PAGE SIX MAGAZINE
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Henrik Lundqvist: The World's Sexiest Ice Man
Sean Avery hogged the Rangers' spotlight last year, but now it's goalie Henrik Lundqvist's turn. With his killer saves and the ability to bounce back from frustration, he's poised to capture one of the NHL's top honors. And with his dashing sartorial sense and sex appeal, he's already caught the eyes of the city's fashionistas.
It's like a scene from a Rat Pack movie. A guy stands in front of the airport terminal–size window of Stone Rose, the Time Warner Center's swank watering hole, grasping a tumbler. He's clad in a dark, slim-cut suit and skinny silver tie, and his looks are of the old-fashioned, "they don't make them like that anymore" heartthrob variety. Behind him, a dramatically lit statue of Christopher Columbus looms over Columbus Circle, almost as if it's his shadow. A gaggle of giggling blondes catches his attention for a brief chat, and then he's off to pose for a photo and shake some hands. As this man's man cuts through the darkened room, his movements are smooth, graceful, confident—like he's gliding on ice. But what else would you expect from New York City's hottest hockey player, the impossibly cool and surprisingly dashing goalie Henrik Lundqvist?
Despite the loss of a few key players, an unusual amount of shoot-out victories and some low-scoring games, the Rangers are at the top of their conference division—a feat that can be attributed to Henrik's clutch heroics. "Everyone from the players to the coaches knows that if it goes to a shoot-out, Henrik will come out on top," says Kenny Albert, the voice of Rangers Radio. "This season is the first year without Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan [who both left in the past year] and other high scorers. The team is more reliant on their defense—and that means Henrik."
And when Henrik makes a mistake, he fixes the problem quickly. In December, he played the worst game of his career, allowing eight goals against the New Jersey Devils. The next night he wowed fans by stopping all five shoot-out tries in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes. "Everyone has horrible games, but he immediately went back in and played to get it out of his system," Kenny says. Arguably the top goalie in the NHL, the easy-on-the-eyes Swede has become the darling of the Rangers, which, perhaps not coincidentally, has sold out 140 consecutive games since he joined the team in 2005.
Last year, the Rangers' season was a tabloid whirlwind dominated by the off-ice antics of left-wing and professional agitator Sean Avery, who interned at Vogue, was linked to a slew of starlets (including Mary-Kate Olsen and Elisha Cuthbert) and talked smack about pretty much everyone who crossed his path. But Sean's gone—picked up by the Dallas Stars, from which he was just dismissed after mocking Calgary's Dion Phaneuf for dating his "sloppy seconds" (Elisha).
Unlike his former teammate, 26-year-old Henrik is a gentleman who is beloved by teammates and fans alike. And, it should be noted, at 6´1˝ and a trim 195 pounds, he just happens to wear a suit better than the stocky Sean. "He's good at meeting people and getting his face out there," Henrik says of the league's villain, with a playful eye roll. "Sean's one of a kind." And while the goalie may not talk badly about other players, even he couldn't resist busting Sean's chops in a little sartorial competition. Henrik's fraternal twin brother, Joel, is a center in Dallas, and "when Page Six Magazine put me on its Top 25 Best Dressed list [September 2008] with the caption, 'Sean who?' I gave it to my brother to put in Sean's stall in the locker room," says Henrik with a mischievous grin. "Sean didn't think it was very funny."
Henrik might get the last laugh once again this spring, when the winner of the Vezina Trophy—the league's top prize for goalies—is announced. Right now, he's the No. 1 contender. "He's one of the very best out there," says E.J. Hradek, a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, who covers the NHL. "He's always been a great goalie and immediately connected with fans, but with Jagr and Avery gone, there's more room for his star to shine." Adds teammate Fredrik Sjostrom, who has known Henrik since their school days in Sweden, "He hasn't changed as a person, but as a player, he's a superstar now."
Born in Are, Sweden, to a physical therapist mother and a father who was a tourism director, as a child Henrik excelled not only at hockey, but was also a competitive skier. He played hockey professionally in Sweden for five years with Frölunda HC, winning a national goaltender of the year award three times before getting called to join the Rangers three years ago as a backup goalie. "I had good training in Sweden, and I knew that I had a lot of hard work to do before I could play here," he says. It paid off—Henrik won the starting position within a matter of weeks. "He was so good and charismatic in an understated way," says New York Post sportswriter Larry Brooks, who coined the nickname "King Henrik" after the rookie had played just four games. "He created a sensation quickly." It's a sentiment echoed by his fellow Rangers. "You get pretty spoiled playing with a guy like Henrik—he can make 10 tough saves in a row," says Scott Gomez, a Rangers' center. "He's a really happy-go-lucky guy, but when he gets on the ice, he's intense."
