Norwegian national team forward Alexander Reichenberg has passed away suddenly at the age of 31, his Lillehammer club team announced on an Instagram post on Sunday. The cause of death was not revealed.

“For the club and the team, Alexander was a big profile, a player with an x-factor in his game and an important contributor to the group. He also used his international experience to motivate the team's young players who were early in their careers,” the post said.

While the majority of his career was played in Lillehammer, Reichenberg did have stints with other Norwegian clubs, and also played in Czechia, Sweden and Austria. Reichenberg was a member of the Storhamar Dragons from Norway that surprisingly reached the Champions Hockey League’s round of 16 in 2015-16.

Reichenberg was born in Sweden to Swedish parents but moved to Norway as an infant when his father Ronny, also a professional hockey player, went there to play. He lived in Norway for the rest of his life, and represented Norway at two World Championships and the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

It was while he played for Sparta Prague in 2017-18 that I had a sit-down interview with Reichenberg, shortly after he had been named to the Olympic team. He was looking forward to the first game against Sweden, saying: “It’s special but I think it’s more special for my family because they’re all Swedish. My dad booked off work that day to watch it, because it’s so early in the morning.”

He also said: “It’s gonna be a huge life experience for me. I’ve played in World Championships and that’s cool too, but just the atmosphere of the Olympics, with all the athletes from different sports all staying in the same village, and hopefully getting the chance to watch some other sports if we get a day off. Also, I’ve never been to South Korea before and maybe I’ll never go again, so that’s another thing.”

During those Olympics, Reichenberg scored one goal in five games as Norway finished eighth.

This past season was Reichenberg’s most productive season as a pro, recording 44 points in 41 regular-season games in Norway. He was a free agent and, according to his club’s Instagram post, was evaluating several offers from Norway and abroad for next season.