NHL Star & Stanley Cup Winner Anton Lundell Becomes Firstbeat Brand Ambassador

Firstbeat is delighted to announce that the NHL’s Anton Lundell, center for the Florida Panthers and two-time Stanley Cup winner, has been named a Firstbeat Ambassador for the 2025–2026 season.

At just 23 years old, Anton exemplifies how long-term use of physiological data can support athlete development and the transition from youth to professional sports.

Having used the Firstbeat system since the age of 11, he has relied on its insights to help manage training, performance, and recovery throughout his career.

On the role Firstbeat has played in his development, Anton explains:

“I’ve been using Firstbeat for a long time, and I think it’s a very good system to follow your training. You get a lot of data, a lot of feedback, and you see where you are doing well, and what you might need to do more of to improve your condition. During training, I think it’s a very helpful way to keep track of how a session is going, and a good way to follow your heart rate and learn from your own body.”

Whilst the wider team also uses Firstbeat, Anton’s proactive use of data makes him a natural fit as a Firstbeat Ambassador. Veli-Pekka Kurunmäki, Director of Professional Sports at Firstbeat, commented:

“Having used Firstbeat throughout his career, we are excited to partner with Anton for the coming year. Known for his eager, ever-learning mindset, he represents the next generation of team-sport athletes. Players like him make coaches’ lives easier. He isn’t required to wear the sensor, but chooses to wear it not only in training but also during games.

Our goal is to support the cultural shift professional team sports need: athletes actively engaging with physiological data to individualize training for better performance, and to protect them from overtraining and injuries.”

Anton’s Firstbeat data also revealed that his Heart Rate Recovery levels remained consistently strong throughout the demanding NHL season. This exceptional stability underlines Anton’s strong foundation and ability to withstand the heavy demands of an NHL schedule, including playoffs and steadily increasing ice time each year, without signs of fatigue.

During games, Anton relies on Firstbeat’s heart rate data to help focus on how he can bring his heart rate down and get the energy he needs to be ready for the next shift and consistently bring his best to the ice. He explains:

“Firstbeat has been a huge help, because then you see if you don’t get your heart rate down (Heart Rate Recovery) very fast, you might have to work a bit more on your conditioning, and build the bases. So I have a lot of things I feel like, over the years, have helped me and my training.”

Anton also measures HRV using Firstbeat’s Quick Recovery Test to ensure recovery from the previous game and readiness for the next practice. Anton finds this data particularly valuable:

“Almost the whole team has also been using Firstbeat for recovery. Every morning, we look at HRV, and in three minutes, you get the scores and some data on where your body is after a day off or after a game day. I think it’s been a big reason why we’ve been able to train smart, and be refreshed and ready for games.”

Firstbeat is widely used across ice hockey leagues in the US and Europe, including almost 50% of NHL teams, in addition to 70% of Germany’s DEL league, and more than half of Finland’s SM-liiga Teams.

About Firstbeat

Firstbeat Sports is the leading provider of physiological data for athlete performance management. Trusted by over 1,000 elite teams worldwide, Firstbeat turns complex physiological measurements into actionable insights on training load, recovery, and performance readiness.