Jump to content

Frölunda HC

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frölunda HC
CityGothenburg, Sweden
LeagueSwedish Hockey League
Founded3 February 1938
Home arenaScandinavium
(capacity: 12,044)
Colors   
General managerFredrik Sjöström
Head coachRobert Ohlsson
CaptainMax Friberg
Websitefrolundahockey.com
Franchise history
1944–1984VĂ€stra Frölunda IF (VFIF)
1984–1995VĂ€stra Frölunda HC (VFHC)
1995–2020Frölunda Indians
2020-presentFrölunda Hockey Club (FHC)
Championships
Le Mat Trophy5 (1965, 2003, 2005, 2016, 2019)
Champions Hockey League5 (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2026)
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 VÀstra 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" (VÀstra 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 VÀstra 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

[edit]
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 FĂ€rjestad 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 FĂ€rjestads 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 five occasions in 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2015–26, 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, VÀstra 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 chosen by members on a member meeting.[8][9]

Season-by-season results

[edit]

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[10] Post season results
Finish GP W L T GF GA Pts
2021–22 SHL 4th 52 31 17 4 155 139 87 Won in Quarterfinals, 4–0 (VĂ€xjö)
Lost in Semifinals, 1–4 (LuleĂ„)
2022–23 SHL 6th 52 21 18 13 140 139 81 Won in Quarterfinals, 4–3 (FĂ€rjestad)
Lost in Semifinals, 2–4 (VĂ€xjö)
2023–24 SHL 4th 52 24 14 14 144 119 96 Won in Quarterfinals, 4–3 (Leksand)
Lost in Semifinals, 3–4 (SkellefteĂ„)
2024–25 SHL 3rd 52 25 18 9 139 116 91 Won in Quarterfinals, 4–2 (TimrĂ„)
Lost in Semifinals, 2–4 (LuleĂ„)
2025–26 SHL 2nd 52 30 15 7 161 106 101 Lost in Quarterfinals, 2–4 (LuleĂ„)

Players and personnel

[edit]

Current roster

[edit]
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
17 Sweden Isac Born LW L 22 2022 Onsala, Sweden
92 Sweden Filip Cederqvist C L 26 2024 Skara, Sweden
44 Sweden Noah Dower Nilsson C L 21 2022 Strömstad, Sweden
46 Switzerland Dominik Egli D R 28 2024 Frauenfeld, Switzerland
2 Sweden Christian Folin (A) D R 35 2021 Kungsbacka, Sweden
12 Sweden Max Friberg (C) LW R 33 2017 Skövde, Sweden
6 Sweden Filip Hasa D L 26 2022 Uppsala, Sweden
32 Sweden Noah Hasa C L 23 2021 Uppsala, Sweden
26 Sweden Isac Heens D L 26 2023 Vansbro, Sweden
33 Sweden Linus Högberg D L 28 2023 Stockholm, Sweden
21 Finland Jere Innala LW L 28 2025 Hauho, Finland
8 Sweden Samuel Johannesson D R 25 2026 Halmstad, Sweden
1 Sweden Lars Johansson G L 39 2022 Avesta, Sweden
31 Sweden Nicklas Lasu (A) C L 37 2019 Mölndal, Sweden
11 Sweden Max Lindholm W L 29 2025 Österhaninge, Sweden
27 Sweden Theodor Niederbach C R 24 2025 BjÀsta, Sweden
43 Sweden Tom Nilsson D R 33 2022 Tyresö, Sweden
30 Norway Tobias Normann G L 25 2024 Fredrikstad, Norway
40 Sweden Jacob Peterson C L 27 2025 Lidköping, Sweden
25 Finland Arttu Ruotsalainen RW L 28 2024 Oulu, Finland
15 Sweden Gustav Rydahl Injured Reserve C L 32 2023 Karlstad, Sweden
55 Sweden Ivar Stenberg W L 19 2024 Stenungsund, Sweden
86 Sweden Erik Thorell LW L 34 2023 Karlstad, Sweden
7 Sweden Henrik Tömmernes D L 36 2023 Karlstad, Sweden
10 Finland Max WestergÄrd LW L 19 2025 Tampere, Finland

Updated June 6, 2025[11]

Team captains

[edit]

Head coaches

[edit]

Honored members

[edit]
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
5Christian BĂ€ckmanD1998–2002
2004–2005
2009–2015		January 27, 2024
13Lars Erik LundvallRW1960–1968March 3, 2002
14Ronald PetterssonRW1960–1968March 3, 2002
14Patrik CarnbĂ€ckRW1986–1992
1994–1995
1997–2003		October 4, 2014
19Jörgen PetterssonRW1973–1980
1986–1991		March 3, 2002
23Ronnie SundinD1992–1997
1998–2009		October 15, 2016
24Niklas AnderssonLW1987–1991
2001–2011		October 21, 2017
29Stefan LarssonD1983–1987
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 CarnbÀck 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 BÀckman on January 27, 2024.

Six 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.