Henrik Lundqvist Henrik Lundqvist ( ; born 2 March 1982 age 34 ) is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . He was nominated for the Vezina Trophy in his first three seasons in the NHL , finishing third all three times , and is the only goaltender in NHL history to record 30 wins in each of his first six seasons . His dominating play during his rookie season resulted in the New York media and Rangers fans giving him the nickname " King Henrik " . During the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino , Italy , he led the Swedish men ' s team to their second Olympic gold medal . Before joining the Rangers , Lundqvist played for Frölunda HC in the Swedish Elitserien . During his years in Sweden , he developed into the league ' s finest goaltender , winning the Honken Trophy three consecutive seasons ; 2003 , 2004 and 2005 . In 2005 he also won two of the most prestigious awards in Swedish ice hockey , the Golden Puck and the Golden Helmet . Lundqvist is considered a butterfly style goalie , though unorthodox because of the aggressive way he performs the butterfly . He is best known for his sensational quickness , athleticism and strong positional play . Early life . Henrik and identical twin brother Joel were born to Eva Johansson and Peter Lundqvist . From an early age Henrik was nicknamed either " Queen " because he loved to play with his fathers bees , or sometimes nicknamed " Turtle " because he always wore gigantic shoulder pads . They grew up 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 favourite 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 . Professional career . Frölunda ( 2000 – 2005 ) . After having a successful pre - season , Lundqvist made his Elitserien debut in the season opener on 21 September 2000 in a 2 – 4 loss against Brynäs IF . Lundqvist bounced back and recorded his first win in the following away game against IF Björklöven , stopping 18 shots and only allowing one goal while being short handed . In his third straight start , Lundqvist allowed two early first period goals in a game against Timrå IK and was pulled in favor of veteran keeper Håkan Algotsson . Lundqvist would dress for only ten more games this season and got only one start in a shootout loss to Djurgårdens IF . Lundqvist lost his roster spot to American veteran keeper Pat Jablonski , who joined the team in October . Tommy Boustedt , the coach of the team at the time , later said that : Lundqvist played in nine games for IF Mölndal Hockey in the Swedish second tier Allsvenskan , before joining Frölunda ' s junior team in the J20 SuperElit in December . After his poor play in Allsvenskan , and a tough start in the J20 SuperElit , he allowed six goals in an exhibition game against Canada . National junior team coaches Bo " Kulon " Lennartsson and Mikael Tisell were worried and decided to have a talk with Lundqvist , where they questioned his motivation . Lundqvist ' s turning point came at the turn of the year at the 2001 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Moscow , Russia , where he led the Swedish national junior ' s team to a fourth place finish in the tournament . He spent the rest of the season in the J20 SuperElit where he played 18 games , leading the league in minutes played by a goaltender . In the playoffs , he led Frölunda to their second straight Anton Cup win , which came in a 5 – 2 win over Leksands IF in the final at the Stockholm Globe Arena . In December 2004 , The Hockey News rated Lundqvist the sixth best European prospect , and he was the lone goaltender in their European top 10 list . Also in December , Lundqvist joined fellow Rangers prospect Al Montoya on McKeen ' s list of top goal - tending prospects , where he was ranked seventh amongst the group . During the 2005 season , Lundqvist broke four Swedish national records : lowest goals against average ( 1 . 05 ) , highest save percentage ( . 962 ) , longest goalless streak ( 172 min 29 sec ) , and most shutouts in a season ( 6 ) . He was also named Best Goaltender , Best Swedish Player , and he was selected as the league ' s MVP by fellow players . In 180 appearances with Frölunda , he amassed a 1 . 96 goals against average and a . 