Henrik Lundqvist: King and Captain

A few years back, New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist starred in an episode of MSG’s The Game 365, giving host Fran Healy a tour of his native Sweden. Much of the second half of the interview was filmed on a yacht, cruising the waters outside of Gothenburg. Lundqvist said he didn’t own a boat there, but like any good Scandinavian, he had a deep love for the fjords and had accumulated plenty of sea time on friends’ vessels.

So, then, what better follow-up than some seafaring on the Hudson River? On Tuesday, Healy and Lundqvist boarded the 43-foot Beneteau Gemini at 79th Street Boat Basin to continue their conversation for another episode of the show. New York Media Boat hosted two MSG cameramen charged with getting wide shots of Healy and Lundqvist soaking up the sun and salt. (Since our RIB Aperture wasn’t available that day, we owe many thanks to Halcyon Sailing for loaning out Protector.)

One of the best-dressed and most seen athletes in New York, Lundqvist fit right in on a luxury yacht. His white button-down (top button unbuttoned, of course) tucked into his dark denim jeans with the help of a massive belt buckle emblazoned with the letter H. A dive watch and his classic stubbled face made it even easier to blend in as a sailor.

The shoot took about two hours, but few of the details from the interview made their way across the water.When the boats finally docked, everyone had a few minutes of downtime and conversations started.

The Swede was surprised to hear another Scandinavian name when he was introduced to Bjoern. He said he knew Flensburg, the northern German town on a fjord of the Baltic Sea where Bjoern grew up. The conversation was quick but we managed to snap a photo before Lundqvist was ushered off to the next event.

The episode is set to air at the beginning of the regular season in October.