Weekes was the first goalie Lundqvist worked with in the NHL. He was considered the Rangers' No. 1 goalie going into the 2005-06 season, but that changed by December, when Lundqvist, a rookie, won the starting job he still has today.
Asked to describe Lundqvist's demeanor as a rookie, Weeks said, "Fiery, super competitive, and he expected a lot of himself. Supremely confident in himself and what he could do."
Weekes, a veteran at the time, said he enjoyed being a mentor to Lundqvist.
"There were times, and still are, just less so than before, where his fire went against him a little bit, but it's a great trait to have," Weekes said. "It's always better to be a thoroughbred than a quarter horse. When you're a thoroughbred you can run at a pace that most other horses can't. He expected to be dominant. I used to tell him, 'Hank, it's not going to be a zero, one or two every night on the board, Dominik Hasek can't even do that all the time.' But he's very hardworking, always has been."
Weekes called Lundqvist a grinder.
"Money, contracts, heart, passion, all that aside, at the core he's a student of the game and he works like a grinder," Weekes said. "I have tons of respect for that."
All five of Lundqvist's backup goalies were asked for their lasting impression of him. All said it was his work ethic.
"When I got on the ice with Henrik for the first time it was a day after a game he played," Valiquette said, "and we go through practice where I'm dying, dead, practice is over and I've taken a lot of shots after practice, but Hank is not getting off the ice. He's still taking breakaways, still working. I remember thinking to myself, 'How am I ever going to catch this guy when he's the hardest worker I've ever seen?'"
Valiquette said he was actually angered by Lundqvist's work ethic. Biron said the same went for him.
"I was like, 'I want to leave the ice, I've been working for an extra half-hour and I'm exhausted, but I can't leave because he's still working at the other end,'" Biron said. "So I would just stand there and watch him. The guys would be like, 'Marty, do you want to go into the net?' I'd be like, 'No, I'm watching this.' His work ethic, always pushing himself, was second to none."
Nothing has changed, Raanta said.
"That's Hankie's style, that's how he has been the guy in this league," Raanta said. "If you don't have a working mentality and if you're not competitive enough, you're not going to be able to be on top of your game and on top of the League for 10 years."