“Foppa” is one of Sweden’s best ever ice hockey players, enjoying a 13-year career in the NHL. There he won two Stanley Cups with the Colorado Avalanche (1996, 2001).
He also won two Winter Olympic gold medals with Sweden in 1994 and 2006, as well as two World Championship titles with his country in 1992 and 1998. Forsberg won the Hart Memorial Trophy, the NHL’s MVP award, in the 2003 season. Turning 43 today, the Swede is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation.
He stands eighth all-time in career points-per-game and fourth all time in career assists-per-game, behind only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr. He is the fourth-highest all-time Swedish point scorer in the NHL and was inducted to the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2013 and to the Hockey Hall of Fame a year later.
Other stars who celebrate on this day:
1938: Roger Hunt, former Liverpool and England footballer, part of the 1966 World Cup-winning squad (78).
1973: Claudio Reyna, American ex-footballer who won 112 caps for the US. Played for Rangers and Man City (43).
1975: Ray Allen, the 10-time NBA All-Star won two championships with the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat (41).
1991: Andrew Shaw, Montreal Canadiens ice hockey star. Won two Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks (25).
