Among those present was his twin brother and goalkeeping legend, Henrik Lundqvist.
Henrik, an important thing for both of us was to share equally – that would be fair. So today it feels especially good that we will soon each have our own jersey hanging from the rafters. Yours in New York and mine in Gothenburg, he says.
Joel Lundqvist retired from ice hockey in the spring of 2023 after 20 seasons and four Swedish Championship titles with Frölunda.
Now my time as a player is over, but my green-and-red heart will probably always beat. And when you see the number 20 hanging from the rafters, I really hope you remember a player who gave everything for his team.
Born: March 2, 1982, in Åre.
Clubs: Järpens IF, Rögle BK, Frölunda, Mölndal, Dallas Stars.
Senior international appearances: 146.
Honours with the national team: Three World Championship gold medals (2006, 2013, 2017). Four Swedish Championship titles (2003, 2005, 2016, 2019). Four CHL titles (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020).
SHL record: Joel Lundqvist became the league's all-time appearance leader in November 2022, when he played his 1,048th game.