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Revision as of 18:48, 9 June 2007 by 68.39.163.15 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Ice hockey player| Peter Forsberg | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
(1973-07-20) July 20, 1973 (age 51) Örnsköldsvik, SWE | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Nashville Predators Philadelphia Flyers Colorado Avalanche Quebec Nordiques | ||
| NHL draft |
6 overall, 1991 Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| Playing career | 1994–present | ||
Peter Mattias Forsberg (born July 20, 1973, in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden) is a professional Swedish ice hockey player currently playing center for the Nashville Predators. Forsberg is one of the most recognized faces in Sweden and in hockey. He is the only Swedish hockey player to win the Stanley Cup, the World Championship and Olympic hockey gold on two occasions, making him a member of the Triple Gold Club, twice. His father, Kent Forsberg, is a former manager for MoDo Hockey and the Swedish national team.
Playing career
From a young age, Forsberg was recognized as a top athlete. At age 15, Swedish hockey officials made a video of Forsberg, showing off his superior agility and vertical leap. He played junior hockey with MoDo Hockey, debuting in 1989. After playing 23 games with the senior club in 1991, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers with the 6th pick of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.
The first pick of that same draft, Eric Lindros would be permanently connected to Forsberg when, with Eric having refused to sign with the Quebec Nordiques, they traded him, on June 30, 1992. The Nordiques gave Lindros to the Flyers in exchange for Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Chris Simon, Mike Ricci, two first round draft picks, and $15,000,000 cash. Many consider this trade to be the foundation of the Nordiques-turned-Colorado Avalanche's pair of Stanley Cup-winning teams. Many also consider it, in retrospect, one of the most one-sided trades in NHL history, given what the Quebec/Colorado franchise received in compensation for a single player.
Forsberg remained in Sweden, playing for MoDo for the next 2 years. In 1994, he led the Swedes to a gold medal in the Winter Olympics, scoring the winning goal of the penalty shootout that decided the gold medal game. Forsberg's "one hand, slide in" goal, a move which he borrowed from retired Swedish ice hockey player Kent Nilsson, has become popular in today's NHL. Dallas Stars forward Jussi Jokinen is known for pulling off the move numerous times in a season, some hockey commentators call it "The Paralyzer" but Forsberg claims he has never heard it called that before. An image of Forsberg scoring this goal was later placed on a Swedish postage stamp, making Peter the first hockey player to be placed on a Swedish stamp. The second player and so far only one but Forsberg to be printed on a Swedish postage stamp is Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin. Forsberg's famous move on Canadian goaltender Corey Hirsch (who refused to be shown on the stamp) has become so iconic in hockey that efforts to reproduce it inevitably draw references to Forsberg from hockey commentators.
Forsberg first played in the NHL in the 1994-95 season. He scored 50 points in the strike-shortened season and won the Calder Trophy. In 1995, the Nordiques moved to Colorado and became the Avalanche. In their first year in Denver, he scored 116 points in the regular season, and 21 points in 22 games during the playoffs, helping the Avalanche defeat the Florida Panthers to win the Stanley Cup.
In 2001, the Avalanche won their second Stanley Cup. After the Avalanche defeated the Los Angeles Kings in the second round of the playoffs, Forsberg had to have his spleen removed and did not play again in the playoffs. He decided to take the entire next season off to recuperate, and only returned for the playoffs, which he again led in scoring with 27 points, but again with his team losing before the Western Conference Finals, this time to the Detroit Red Wings.
2002-03 was a banner year for Forsberg. Much healthier and more rested than he had been in the previous few years, he went on to lead the league with 106 points, and was rewarded with the Hart Trophy. The Avalanche lost to the underdog Minnesota Wild in the playoffs.
He played for his hometown team MoDo Hockey in Sweden during the 2004-05 NHL lockout. He planned his return to his homeland even before the NHL labor dispute turned into a full-fledged lockout. When the NHL resolved its labor dispute he ended up signing with the Philadelphia Flyers for 11.7 million dollars over two years, turning down an offer of 13.5 million dollars over four years to play with the Colorado Avalanche.
Forsberg was named the World Hockey Player of the Year for 2005 according to Pro Hockey, a National Hockey League publication based in Europe. The award was decided by a jury of 15 international hockey journalists and players, which presents a top-100 list of the world's best players at the end of every year. In 2006 Forsberg was named the 9th best player in the world by the same magazine.
On September 14, 2006, Forsberg became the 15th Captain in team history. He was named the Captain by the Flyers organization after Keith Primeau announced his retirement from hockey earlier in the day.
