2. THE STAYERS
Michelle Karvinen, Jenni Hiirikoski and Emma Nordin (LHF)
One of the reasons why Luleå won the championship last season, and are my favourites to win it again, are this trio of players. Finnish forward Karvinen won Forward of the Year last year and is one of the few players who may challenge the records set by Altmann.
Luleå's and Finland's Olympic squad captain, Jenni Hiirikoski is rated as one of the best female backs in the world today. Her positioning and reading of the game make her difficult to pass. But she is also not goal-shy, posting a 1.53 PPG last season, the fifth highest points scorer in the SDHL.
Not only does Luleå have the best Finnish back and forward in their team, but the also have one of Sweden's top strikers in Emma Nordin. The 27 year old is oringinally from MODO Hockey and has won the league with both them and her current club.
She is the highest points scoring Swede in the history of the league with 304 points, was the highest scoring Swede in the league last year as well as at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Jennifer Wakefield (BIF)
The other challenger to Altmann's records is Canadian forward, Jennifer Wakefield. She already has 144 points from just 69 games in the SDHL. She has mainly played for Linköping HC. But last year, after preparing for the Olympics with the Canadian squad all winter and then winning a Silver Medal, she launched off to arch rivals Luleå to join them for the playoffs where she helped the team take home the Gold. That makes it two Swedish national championships, one Olympic Gold, one World Cup Gold and a whole cluster of silver medals to her palmarés, making her one of the most decorated playing in the SDHL.
This year she has decided to join Brynäs IF, who are creating a team which, at its best, may challenge Wakefield's former team, Luleå. Apart from the Canadian, the club have brought in a whole raft of players including Erika Grahm, the challenger to Emma Nordin as the best Swedish forward in the league; experienced English back, Georgina Farman who has come from a four year long stint in Linköping; and Swiss Olympic defender, Sarah Forster from the top Swiss division, the SWHL A.
@ABritOnThinIce1
