Johan Erik Daniel Holmqvist (born May 24, 1978) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

, he most notably played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

and the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

Playing career

He started his career in the Elitserien team

Brynäs IF Brynäs IF is a Swedish ice hockey team from Gävle. The club currently plays in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top tier of ice hockey in Sweden. The club has played in the top-tier league since 1960, longer than any other team. History ...

. He played for their senior team from 1996 to 2000, winning a Swedish championship in 1999. He then signed with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

, who had drafted Holmqvist in the

1997 NHL Entry Draft The 1997 NHL Entry Draft was the 35th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 1997. As of 2022, the only remaining active player in the NHL from the 1997 draft class is Joe Thornton. Selections ...

(7th round/175 pick overall). Holmqvist played four NHL games for the Rangers between 2000 and 2003. Most of his time was spent with the Rangers' farm team

Hartford Wolf Pack The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the XL Center. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. After a ...

of the AHL. On March 11, 2003, Holmqvist was traded to

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confe ...

for Lawrence Nycholat. Holmqvist played the rest of the season with the Wild's farm team, the Houston Aeros of the AHL, and won the

Jack A. Butterfield Trophy The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champion of the American Hockey League (AHL). First awarded in the 1937–38 season, it is named after Frank Calder, first president of the National Hockey League. The Calder Cup is dis ...

as MVP of the Calder Cup Playoffs as Houston won the league championship. The following season, 2003/04, he played with the Aeros. At the end of the season, he decided to move back to Sweden where signed with his former club, Brynäs IF. He played with them for two seasons and then, on June 1, 2006, he signed with the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

, an NHL club. He played with them for almost two years, putting up mixed numbers. He was traded at the 2008 trade deadline to the Dallas Stars along with

Brad Richards Bradley Glen Richards (born May 2, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Richards was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and played for the Lightning, New York Ra ...

for Mike Smith,

Jeff Halpern Jeffrey Craig Halpern (born May 3, 1976) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Washington Capitals twice, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, and Phoenix Co ...

and Jussi Jokinen. On July 23, 2008, he signed a contract with the Swedish club

Frölunda HC Frölunda Hockey Club, previously known as the Frölunda Indians, 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 ...

International play

Holmqvist has represented Sweden in two World Championships, 2005 and 2006. He was Sweden's starting goaltender in 2006 and lead Sweden to their first gold medal in a World Championship since 1998, for which he was selected as the tournament's best goaltender.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmqvist, Johan 1978 births Living people Brynäs IF players Charlotte Checkers (1993–2010) players Dallas Stars players Frölunda HC players Hartford Wolf Pack players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players New York Rangers draft picks New York Rangers players People from Tierp Municipality Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Swedish ice hockey goaltenders Tampa Bay Lightning players Tierps HK players Sportspeople from Uppsala County