Pelle Lindbergh

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SwedenSweden  Pelle Lindbergh Ice hockey player
Date of birth May 24, 1959
place of birth Stockholm , Sweden
date of death November 10, 1985
Place of death Stratford , New Jersey , USA
Nickname Skin
size 175 cm
Weight 90 kg
position goalkeeper
number #1
Catch hand Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft 1979 , 2nd lap, 35th position
Philadelphia Flyers
Career stations
1975-1979 Hammarby IF
1979-1980 AIK Solna
1980-1982 Maine Mariners
1982-1985 Philadelphia Flyers

Per-Eric "Pelle" Lindbergh (born May 24, 1959 in Stockholm , † November 10, 1985 in Stratford , New Jersey ) was a Swedish ice hockey goalkeeper who played for the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League .

Career

Pelle Lindbergh made his first big appearance in 1974 in the TV puck tournament, a junior ice hockey tournament that was broadcast on Swedish television and where national teams from the regions of Sweden competed against each other. Lindbergh competed for the defending champion Stockholm and failed in the first round. Later NHL stars, such as Mats Näslund, also took part in the tournament.

The following year things went much better for the Stockholm selection. In the semifinals they defeated Medelpad with 5-1 and in the final they beat Gästrikland with the same result and won the tournament. Pelle Lindbergh was voted the best goalkeeper in the TV puck tournament.

From 1975 he played in the Swedish youth league for Hammarby IF . In 1978 he won silver with the Swedish national team at the Junior World Championships and bronze the following year. He was also named the tournament's best goalkeeper in 1979.

In the same year he played his first games in the Elitserien with the professionals of AIK Solna . His good performances in the league and the international junior tournaments meant that he was selected in the NHL Entry Draft 1979 by the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round at position 35 - of all things by the team for which his great role model Bernie Parent had played for years. But he stayed in Sweden for another year.

The first big highlight awaited him at the 1980 Winter Olympics , when he won the bronze medal with the Swedish team. A short time later he received his first contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. Together with compatriot and friend Thomas Eriksson , he joined the Flyers.

In the training camp, Lindbergh could not qualify for the NHL team and had to go to the Maine Mariners , the Flyers' farm team in the AHL . There he flourished and reached the final of the championship, the Calder Cup , with the team . There they had to make do with the title of runner-up after six games, but Pelle Lindbergh was rewarded for his strong performance. He received the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award for Best Rookie , the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award for Best Goalkeeper and the Les Cunningham Award for Most Valuable Player in the AHL.

He completed part of the 1981/82 season with the Flyers in the NHL and trained there under his great idol Bernie Parent, who was now a goalkeeping coach. On October 31, 1981, he made his debut for the Flyers against the Buffalo Sabers , but the game ended in defeat and for Per-Eric Lindbergh in the hospital because he had too little to drink during the game. Then he always took a water bottle with him on the ice, which he put on his gate. That was not the rule back then, but it is taken for granted nowadays. Seven more missions followed, and he played 25 times a season for the farm team.

From the 1982/83 season he was a permanent member of the Philadelphia Flyers and received his first invitation to the NHL Allstar Game . 1983/84 did not go optimally for Lindbergh. He did not perform as he expected and for a short time was even sent to the Springfield Indians , the Flyers 'new farm team in the AHL, so that he had match practice and did not have to sit on the Flyers' bench.

Pelle Lindbergh had his big year in 1984/85 . The Flyers got a new trainer, Mike Keenan , who chose Lindbergh as number 1. He didn't disappoint and ended the regular season with 40 wins in 65 games and led the Flyers into the playoffs . There the team fought their way from round to round and finally stood in the final for the Stanley Cup , where they met defending champion Edmonton Oilers with superstar Wayne Gretzky . After five games, the Flyers had to admit defeat, but the season had a very positive end for Lindbergh, as he received the Vezina Trophy as the best goalkeeper in the NHL. He was the first European to win the trophy.

At the beginning of the 1985/86 season , the Flyers were the strongest team and put down a series of ten wins in a row. On the evening of November 9, 1985, the players in the dressing room celebrate the good start of the season with a couple of beers, as the next day there was no training for the first time in the season. His family was visiting Philadelphia and Lindbergh drove home to sleep in as they were going to Atlantic City together the next day . When his family was in bed, a few teammates called to celebrate a bit more. After midnight, Lindbergh drove his new Porsche to the Flyers training hall, where his teammates were waiting. It was celebrated until the early hours of the morning and at five o'clock the players made their way home again. He had taken Edward Thomas Parvin and his girlfriend Kathy McNeal as passengers. At around 5:40 a.m., he lost control of his car and hit a wall.

He and his two passengers were immediately admitted to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Stratford . A few hours later, Pelle Lindbergh was pronounced brain dead. He had been found to have an alcohol level of 1.7 per mille. Parvin and McNeal survived.

Pelle Lindbergh was buried in a cemetery in the south of Stockholm.

No Philadelphia Flyers player has worn Pelle Lindbergh's number 31 since his death. In his honor, the Philadelphia Flyers created a trophy called the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial, which is awarded each year to the player who has improved the most.

Achievements and Awards

NHL statistics

Seasons Games ATM Shutouts W. L. T
Regular season 5 157 3.30 7th 87 49 15th
Play-offs 3 23 3.11 3 12 10 0

GAA = goal average; W = victory; L = defeat; T = tie

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Lindbergh, Pelle
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lindbergh, Per-Eric
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish ice hockey goalkeeper
DATE OF BIRTH May 24, 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH Stockholm
DATE OF DEATH November 10, 1985
Place of death Stratford, New Jersey , New Jersey