On April 3rd, 1988, Calgary Flames forward, Hakan Loob, became the first Swede to reach the 50-goal plateau in a single NHL season.

In what was their final game of the 1987-88 NHL season, a meaningless affair against the futile Minnesota North Stars, Hakan Loob scored a powerplay goal late in the third period to give himself 50 on the season, becoming the first ever Swedish-born player to reach that marker in a single season. Loob was the team’s leading scorer with 106 points that season and would have also taken the goal lead as well had it not be Joe Nieuwendyk scoring only one more than he did.

Loob’s 1987-88 season went down as his best in the NHL, and the 106 points he amassed over 80 games still ranks him in fifth place all-time in Flames history for single-season scoring. Most importantly, his 50 goals set the pace for all Swedes to come.