Joel and identical twin brother Henrik, a retired 15-year goaltender with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), were born to Eva Johansson and Peter Lundqvist.

Their interest in hockey grew even larger when their father Peter took the twins to see Frölunda HC play in Scandinavium, Gothenburg.

[1] In 1993 the family moved to Båstad, Skåne, in southern Sweden to support their older sister Gabriella's tennis career.

Lundqvist played 7 games in his first NHL playoff series, scoring two goals, and was assigned back to Iowa when Dallas was eliminated.

[3] Serving as team captain, he led Frölunda to win the 2016 Swedish national championship as well as the Champions Hockey League (CHL).