The start of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) is still a week away but that gives time for the second batch of matches in the European competition, the Champions Hockey League (CHL) to take place between Thursday 5 - Sunday 8 September.

The matches are all return matches from last week so plenty of chance for revenge and adjusting play to get a win.

Swedish teams Färjestad BK, Skellefteå AIK, Frölunda Indians and Luleå HF are on the road this time, whilst Djurgården IF will be at home in Hovet in Stockholm after two away wins last week.

Last night saw Frölunda finally get a win when they travelled to Graz 99ers in Austria. 17 year old Lucas Raymond (pictured) scored twice in the third period when the current champions won 1-5.

Elsewhere, Skellefteå managed to take an overtime win at SC Bern but Färjestad lost their 100% record in Italian speaking Switzerland when they went down 2-1 to HC Ambri-Piotta.

Djurgården will play Vienna Capitals and Luleå will be at Augsburg Panthers tonight.

The Champions Hockey League group stages often sees mixed results for the Swedish teams - and this year was no exception.

A combination of the fact that the Swedish teams are often much better than their opposition on paper, it is the first competitive matches of the season and that Swedish fans do not prioritise the CHL games often leads to lacklustre performances from the SHL teams.

This year Färjestad BK and Stockholm Djurgården IF were the only teams from Sweden to win both their matches with the Karlstad team putting eight goals past their opponents in the Löfbergs Arena. Djurgården won 2-1 away from home against Vienna Capitals and both teams currently lead their groups but still have matches against German teams, who are likely to be their strongest challengers in the groups.

Only three other teams collected all six points in the first two rounds, KAC Klagenfurt (AUT), EHC Biel-Bienne (SUI) and last year's defeated finalists, Red Bull Munich (GER).

Skellefteå AIK have a special habit of under performing in the CHL as they proved again on Sunday losing 1-2 at home to French side Grenoble. They managed to gain just one point in two home matches when they won in overtime back on Friday against SC Bern but still lie bottom of their group.

Luleå HF were also taken into overtime, but this was against German newcomers to the CHL, Augsberg Panthers, who then went on to win their first ever CHL match 2-3 even though they were away from home. The Swedish club at least managed to win their second game and finish the first two matches with four points.

Perhaps the biggest shock of the first 2 rounds of the CHL is that current champions Frölunda Indians lost both their matches at home against opposition from Austria and the Czech Republic.

Despite going ahead against Austria's newcomers Graz 99ers 2-0 after only 62 seconds, the visitors would later take the lead 4-5 with three unanswered goals. It was Ryan Lasch who rescued the point for the champions with 6:15 to go to take it to 5-5 but the Swedish and CHL champions lost on penalties.

Against Czech team, Mountfield HK, all the goals came in the second half of the game. But a second goal by Frölunda's New York Islanders drafted Rhett Rakhshani with 3:41 to go in the third was not enough and Mountfield won 2-3.

This Thursday sees the start of the competitive hockey season here in Europe as the Champions Hockey League swings into action on 29 August.

It always gives a first look at the new formations as well as giving the chance to see new teams and the different playing styles of Europe's hockey nations.

It will be on Friday when the current Swedish and CHL champions, Frölunda Indians start their trophy defense at home against Austrian newcomers, Graz 99ers.

And even without the top scoring back in CHL history, Canadian Olympian Chay Genoway, they are still my favourites to win the 2019/20 title. That's because they still have the likes of CHL top scorer Ryan Lasch, former Anaheim Ducks' Max Friberg and former Dallas Stars centre, Joel Lundqvist (above) in the squad.

Here in Sweden, SVT will show the majority of matches involving the Swedish teams. So look out for Luleå HF and Färjestad BK who will play at home on Thursday and my top match of the opening round on Friday as Skellefteå AIK take on Swiss, SC Bern. On the same day Djurgården IF will start their campaign away in Poland.

Saturday and Sunday will also see all the teams play a second round match so the hockey season is truly starting this weekend! Let the games begin!

Swedish Hockey round up, August 2019

August has started and in Sweden that means the summer holidays are coming to an end and everyone is revving up for the autumn – including the nation’s hockey teams.

Linköping Hockey, for example, had a public training match on 1 August as both the men’s and women’s team took to the ice for the first time in their revamped Stångebro rink.

THE SDHL

The women’s league has seen an unprecedent amount of transfers this summer, partly a sign that there is more money in the game and partly as a response to the #ForTheGame movement.

Those who have signed up to the protest movement have pledge not to play hockey at all in North American in the 2019/20 season meaning that many have come to Europe.

