winter sports. During the winters their kindergarten teachers used the kindergarten's 9 by 3 meters (29.5 ft × 9.8 ft) sandpit to freeze an outdoor ice rink where the twins would frequently skate. Their interest in hockey grew even larger when their father Peter took the twins to see Frölunda HC play in Scandinavium, Gothenburg. Peter worked for a company who sponsored Frölunda, and Henrik and Joel saw many games in Scandinavium and Frölunda became their favourite team. In 1990 Henrik and Joel joined Järpens IF and started playing organized hockey for the first time. During one practice when the coach asked if anyone wanted to be a goaltender Joel grabbed and raised Henrik's arm and said that his brother would like to.