Former IceHog Gustav Forsling Wins Stanley Cup with Florida

After a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final on June 24, Gustav Forsling and the Florida Panthers captured the franchise's first Stanley Cup Championship. With the title, Forsling became the 29th IceHogs alumnus to lift Lord Stanley, and the 24th to do so after spending time in Rockford.

Forsling led all Panthers defensemen in the playoffs with 13 points (4G, 9A) in 24 games. He also led the team with a +9 rating throughout the postseason and served as one of Head Coach Paul Maurice's most versatile blueliners.

The Swede has spent the last four seasons with Florida after spending the first three years of his professional North American hockey career with Rockford and the Chicago Blackhawks. Forsling saw action in 53 games with the Hogs from 2016 to 2019 and helped Rockford reach the Western Conference Finals in 2018.

Forsling now joins a list of eight IceHogs alums to win the Stanley Cup with a team other than the Chicago Blackhawks. Jassen Cullimore (Tampa Bay, 2004), Brett Lebda (Detroit, 2008), Daniel Paille (Boston, 2011), Colin Fraser (Los Angeles, 2012), Brett Connolly (Washington, 2018), Zach Sanford (St. Louis, 2019), and Jan Rutta (Tampa Bay, 2020, 2021). Cullimore, Lebda, Paille, Connolly, and Sanford all won the cup before appearing for the IceHogs, and Fraser won his first cup with Chicago in 2010. 22 IceHogs alumni have lifted the Stanley Cup for the Blackhawks.