For Swedes one of the most exciting signing is Michelle Löwenhielm return to her native country and HV71. She was the only Swede to be playing in the NWHL, with Connecticut Whale, and has not played in Europe since she went to college in 2014.

The season will start on 13 September.

THE SHL

Summer transfers are part and parcel of the men’s game in Sweden.

18 year old, Philip Broberg, pictured, was drafted #8 in Round 1 by the Edmonton Oilers - the highest drafted Swede this summer. But this autumn we will see the defenseman in the colours of Skellefteå AIK.

As regards returnees from the States, Boston Bruins drafted Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson will be back in Sweden as the 22-year-old centre joins Växjö Lakers.

The Småland club have also got a great result in prising Marcus Davidsson away from his youth club, Djurgården IF. The younger of the Davidsson brothers was drafted by Buffalo Sabres in 2017, has a silver medal from Junior World Championship and has collected c.0.5 PPG average in front of goal in the SHL over the last two years.

The SHL starts on Saturday 14 September.

THE CHL

As always, the Champions Hockey League starts just before the regular season in Sweden giving us the first taste of the new sides as well as fulfils the hockey fans longing to see some live competitive action again!

On 29 August Färjestad BK and Luleå HF will be at home on the first day of CHL action. Just a day later, defending champions Frölunda Indians will be at home against Austria’s Graz99ers.

30 August will also see Skellefteå AIK take to the ice against SC Bern. Stockholm team Djurgården IF will be the only Swedish team to play away as they travel to Poland.

The draw for group stages of the Champions Hockey League took place in Slovakia during the recent World Championships. The 32 teams were divided into eight groups with four teams in each. The top two will go through to the knockout stages which start in November.

Group A:

This group should see Finland's Tappara Tampere qualify. They are the only team in this group who have played in the competition but Swiss Biel Bienne are my favourites to go to the playoffs over Austrian and Norwegian competition.

Group B:

Even with Finnish champions HPK Hämeenlinna, in the group I am going to go for Swiss EV Zug and Czech HC Pilsen as the two teams who are most likely to qualify from this group. Pilsen were excellent last year and that the Swiss have been in the tournament before may be an advantage against Finnish and Danish first-timers.

Group C:

Swedish champions from the regular season Luleå Hockey should qualify from one of the most open groups. But they will face a tough fight from Czech team Bílí Tygři Liberec and Germany's Augsburger Panthers. Can Great Britain's surprise survival in the World Championship be an inspiration for Belfast Giants to sneak into the playoffs? Back Paul Swindlehurst and veteran forward, Colin Shields, drafted in 2000 by Philadelphia Flyers certainly will hope so.

Group D:

Another group which will be an open fight will see Czech Oceláři Třinec, Swiss Lausanne HC and Finnish newcomers Lahti Pelicans fight for the top two places. Lausanne's Swedish assistant captain, Jonas Junland (pictured) as played in the first two seasons of the CHL with Linköping HC will be hoping to go further than the group stages in his fourth year in Switzerland.

Group E:

Kärpät's biggest challenge to winning the competition may be getting out of the group stages where they will have to face NLA champions, SC Bern and Swedish powerhouse, Skellefteå AIK. Despite enormous talent the Swedes have rarely performed well in the CHL and tend to be a team that flourish is the own playoffs in early spring. That should play to the Finnish and Swiss teams' advantage.

Group F:

This is another group that is very difficult to predict where Germany's Adler Mannheim return to the competition. They will face Austria's Vienna Capitals and Sweden's silver medal winners Djurgården IF. The Stockholm team of 2017/8 and 2018/9 was good enough to win the CHL, but have never rose to the challenge and have lost some of their best players already in the post-season.

One player who will not be playing in the in the CHL this season unless Adler Mannheim go through to the knockout round is Thomas Larkin. That's because in dying minutes of his last match in the competition on 7 November 2017 he tackled Brynäs IF's Stanley Cup winning forward, Daniel Paille, in an off-the-puck incident. The blindside hit ended Paille's career and on 10 June 2019 the court will decide what, if any, punishment the London born, Italian national will receive in a civil action taken out by the Canadian. He, along with many others felt that the CHL gave out a punishment which was too lenient. On the ice Larkin received two match penalties and then the CHL discipline committee gave him a three match ban for the hit and one for the ensuing fight.

Group G:

This group ought see Swedish Färjestad BK and last year's finalists Red Bull Munich go through against Swiss and Slovakian opposition.

