Brisbane Lightning hire Christer Lundkvist to lead them into the 2025 Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) season. A signing that will hopefully propel the Queenslanders onto the next stage of the team’s development.

After announcing the departure of inaugural head coach, Terry Kiliwnik, in October 2024, Brisbane has wasted no time in the search for a new head coach to lead the team.

Searching far and wide, the appointment of Swede Lundkvist is a marker of intent for the Queenslanders in their evolution as an AIHL team.

57-year-old Christer Lundkvist is a former goaltender. He has been involved in coaching and scouting, mainly in Scandinavia and Poland, for 25 years. Lundkvist joins the Lightning after a season head coaching the Tingsryds AIF’s U20 team. He also spent time scouting for Polish club KH Torun.

It’s interesting looking at his history in Elite Prospects. He has plenty of experience at various professional levels and age grades in Europe. However, he only has one stint in an English-speaking country prior to joining the Lightning. That came in 2021-22, when he was a scout for Maniwaki Mustangs in Canada.

It indicates to me that Christer will take some time to settle into life in Australia and the AIHL. Maybe we will see some lost in translation moments in 2025. But Lundkvist’s hockey pedigree and know-how in coaching youngsters should hopefully enable him to get the best out of the young Lightning players and build to success in Brisbane.

One thing is for sure, Lightning fans will be looking on with fascination and hope as they look to see their team progress to the next level.

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