Forsberg is (like many other Forsbergs) well-known in Sweden by the nickname "Foppa," which, contrary to popular belief, does not have any definite meaning like "puck wizard," but is just a Swedish hypocoristic of his last name.
During the 2006-07 season Forsberg had several discussions with the Flyer's management but refused to sign a new contract claiming that he wasn't sure that he would continue playing hockey the next season.
He maintained that he would evaluate the situation the next summer, when he also would become a free agent, and would not sign or even ponder any contracts until then.
On February 15, 2007, Forsberg was traded to the Nashville Predators, for Ryan Parent, Scottie Upshall, a first-round pick and third round draft pick in the 2007 Entry Draft.
Awards
- Won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 1996 and 2001.
- Named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1995.
- Awarded the Calder Trophy in 1995.
- Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2003.
- Awarded the Viking Award (Best Swede in NHL) in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2003.
- Named to the NHL First All-Star Team in 1998 and 1999.
- Awarded the Bud Light Plus/Minus Award (shared with Milan Hejduk) in 2003.
- Awarded the Hart Trophy in 2003.
- Awarded the Art Ross Trophy in 2003.
- Awarded the Yanick Dupre Memorial in 2006.
Records
- Forsberg at the 1993 World Junior Championship set an all time tournament record with 31 points in only seven games. Also, he ranks first in career points among tournament scorers with 42 points. (10 goals and 32 assists)
- With his second Olympic Gold in 2006 he became the third player in history to have enough titles to join the Triple Gold Club twice (the others being Vyacheslav Fetisov and Igor Larionov).
Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1990-91 | MODO Hockey | SEL | 23 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 22 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1991-92 | MODO Hockey | SEL | 39 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 78 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1992-93 | MODO Hockey | SEL | 39 | 23 | 24 | 47 | 92 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1993-94 | MODO Hockey | SEL | 39 | 18 | 26 | 44 | 82 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 14 | ||
| 1994-95 | MODO Hockey | SEL | 11 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 20 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1994-95 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 47 | 15 | 35 | 50 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1995-96 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 82 | 30 | 86 | 116 | 47 | 22 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 18 | ||
| 1996-97 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 65 | 28 | 58 | 86 | 73 | 14 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 10 | ||
| 1997-98 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 72 | 25 | 66 | 91 | 94 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 12 | ||
| 1998-99 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 78 | 30 | 67 | 97 | 108 | 19 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 31 | ||
| 1999-00 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 49 | 14 | 37 | 51 | 52 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 12 | ||
| 2000-01 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 73 | 27 | 62 | 89 | 54 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 6 | ||
| 2001-02 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 20 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 20 | ||
| 2002-03 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 75 | 29 | 77 | 106 | 70 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 2003-04 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 39 | 18 | 37 | 55 | 30 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 12 | ||
| 2004-05 | MODO Hockey | SEL | 33 | 13 | 26 | 39 | 88 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2005-06 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 60 | 19 | 56 | 75 | 46 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 2006-07 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 40 | 11 | 29 | 40 | 72 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2006-07 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 17 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | ||
| NHL totals | 640 | 235 | 581 | 816 | 590 | 139 | 61 | 101 | 162 | 137 | ||||
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 |
2006 Torino | Ice hockey |
|
1994 Lillehammer | Ice hockey |
| World Cup | ||
 |
1996 | Team |
| World Championships | ||
 |
2004 | Team |
|
2003 | Team |
|
1998 | Team |
|
1993 | Team |
|
1992 | Team |
Played for Sweden in:
- 1992 World Championships (gold medal)
- 1993 World Championships (silver medal)
- 1994 Winter Olympics (gold medal)
- 1996 World Cup of Hockey (bronze medal)
- 1998 Winter Olympics
- 1998 World Championships (gold medal)
- 2003 World Championships (silver medal)
- 2004 World Cup of Hockey
- 2004 World Championships (silver medal)
- 2006 Winter Olympics (gold medal)
International statistics
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Sweden | EJC | 6 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 16 |
| 1991 | Sweden | WJC | 7 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 30 |
| 1992 | Sweden | WC | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| 1993 | Sweden | WJC | 7 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 8 |
| 1993 | Sweden | WC | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| 1994 | Sweden | Oly | 8 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
| 1996 | Sweden | WCup | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 1998 | Sweden | Oly | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 1998 | Sweden | WC | 7 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 0 |
| 2003 | Sweden | WC | 8 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 6 |
| 2004 | Sweden | WC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2004 | Sweden | WCup | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2006 | Sweden | Oly | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Junior int'l totals | 20 | 15 | 44 | 59 | 54 | ||
| Senior int'l totals | 59 | 20 | 36 | 56 | 44 | ||
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. (June 2007) |
- Interested in harness racing, and owns or has owned a few racing horses during the years, including Tsar d' Inverne and Adrian Chip.