927 save percentage , leading them to four consecutive playoff appearances and winning two titles in 2003 and 2005 . New York ( 2005 – present ) . At the beginning of his rookie season in 2005 – 06 , with starting goaltender Kevin Weekes injured , Lundqvist made his NHL debut on October 8th 2005 against the New Jersey Devils , stopping 24 of 27 shots in a 3 - 2 overtime loss . A few days later , on 13 October 2005 , Lundqvist posted his first career NHL win against the Devils . His first career shutout came on 17 October 2005 against the Florida Panthers , and with it Lundqvist became the first rookie goaltender to record a shutout for the Rangers since John Vanbiesbrouck on 2 January 1985 . During the season Lundqvist also became the first Rangers rookie to post 20 wins in a season since Mike Richter recorded 21 in 1990 – 91 . Finishing the season with 30 wins , Lundqvist broke the Rangers rookie goaltending record of 29 wins , previously held by Jim Henry ( 1941 – 42 ) and Johnny Bower ( 1953 – 54 ) . Lundqvist was among the league leaders in several categories : fifth in goals against average ( 2 . 24 ) , fourth in save percentage ( . 922 ) , 11th in wins ( 30 ) , and tied for 16th in shutouts with two . His regular season success did not continue in the playoffs , where he appeared in three playoff games , posted a 0 – 3 record , a 4 . 40 goals against average , and an . 835 save percentage in a series loss to the Devils . He was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy , awarded annually to the NHL ' s best goaltender , but he was not a finalist for the Calder Trophy , awarded to the rookie of the year , because of a high quality crop of first - year players . He was named to the NHL All - Rookie Team , along with Sidney Crosby , Alexander Ovechkin , Brad Boyes , Dion Phaneuf and Andrej Meszároš . He won the 2005 – 06 MetLife / Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award , a New York Rangers team award . By the second month of his second season , Lundqvist had already made a name for himself among the hockey world , his fellow players and the Ranger fans . Because of his spectacular athletic ability and work ethic , he earned the nickname , " The King " . " King Henrik " is the other alternative . During home games at Madison Square Garden , after he would make a big save ( s ) , fans often chant " Hen - Rik ! , Hen - Rik ! , Hen - Rik ! , sometimes to the rhythm of two drum beats played over the arena ' s PA system . On 14 December 2006 , against the Dallas Stars , Lundqvist became the first NHL goaltender to face his twin brother . He and his brother are only the third set of twins to play each other in an NHL game . The game was won by Lundqvist and the Rangers . In the Rangers 7 - 0 win in game three of the 2007 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals over the Atlanta Thrashers , Lundqvist became the first Rangers goalie since Mike Richter in 1997 to post a playoff shutout . The win was also the Rangers ' first home playoff win since Richter ' s shutout . For the second consecutive year , Lundqvist was a finalist being considered for the Vezina Trophy . Because Lundqvist was tied with Miikka Kiprusoff for third place in balloting , there were four finalists for an NHL individual trophy for the first time in league history . During the off - season , Lundqvist re - signed to a one - year , $ 4 . 25 million ( USD ) contract with the Rangers . On 13 February 2008 , Lundqvist signed a six - year contract with the Rangers worth $ 41 . 25 million , averaging $ 6 . 875 million a season . This made him the highest paid goaltender in the NHL on average over the length of his contract . On 24 February 2008 , Lundqvist became the first Rangers goaltender to record eight shutouts in a single season since Eddie Giacomin in 1970 – 71 . On 6 March 2008 , Lundqvist recorded his 30th win of the season , making him just the second goaltender , along with Ron Hextall , to record at least 30 wins in each of his first three NHL seasons . On 9 March 2008 , Lundqvist became the first Rangers goaltender to record 9 shutouts in a season since Eddie Giacomin ' s 1966 – 67 season in a 1 - 0 win against the Boston Bruins . He was named the Rangers Most Valuable Player for the fifth consecutive season ( 2006 – 07 - 2010 – 11 ) , as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers ' Association . He becomes the first Rangers player to earn the Rangers MVP award five consecutive times . On 1 October 2008 , Lundqvist and the New York Rangers won the Victoria Cup by beating Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the Championship game with the score of 4 - 3 . On 8 January 2009 , Lundqvist was selected to play in the 2009 NHL All - Star Game in Montreal . On 24 January 2009 , Lundqvist made his first All - Star appearance in the Elimination Shootout . He stopped 12 of 16 shots in the shootout and Shane Doan won the competition . The next day , he played in the second period of the All - Star game , in which he gave up six goals . On 12 March 2009 , Lundqvist became the first NHL goalie to win 30 + games in his first four seasons with a win over the Nashville Predators . In September 2009 , despite having played only four seasons with the club , Lundqvist was ranked No . 