Henrik may look like a cool cat, but he admits, "Winning is everything to me, so when it comes to game day, I don't like to talk much. I get angry easily. If I have a bad game, people stay away." He's been known to throw things and break sticks. He's also had his share of bruises, and once broke his jaw while playing a game in Russia in 2001. Though barely able to eat, he opted to wait a whole week for treatment, until he returned to Sweden. "We were in the middle of Russia," Henrik shrugs by way of explanation. Remarkably, while many other hockey players sport scars, he's suffered few serious injuries. "That's the great part about being a goalie. We have masks protecting our faces."
And the ladies of New York are happy about that. With light blue eyes that crinkle when he smiles, a strong nose and a tawny complexion that would never make you think "son of Sweden," Henrik is old Hollywood handsome. He was named on People magazine's list of Most Beautiful People in 2006, and his rugged good looks have even attracted the eye of legendary fashion photographer Bruce Weber. "His people saw me at a party and organized a meeting through the league," Henrik says. That led to a photo shoot which, he thinks, might end up in a spring issue of Italian Vogue.
He often shows up at magazine shoots with suits from his own wardrobe because, let's face it, he's a little picky and, he says, "I don't want to wear something that's not me." Among his favorite designers: Dior, Hugo Boss and Tiger of Sweden. And while you might expect off-duty athletes to bum around in sweatpants and a T-shirt, Henrik explains that the Rangers all "wear a suit every time we travel. So it's pretty much five days a week in a suit. There's a lot of space in my closet dedicated to that. And I never wear T-shirts!" Henrik describes his style as "European," but his teammate Scott uses another word: tight. "He likes to dress up. But sometimes I don't understand how he can put on his pants because they're so tight," Scott laughs.
And though he refused to doff his shirt for this Page Six Magazine photo shoot, opting instead to undo his top three buttons, Henrik would take it all off if the price was right. "I don't have a problem showing my body, but I have more respect for my girlfriend than to do that," he says. But if he was offered a $5 million, David Beckham–esque fragrance deal, "Yeah, then we could start talking. Absolutely."
While Sean Avery is famous for squiring Hollywood babes, Henrik has been dating 26-year-old Therese Andersson since just after high school. "She's been with me since I was a pro in Sweden. It's good to have her as support because she knows what it's all about," he says of his blonde paramour and fellow Swede. She's currently decorating the couple's new apartment in Hell's Kitchen, as well as a pad in Miami's South Beach. And Henrik has no plans to leave the Big Apple: "I'm pretty settled and just signed a six-year contract" with the Rangers, worth more than $40 million. "I can see myself staying here after my career. I love this city," he says.
Staying agile enough to make tough saves requires both physical and mental discipline. Henrik keeps fit in the summer by playing tennis and during the season he's put through rigorous routines designed for goaltenders (who are expected to drop into splits faster than you can say "Mary Lou Retton"). "We focus on high-intensity sprints and lots of leg and core work because he needs to be explosive in the net," says team trainer Reg Grant. Since Henrik spends the whole game crouching, lunges and squats are major parts of his workout—but he's in such great shape that his daily workouts are more like little tune-ups. "Henrik has built up a great foundation, so he only spends 20 to 40 minutes working out," Reg says.
Even though hockey has a lower profile in the U.S. than baseball or football, the front row at a Rangers game often looks like a night out at the Beatrice Inn: Fans include the Olsen twins, model May Anderson and actress (and Susan Sarandon's daughter) Eva Amurri. Still, Henrik prefers hanging out with teammates like Aaron Voros, Markus Naslund and, of course, Fredrik, at hot spots such as La Esquina in Nolita and the Gramercy Park Hotel's Rose Bar. And sometimes the aspiring guitarist even hits dive bars, like the one in Queens where he recently staged an impromptu gig with a pal. "We play covers that people know—Guns N' Roses, Foo Fighters," he says. Right now, he's looking forward to setting up a jam session with Jay Weinberg, the son of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band drummer Max, whom he met at a Boss concert in Sweden.
And while he's happy to be the franchise's golden boy of the moment, Henrik isn't one to squat on his laurels. "I'm always looking to see what's next. I never get satisfied. Otherwise you stop getting better," he says. "My focus is to go all the way [to the Stanley Cup] this year. Whatever comes along with it, good." If luck is on the side of NYC's ladies, that just might mean a $5 million fragrance-campaign offer—and a little bit of nudity.