Group H:

Frölunda Indians as the champions have again be drawn against British opposition, both of whom were in the lowest seeded teams in the competition. This time it will be Cardiff Devils who will face the Swedish champions. But they will not be intimidated in this their third CHL in a row. They will also feel they have a chance against their Austrian and Czech opponents in this group. Can they produce the upset of the tournament and qualify behind the Swedish and CHL champions? The safer choice would be Mountfield HK from the Czech Republic. But British internationals Ben Bowns and Evan Mosey will want to provide a shock again. Netminder Bowns has shown that he has the credentials - he saved 230 shots during the World Championships, the most of all players in the tournament.

Yesterday the Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL) announced a world first in women’s hockey - they have signed a six year long contract to televise all matches in the league. That makes them the first league in women’s hockey to transmit every match, rather than occasional or playoff matches.

The contract is with Sportsground together with media rights company, XVI Sports.

See SDHL website (in Swedish) for more details:

https://www.sdhl.se/article/i6ejajwf0-5nfcdd/rekordstor-tv-satsning-pa-svensk-damhockey

Frölunda Indians have been in four out of five of the Champions Hockey League finals winning three. Can anyone take the title from them?

Maybe this is the year for the Finns, and especially Kärpät Oulu, to take the title. Kärpät should be out to take revenge on their neighbours who beat them in the 2015/6 final.

Kärpät Oulu (FIN)

Finnish international hockey is in it's absolute prime, with its juniors winning the U20 championship and their seniors taking the gold against Canada. Even the women's team can boast being the best European team by far as both Olympic and World Cup bronze medalists.

It remains to be seen whether this can be converted into club success and perhaps the Finnish team most likely to succeed in 2019/20 is Kärpät Oulu. They may have finished second in the Liiga and in the second pool in the draw for the CHL. But they are the only Finnish team in the competition that have been to the final before.

However, even more importantly, they have at least four players who have contributed in the national team's success at Junior and Senior level. And if Munich's experience is anything to go by, that self-belief developed in the international arena can be the make or break difference in key matches.

20 year old Aleksi Heponiemi came eleventh in the Total Point in Liiga just 11 points behind the winner, Malte Strömwall. He is due to to start with the Florida Panthers in the autumn. But you can bet Kärpät will take him back in a flash if they can. One year younger, the second JWC gold medalist in the team, Rasmus Kupari is technically on loan to the Finns from Los Angeles Kings but a decision about next year has not been made. If these two remain in the team they will be a force to reckon with in front of net.

A senior player who has been at Kärpät for the last four years and returns from Slovakia with a gold medal round his neck is 27 year old is Jani Hakanpää. Drafted in 2010 by the Stanley Cup finalists, St Louis Blues the big 195 cm/ 6'5" defenseman played two full years in the AHL but on returning to Finland has also turned himself into a points scorer. His contract is also up but renewal could see more Champions Hockey League action for the Finn.

We can be more certain about 31 year old defenseman and captain for the 2018/9 season, Atte Ohtamaa. Back at his junior club last year after four years in the KHL he clocked in a career high 23 points in the season and captained his country during the Euro Hockey Tour. The Champions Hockey is one of the few things he has not won - can he lead the team to European club success?

The club have also signed two experienced players for the 2019/20 in the shape of Janne Pesonen (pictured) and Ludwig Byström. At 37 Finn, Pesonen has signed a one year contract at the club he played for in 2004, the year his was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks. Most recently he has been in Sweden with Växjö Lakers where he won the championship with Elias Pettersson but the team lost the CHL final at home to Finnish underdogs JYP Jyväskylä.

Byström has played in the CHL in 2014/5 when he was at Färjestad BK with Milan Gulas, who now captain's Czech CHL semi finalists, HC Pilsen.

The 24 year old has chosen to return to Finland instead of his native Sweden after four full years in the AHL mainly with the development team of the Dallas Stars who drafted him Swede in 2010. In his final two years in the AHL he started to develop the points scoring side of his game and it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the European game again.

On 22 May, in the middle of the recent world championships in Slovakia, the draw for the Europe-wide club competition that starts on 29 August took place in Bratislava.

Last year was the first time in Champions Hockey League history a German team went to the final with Red Bull Munich playing away to eventual winners, Frölunda Indians from Sweden last February.

A year ago I tipped the Indians to win and Munich were my outsiders choice for the title. But this year I'm going back to the old favourites and expecting to see a repeat of the 2015/6 all-Nordic final with Frölunda against Finnish, Kärpät Oulu.

Below we take a look at my favourites for the competition as well as a brief look at the group draw.

Frölunda Indians (SWE)

Roger Rönnberg's team from Gothenburg are my favourites to lift the trophy, this time for their fourth championship and achieving what only they have done before - win back to back championships.