90 on the all - time list of New York Rangers in the book " 100 Ranger Greats " ( John Wiley & Sons , 2009 ) . On 25 March 2010 , Lundqvist became the first NHL goalie to win 30 + games in his first five seasons by beating the New Jersey Devils in a shootout . In January 2011 , Henrik Lundqvist and teammate Marc Staal were named All - Stars for the 2011 NHL All - Star Game in Raleigh , North Carolina . Both players were drafted by the Marc Staal ' s brother Eric , who was one of the captains for the event . On 30 January 2011 , Lundqvist played in the third period of the All Star game , stopping 11 of 14 shots . This was his second All - Star appearance . He also became the first goaltender to face and stop penalty shot in the 57 year history of the NHL All - Star Game . The penalty shot was attempted by Matt Duchene . On 17 February 2011 , Lundqvist earned his 200th NHL win in a 4 - 3 shootout victory over the Los Angeles Kings at Madison Square Garden . On 19 March 2011 , Lundqvist became the first NHL goalie to win 30 + games in his first six seasons in a 6 - 3 win over Montreal at Madison Square Garden International play . Lundqvist is the all time leader among goaltenders , and eleventh overall of all players , in games played for the Swedish national junior ' s ice hockey team . At the 2001 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Moscow , Russia , Lundqvist led the Swedish national junior ' s ice hockey team to a fourth place finish in the tournament . After an upset 3 – 2 win over the hosting nation Russia in the quarterfinals , Sweden lost 0 – 1 against Czech Republic in the semifinals , and 1 – 2 in over time against Canada in the bronze medal game . Lundqvist debuted for Tre Kronor on 10 November 2002 , during the 2002 Karjala Tournament in Helsinki , Finland . Lundqvist was selected to the 2003 Men ' s World Ice Hockey Championships but was third string goaltender behind Tommy Salo and Mikael Tellqvist . The following year at the 2004 Men ' s World Ice Hockey Championships Lundqvist was the starting goaltender and he was selected to the tournament all star team . Lundqvist and Jörgen Jönsson were the only two Elitserien players selected to play for Sweden at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey . Lacking experience on the smaller ice surface Lundqvist was again third string behind Salo and Tellqvist . In the Euro Hockey Tour during the 2004 – 05 season , Lundqvist was named best goaltender in Karjala Tournament and Sweden Hockey Games by the directorate and also to the media all star team in both tournaments . At the 2005 Men ' s World Ice Hockey Championships in Vienna and Innsbruck , Austria , Lundqvist played in all nine games during the tournament where Sweden lost the bronze medal game against Russia . Lundqvist ' s most memorable international performance came at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , where he led Sweden to the gold medal over their arch rival , Finland . In six Olympic starts , Lundqvist went 5 – 1 , allowing only 12 goals with a . 907 save percentage . Inline hockey . Lundqvist led team Sweden with spectacular goaltending to their first ever medal in inline hockey when they won Gold at the 2002 IIHF Inline Hockey World Championships . Off the ice . Starting in 2009 , Lundqvist is the Rangers spokesman for the Garden of Dreams Foundation , which works mostly with Madison Square Garden and its tenants to host charitable events and grant wishes to sick children , similar to the Make - a - Wish Foundation . In this role , Lundqvist will host the events and record public service messages . In 2004 he was awarded Best Dressed in Sweden . In April 2006 he was named one of " People " ' s World ' s 100 Most Beautiful People . In December 2008 , he was named one of Page Six Magazine ' s Top 25 Best Dressed in 2008 . In 2007 a video appeared on the website YouTube with a drunk man impersonating Lundqvist . Two major Swedish tabloids , " Aftonbladet " and " Expressen " , wrote about the event . " Aftonbladet " later released a statement from a man claiming to have been the impersonator in the clip . Lundqvist used to play guitar in a Swedish rock band called Box Play . Lundqvist also has a restaurant called Tiny ' s located in TriBeCa . He has worked on this project with current Rangers teammate , Sean Avery ( who owns his own restaurant in New York City called Warren 77 ) and some other business partners . Additionally , in his personal life , Henrik is married to Therese Andersson since the summer of 2011 .