Frölunda HC facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frölunda HC
City	Gothenburg, Sweden
League	Swedish Hockey League
Founded	3 February 1938
Home arena	Scandinavium (capacity: 12,044)
Colors
General manager	Fredrik Sjöström
Head coach	Robert Ohlsson
Captain	Max Friberg
Website	frolundahockey.com
Franchise history
1944–1984	Västra Frölunda IF (VFIF)
1984–1995	Västra Frölunda HC (VFHC)
1995–2020	Frölunda Indians
2020-present	Frölunda Hockey Club (FHC)
Championships
Le Mat Trophy	5 (1965, 2003, 2005, 2016, 2019)
Champions Hockey League	4 (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020)
Current season

Frölunda Hockey Club is a professional ice hockey team from Gothenburg, Sweden. They play in the top Swedish league, the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Frölunda has been one of the best teams in Sweden for a long time. They have won the national championship five times: in 1965, 2003, 2005, 2016, and 2019.

The club started on February 3, 1938, as part of a sports club called Västra Frölunda IF. It became its own independent hockey club on March 29, 1984. For a while, from 1995 to 2020, the team was known as the "Frölunda Indians." This nickname came from the 1960s when fans called them the "Wild West" because of their location (Västra Frölunda means West Frölunda). They chose "Indians" as a nickname instead of "cowboys." In 2004, the club officially shortened its name to Frölunda Hockey Club.

Frölunda plays their home games at the Scandinavium arena in central Gothenburg. This arena can hold over 12,000 fans. When Scandinavium is busy, they sometimes use Frölundaborg for games. Frölunda is very popular, and their home games have had the highest attendance in the league for more than ten years!

Team History and Wins

Frölunda's earlier crest, used until 2022.

In 2003, Frölunda won the Swedish championship after 38 years. The final game was exciting, with Tomi Kallio scoring the winning goal in overtime against Färjestad BK.

The 2004–05 season was special for Frölunda. It was their 60th anniversary. They had the best record in the regular season and won the Swedish Championship again. That year, many professional hockey players from the National Hockey League (NHL) came to play in Europe because of a player strike. This made the Swedish league very strong. Even Daniel Alfredsson, a famous player from Gothenburg, joined Frölunda that season. Many people thought the Swedish league was the best in the world that year!

Frölunda made a big comeback in the 2006 playoffs. They were losing 1–3 in their semi-final series against Linköpings HC but managed to win four games in a row to take the series 4–3. They lost in the finals that year to Färjestads BK. During those finals, Ronnie Sundin played his 685th game for Frölunda, becoming the player with the most games for the club.

Frölunda has also been very successful in the Champions Hockey League, which is a competition for top European clubs. They have won this title four times: in 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020. This is more than any other club!

In February 2022, Frölunda introduced a new logo. The club said it represented Gothenburg and hockey. However, some fans and media did not like it because it looked similar to an old symbol. So, in April 2022, Frölunda updated their logo again, choosing one that their members voted for.

Recent Seasons

Fredrik Pettersson playing for Frölunda.

Frölunda has continued to be a strong team in recent years. Here's a quick look at their last five seasons:

• 2020–21 SHL season: They finished 7th in the regular season. They won their first playoff series but then lost in the Quarterfinals.
• 2021–22 SHL season: They finished 4th. They won their Quarterfinals but lost in the Semifinals.
• 2022–23 SHL season: They finished 6th. They won a tough Quarterfinals series but lost in the Semifinals.
• 2023–24 SHL season: They finished 4th. They won their Quarterfinals in a close series but lost in the Semifinals.
• 2024–25 SHL season: They finished 3rd. They won their Quarterfinals but lost in the Semifinals.

Players and Coaches

Current Team Captains

Frölunda has had many great leaders over the years. The team captain is a very important player who leads the team on the ice.

Head Coaches

The head coach guides the team and decides how they play.

Retired Jersey Numbers

Team captain and coach Lars-Eric Lundvall holding the Le Mat Trophy in 1965. His number 13 is retired.

Frölunda honors its most important players by retiring their jersey numbers. This means no other player on the team can wear that number again. It's a huge honor!

Here are the numbers Frölunda has retired:

On March 3, 2002, Frölunda retired four numbers. Number 13 was for Lars Erik Lundvall, who was captain for eight seasons. Number 14 was for Ronald Pettersson, a key player in the 1960s. Number 19 honored Jörgen Pettersson, who played many seasons before and after playing in the NHL. Number 29 was for Stefan Larsson, who played almost his entire career with Frölunda.

Since then, four more numbers have been retired:

• Number 14 again 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.
• Number 5 for Christian Bäckman on January 27, 2024.

Hall of Fame Players

Many former Frölunda players have been recognized in the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF Hall of Fame. This is a special place for the best hockey players in the world.

• Ulf Sterner was the first European-trained player to play in the NHL. He was added to the Hall of Fame in 2001.
• Ronald Pettersson played for the Swedish national team in many Olympics and World Championships. He was inducted in 2004.
• Ville Peltonen was a top scorer for Frölunda in the 1997–98 season. He joined the Hall of Fame in 2016.
• Daniel Alfredsson won the Swedish Championship with Frölunda in 2005 and an Olympic gold medal with Sweden in 2006. He was inducted in 2018.
• Petteri Nummelin played two seasons for Frölunda. He was inducted in 2024.
• Henrik Lundqvist won two Swedish Championships with Frölunda and two gold medals with Team Sweden. He was inducted in 2025.

Several former Frölunda players have also been inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame. These include Christian Ruuttu, Jorma Salmi, Ville Peltonen, Antti-Jussi Niemi, Fredrik Norrena, Sami Salo, Petteri Nummelin, and Tuukka Mäntylä.

Team Records

Player Records

Here are some of the top records held by Frölunda players:

• Most games played: Ronnie Sundin, with 739 games.
• Most seasons played: Joel Lundqvist, with 20 seasons.
• Most points scored: Niklas Andersson, with 540 points.
• Most goals scored: Niklas Andersson, with 201 goals.
• Most assists: Niklas Andersson, with 339 assists.

Top Scorers (Since 1975–76)

These players have scored the most points for Frölunda since the 1975–76 season.

Awards and Honours

Team Awards

Frölunda has won many important team awards:

Individual Player Awards

Many Frölunda players have won individual awards for their great performance: