Henrik Lundqvist surprises Swedish youth hockey organization with equipment donation

New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist surprised the Frölunda youth hockey team in Sweden with a donation of 60 sets of new hockey gear to through the NHLPA Goals and Dreams program.

The donation by the former Vezina Trophy winner was made Tuesday when the North Rockland Youth Hockey association visited Sweden and Frölunda on an all-expenses paid trip through Rangers Assist presented by Chase program.

Lundqvist surprised both Frölunda and the Rockland teams by joining them on ice as part of the donation. Before he entered the NHL with the Rangers, Lundqvist played for Frölunda when he was a younger player in Sweden.

Here is Lundqvist arriving to the delight of all people involved.

And Lundqvist meeting some of the hockey players.

“It is fun. It is clear that you feel a little responsibility and try to do as best you can, now that there is opportunity to help. Frölunda doing a great job in the region to support young people and this is just part of it to try to spread the sport – giving more children and young people an opportunity to play. Sometimes it can be tough to get equipment, ice time and all that,” Lundqvist said in a translated quote from a story by Expressen.

Lundqvist is known as one of the more charitable players in the NHL. In 2015 he was named a finalist for the league’s NHL Foundation Player Award, which is presented to “an NHL player who applies the core values of hockey — commitment, perseverance and teamwork — to enrich the lives of people in his community.”

In 2012 he raised $35,000 for the Garden of Dreams Foundation by auctioning off his 2012 Winter Classic mask.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper