During his previous stint with the Swedish Ice Hockey Association, Rikard Grönborg led Sweden to no fewer than four World Championship gold medals.
He won two as head coach of Tre Kronor, one as an assistant coach of the senior national team and one as an assistant coach of the junior national team.
Since he left in 2019, Tre Kronor has played in one World Championship final and missed out on a medal in five of the last seven tournaments.
I wouldn’t call it a failure, though, because we’ve won bronze twice in the last three years. I’m also well aware of how small the margins are and how difficult it is to win a medal.
Double gold in Finland
He led Tappara to the Finnish league title for the second time in three seasons this spring. His contract runs until 2030 - the same year as the association’s target for Swedish hockey to be the best in the world.
I’m really looking forward to contributing to the exciting change process that is underway. If the job had been under the traditional structure, I probably wouldn’t have taken it, as I believe the old national team coach’s role was outdated.
The new structure means Rikard Grönborg will serve as both general manager and head coach, with overall responsibility for sporting matters. Tommy Boustedt will be player personnel manager and Nicklas Lidström will be a senior adviser, working closely with him.
Grönborg will primarily follow the NHL, which is made easier by the fact that his family now lives in Utah, his wife Dawnie’s home state.
Since about 90 percent of the players in a World Championship squad come from the NHL, and probably 100 percent of those in an Olympic squad, it’s very important that we’re present and build good relationships.
Unusual disease
Rikard Grönborg first moved to the United States at age 20 to study and play college hockey at St. Cloud State University. His coaching career also began with the university team. During his coaching years in the United States, he met his future wife in Salt Lake City.
When he was appointed coach of Sweden’s under-18 national team in 2010, the couple moved to Sweden and had two daughters, Chloe and Grace Callie. Their youngest daughter was born with the rare condition laryngomalacia, which caused severe breathing episodes.
She also suffered seizures, and tests showed that in the worst-case scenario, the condition could lead to permanent damage, including brain damage, and leave her confined to a wheelchair.
That period was truly like a terrible nightmare, and we felt so powerless. Just before the 2019 World Championship, we received the news that doctors suspected a serious and incurable illness, so it’s no surprise that I wasn’t completely balanced during that tournament.
Promise to his wife
Family has always been most important to Rikard Grönborg, and that has been reinforced by all the hardships they have been through. But now their youngest daughter is doing well again and attends an American school. Their eldest daughter is studying and playing hockey.
I want to see my daughters grow up and be there for them. I had promised my wife that we would move back to the US, so now was the perfect time. From our house, it’s only a 45-minute drive to the Utah Mammoths’ arena, where I can follow our Swedish NHL stars.
Born: June 8, 1968, in Huddinge.
Family: Married to Dawnie, daughters Chloe (14) and Grace Callie (8).
Lives: Utah, USA.
Occupation: New head coach of Tre Kronor.
Coaching achievements: World Championship gold with Tre Kronor as head coach in 2017 and 2018, and as an assistant in 2013; World Championship gold as an assistant coach in 2012; Finnish champion with Tappara in 2023-24 and 2025-26; won the regular-season title in the Swiss NLA with ZSC Lions in 2019-20 and led the team to the final in 2021-22.
November 5-8, 2026: Euro Hockey Tour tournament in Helsinki and Prague.
December 7-13, 2026: Euro Hockey Tour tournament in Switzerland.
February 8-14, 2027: Euro Hockey Tour tournament in Stockholm.
May 3-9, 2027: Euro Hockey Tour tournament in the Czech Republic.
May 14-30, 2027: World Championship in Germany.