- Has invested money in a golf course named Veckefjärdens Golf Club in his native Örnsköldsvik.
- Considers Trocadero his favorite soft drink.
- Owns a company - Pforce AB - that imports and markets Crocs shoes in his native Sweden since 2005.
- Born in the same town as Markus Naslund, and the Sedin twins.
- Owns a Swedish development company with his father, Kent, named Forspro Company. The company co-funded the MoDo Hockey team's new Swedbank Arena in Örnsköldsvik.
Notes
- "Flyers deal Forsberg to Predators". TSN.ca. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
- "Triple Gold Club" (PDF). IIHF.com. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
- ^ "Flyers sign Forsberg to two-year deal". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
- "Stamp of Peter Forsberg at Postmuseum Online" (in Swedish). Posten. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- "Stamp of Mats Sundin at Postmuseum Online" (in Swedish). Posten. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- "Hirsch till Sverige" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 2005-06-02. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- Andersson, Hasse (2004-09-23). "Välkommen till FOPPALAND" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- "Anrell - med floskeltoppen" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- Bokvist, Pierre (2006-02-28). "04.37: Här slutar "Foppas" festnatt" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- "Om Crocs™" (in Swedish). Pforce AB. 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- "Swedish Finals: Modo mines championship gold". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2007-04-19.
References
- Stern, Kate "Forsberg, Peter" Current Biography v. 66 no. 11 (November 2005) pp. 28-32
- Farber, Michael "The Biggest Deal" Sports Illustrated v. 103 no. 7 (August 22 2005) pp. 52-53
- Farber, Michael "Friend or Foe?" Sports Illustrated v. 98 no. 15 (April 14 2003) pp. 62-64, 66-67
- Farber, Michael "Cool as Ice" Sports Illustrated v. 96 no. 23 (June 3 2002) pp. 64-67
- Farber, Michael "Chillin' out" Sports Illustrated v. 92 no. 20 (May 15 2000) pp. 46-49
- Bloom, Barry "Shooting from the hip" Sport v. 90 no. 6 (June 1999) pp. 71-73
- Johnson, Paul M. "Peter Forsberg" Sport v. 88 (February 1997) p. 80
- Murphy, Austin "Two much" Sports Illustrated v. 85 (December 9 1996) pp. 50-52
External links
| Preceded byTommy Sjödin | Golden Puck 1993, 1994 |
Succeeded byTomas Jonsson |
| Preceded byMartin Brodeur | Winner of the Calder Trophy 1995 |
Succeeded byDaniel Alfredsson |
| Preceded byChris Chelios | Co-winner of the NHL Plus/Minus Award (with Milan Hejduk) 2003 |
Succeeded byMartin St. Louis and Marek Malik |
| Preceded byJose Theodore | Winner of the Hart Trophy 2003 |
Succeeded byMartin St. Louis |
| Preceded byJarome Iginla | Winner of the Art Ross Trophy 2003 |
Succeeded byMartin St. Louis |
| Preceded byKeith Primeau Derian Hatcher* |
Philadelphia Flyers captains 2006-07 |
Succeeded bycurrently vacant |
| Preceded byJohn Vanbiesbrouck | EA Sports NHL Cover Athlete NHL '98 |
Succeeded byEric Lindros |
* - Hatcher served as interim captain during the 2nd half of the 2005-06 season due to Primeau's absence from injury.
Categories:- Articles with trivia sections from June 2007
- 1973 births
- Art Ross Trophy winners
- Calder Trophy winners
- Colorado Avalanche players
- Hart Trophy winners
- Hockey players at the 1994 Winter Olympics
- Hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics
- Lester Pearson Award winners
- Living people
- MODO Hockey players
- Nashville Predators players
- National Hockey League 100-point seasons
- National Hockey League All-Stars
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- People from Ångermanland
- Olympic competitors for Sweden
- Olympic gold medalists for Sweden
- Philadelphia Flyers draft picks
- Philadelphia Flyers players
- Quebec Nordiques players
- Stanley Cup champions
- Swedish ice hockey players
- Triple Gold Club
- Winter Olympics medalists