Frölunda | |
---|---|
[[Template:2016–17 Frölunda HC season]] | |
City | Gothenburg, Sweden |
League | Swedish Hockey League |
Founded | 3 February 1938 |
Home arena | Scandinavium |
Colors | Red, green, gold, white |
General manager | Fredrik Sjöström |
Head coach | Roger Rönnberg |
Captain | Joel Lundqvist |
Franchise history | |
1944–1984 | Västra Frölunda IF |
1984–2004 | Västra Frölunda HC |
2004–present | Frölunda HC |
Le Mat Trophy | 1965, 2003, 2005, 2016 |
Frölunda Hockey Club, also known as the Frölunda Indians, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Gothenburg. They play in the highest Swedish league, Swedish Hockey League (SHL; formerly Elitserien), where they have played the majority of the seasons during the club's existence. The last time they played in the lower division, Allsvenskan, was in 1995. Frölunda have won the national championship title four times, in 1965, 2003, 2005 and 2016.
The club was founded on 3 February 1938, as an ice hockey section in Västra Frölunda IF and became independent on 29 March 1984. On 16 June 2004, the club shortened the name from Västra Frölunda Hockey Club to Frölunda Hockey Club.
Frölunda's home venue is the Scandinavium arena in central Gothenburg, which has a capacity of 12,044 people. Frölundaborg is used when Scandinavium is occupied with other events. Frölunda's average home attendance has been the highest in the league for over a decade.
In 2003 Frölunda became the champions after a 38-year hiatus. The final game in Scandinavium on 7 April against Färjestad BK was ended by late season recruit Tomi Kallio in the third overtime period.
In the 2004–05 season, the club's 60th anniversary and 20th as independent club, the team won the league title, by having the best record during the regular season, and the Swedish Championship. That particular year was notable because the National Hockey League had a labour stoppage due to negotiations between the league and the players association. Many professional hockey players who could not play in the NHL chose to play in European or North American leagues. The largest number of professional NHL players were in Sweden during the season, including Gothenburg native Daniel Alfredsson, who joined his hometown club for the season. This increased the quality of play and many observers said that Elitserien was the best league in the world during 2004–05.