3. NEW PLAYERS IN THE SDHL
Swiss Sarah Forster (BIF) is one of many Olympians who are moving to be part of Europe's, and arguably the world's, best women's league.
Petra Nieminen (LHF)
Luleå is close to the Finnish border and is becoming a mecca for players from their national team. Not content with having Karvinen and Hiirokoski, they also have 19 year old back Ronja Salvolainen and 23 year old forward, Noora Tulus on the team. But this year they will be joined by yet another Olympic bronze medalist, Petra Nieminen. Only 19, she impressed in Pyeongchang, coming third in the team's internal points competition behind two veterans, Karvinen and 45 year old HV71 player Riikka Välilä.
Nieminen comes a season with Finnish club Team Kuortane in the country's top division where she was their second highest points getter. Playing alongside Karvinen might be exactly what she needs to take that next step and grow to replace her team mate as the best Finnish forward in the world today.
Chiho Osawa (LHF)
Import players from Canada, USA, England, Hungary, France, Norway, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Denmark will be joining teams in Sweden. But a first is Japanese captain, the 26 year old forward, Chiho Osawa who will also joining Luleå. She brings with her experience from two Olympics and the World Cup plus all the extra qualifying matches that smaller hockey nations have to go through. Now she will get to play alongside some of her opponents from the recent Olympics where Japan shocked the Swedes beating them 2-1 in overtime in the knockout stages of the tournament.
The young Swedes
A final word also should go out to the young Swedes who are coming up to take over the mantle from the 2006 generation.
Two names to look out for are Maja Nyhlén Persson and Hanna Olsson.
Nyhlén Persson is only 17 but has already played four (!) seasons in the top division with Leksand IF, was U18 national captain and shone in this year's Olympics. The defender notched up four points in six games, the same as Emma Nordin, and more than Pernilla Winberg, one of the few active players left from the 2006 team. In their match against hosts Korea, 29 year old Winberg scored twice whilst the younger player scored her first ever goal at senior level. So look out for her powerful shot from the blue line this coming season.
19 year old forward Hanna Olsson is about to start her fourth season with Djurgården IF where she has just had her best points scoring season. She already has 116 points in just 89 games and has time on her side to equal Altmann's records.
Olsson has also played at U18 international level and was part of Sweden's Olympic squad. However her performance, like the rest of the team, was underwhelming. She only gained one assist and that was in the 2-1 loss to Switzerland. Olsson was the link player between Nyhlén Persson and goal scorer, Anna Borgqvist. And incidentally, Borgqvist and Nyhlén Persson will be teammates at Leksand this season.
But Olsson will have her focus on trying to repeat the 2016/7 season where Djurgården surprised everyone and took the SDHL championship. Olsson will be joined by a host of talented players from Swiss Olympian, Isabel Waidacher, Norwegian and French international players as well another young promising Swede, 20 year old Mariam El-Mahmadi.
It all adds up to an exciting new SDHL season which starts on 7 September. There will also be the first ever chance to see how Swedish and North American teams compare to each other when the Metropolitan Riveters, winners of the American National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) take on Luleå in the Champions Cup later in September.
@ABritOnThinIce1
