Early Life
He grew up with his identical twin brother Joel 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 meters × 3 meters (30 ft × 10 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 Västra Frölunda HC play in Scandinavium, Gothenburg. Henrik has said that he and Joel were very competitive growing up, in sports as well as school. Peter worked for a company who sponsored Frölunda, and Henrik and Joel saw many games in Scandinavium and Frölunda became their favorite 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. In 1993 the family moved to Båstad, Scania, in southern Sweden to support their older sister Gabriella's tennis career. Henrik and Joel joined local team Rögle BK, and were both selected for Scania's regional team in Sverigepucken in 1995. Henrik was selected to play for Scania in TV-pucken in 1996, and in 1997 when Joel was also selected. During the 1997–98 season Henrik and Joel were extensively scouted by Frölunda, and while playing for Rögle in the 1998 Scandinavium Cup in Gothenburg, Frölunda's junior team manager and U16 coach Janne Karlsson contacted their father, who told Henrik and Joel about Frölunda's interest in them while driving home to Båstad.
Read more about this topic: Henrik Lundqvist
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