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 in North America) 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. Tw ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

, he most notably played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

and the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...

(SHL).

Playing career

He started his career in the

Elitserien Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan. Elitserien leagues at present: * Elitserien (badmint ...

team

Brynäs IF Brynäs IF is a Swedish professional ice hockey team from Gävle. The club currently plays in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), promoted from the HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier of ice hockey in Sweden, following the 2023–24 season. The ...

. 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 New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

, who had drafted Holmqvist in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft (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, the

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 PeoplesBank Arena. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. ...

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

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

for

Lawrence Nycholat Lawrence D. Nycholat (born May 7, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks and the Colorado Avalanche. P ...

. 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, inaugural president of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Calder ...

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 he 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. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

, 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 Ray Richards (born May 2, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre (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 Li ...

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 th ...

International play

Holmqvist has represented Sweden in two World Championships, 2005 and 2006. He was Sweden's starting goaltender in 2006 and led 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 ice hockey players in the United States Swedish ice hockey goaltenders Tampa Bay Lightning players Tierps HK players Sportspeople from Uppsala County