THE SAVING GRACE OF GOALIE ART

DAVID GUNNARSSON is the busiest and best-known goalie-mask artist in the world. But for the Swedish-based creator, his job also offers a welcome respite from OCD issues

BY WILL ZIMMERMAN

BEFORE HE WAS painting crisp blue lightning bolts for Henrik Lundqvist or soaring Bobby Orrs for Linus Ullmark, David Gunnarsson was one of the masses at Rosenlundshallen, Sweden’s first indoor hockey arena. The ‘Ice Palace,’ as the locals once called it, was the former home of HV71, a Swedish hockey club older than the Swedish League itself. The Rosenlundshallen has sat on the southern shore of Lake Vattern since 1958, and in 1996, a teenaged Gunnarsson was among the 4,500 fans who filled the Palace to watch the hometown club. Fluorescent lights suspended from the low-hanging ceiling soaked the navy-blue sweaters worn by HV71 players. Gunnarsson stood and watched. The bleachers were cheaper. If the flicking fluorescent over the opponent’s blueline or the uneven geometry of Rosenlundshallen’s colored seats – a mishmash…

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The Hockey News (Digital) - 1 Issue, Rookie Issue 2024

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