Anders Hedberg

Along with countryman Ulf Nilsson, Hedberg signed a contract to play for the Winnipeg Jets in the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1974, after having represented both Modo Hockey and Djurgårdens IF in his native Sweden. Hedberg subsequently played during seven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers. He was twice voted best junior in Sweden (1969 and 1970) and is a graduate from the Stockholm School of Physical Education (GIH). As part of the "Hot Line" with teammates Bobby Hull and Ulf Nilsson that played from 1974 to 1978, Hedberg won two Avco World Trophies as WHA champions with the Winnipeg Jets. In 1977, he became the first player to score more than 50 goals in the first 50 games in a season, doing so with 51 goals. In the early 1970s Hedberg worked as an intern with Jerry Wilson, a Canadian former hockey player who was studying the physiology of hockey players, specifically their heart and lung conditioning. Wilson had been asked by the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association (WHA) to watch out for any notable Swedish hockey players, and he recommended both Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson, who was one of Wilson's subjects. Both would join the Jets in 1974.