One reason for this is that the management remains the same and the Swedish champions take the competition seriously- not as a warm up for their national season - but as something worth winning in it's own right.

That said, the club has already lost some of it's stars from the 2018/9 double winning season. Canadian backs, Jonathan Sigalet and Chay Genoway are both moving on. The first to Swedish rivals, Brynäs IF and the second moves back to the KHL where he has played most of his career since leaving North America in 2014. On attack, they also lose the Westerholm twins to Finland's Lukko Rauma. All four are forfeiting their chance to play in the CHL by moving.

But it is not time to write off the Gothenburg club - they will still retain the top scoring CHL and SHL forward, American, Ryan Lasch and Henrik's twin brother Joel Lundqvist will stay remain as captain at the club. Both have one year on their contract and whilst the 32 year old import player has not been afraid to move around, 37 year old Lundqvist maybe playing his last season at the club he has been at for 10 years.

Frölunda is a club that produces great young players such Rasmus Dahlin who has just had his first season at Buffalo Sabres. Their current pairing of back Jacob Moverare (Los Angeles Kings -pictured) and forward Samuel Fagemo (to be drafted this summer) will probably stay another season at the club despite NHL interest and will undoubtedly play a crucial role in a successful season.

But the Indians are also able to attract great players. They have already got replacements at the back with 23 year Swede, Julius Bergman, coming in fresh from four years in the AHL to replace Genoway as a point scoring back. Genoway's Olympic Bronze medal winning teammate, Karl Stollery will be coming from the KHL to replace Sigalet. And an interesting signing in regard to the CHL is that 29 year old Swede Niklas Lasu (pictured). The 2008 Atlanta Thrashers drafted centre returns to his home club after two years in Finland with no less than Kärpät Oulu.

The transfer window is still open but I have no doubt the Frölunda are going to be a force to reckon with in both CHL and SHL with their fantastic mix of up and coming Swedes, skillful returnees and super talented import players.

Game 47 of the World Championships, the final match of the preliminary stages for the bottom two teams in Group A did not look look very promising tie beforehand.

Great Britain, the lowest ranked team in the competition, ranked 22 verses France, ranked 13. Neither team had won a game in the tournament so far and were some of the lowest scoring teams in the whole competition - Sweden’s top four players had scored more than these two teams put together.

But in a “winner-takes-all” match only one team would remain in the top division of international hockey and qualifying for the 2020 championships in Switzerland.

The British team played a completely different type of hockey than in the other six losses in the tournament where they had let in 38 goals and only scored 5. But that was partly due to the fact that whilst they were definitely underdogs, France were also there for the taking as they themselves had let in 31 goals whilst only scoring 9.

Of the two, only the French team had players who have played in the SHL or Allsvenskan. That including their third line defenseman, Kevin Hacquefueille, pictured above playing for Pantern IK in 2018. But despite their deeper international experience, including more NHL games, they seemed surprised by the Brits aggression as huge, legal mid-ice hits leveled the Gaelic forwards time and again in the first period.

However, it was the French who took the advantage scoring first in the second period and then adding two goals in six seconds to lead the match 3-0 at the halfway point.

This was Britain’s first tournament in the highest division of hockey for 25 years and the last time the nation had scored 4 goals in a World Cup match was 1962. And their opponents had been in the top flight since 2004 and had won many similar tight matches in the last 15 years.

But after the inevitable timeout, Team GB took the game to their rivals. And when they scored a second goal with 1:56 to go in the period their fans screamed as though they had already won sensing an upset was possible.

However, it would take a goal in the third period and one of the most dramatic 3-on-3 overtime periods I’ve ever seen for the Brits to produce their own unlikely “miracle on ice” (See OT from 19:05 in the IHUKTV video, below).

How the French didn’t score in the three mad, goalmouth scrambles in the first two minutes of extra time has to be seen to be believed. But somehow Ben Bowns kept the puck out of the net.

And then came the counterattack from former Rockford Ice Hogs (AHL) defenseman David Phillips. As the French mistakenly tried to cover him with two players, that left former Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) forward Ben Davies alone in front of net where he skillfully beat netminder Florian Hardy to send Great Britain to their first back-to-back world championships since 1952.

On 2 May Gothenburg team Frölunda Indians won the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) title after a 4-2 series win over Stockholm rivals Djurgården IF.

That the Indians winning team contained five North Americans (including three Canadians) is not so surprising. But that both Americans come from California’s sun-soaked, surfing mecca Orange County and both are confessing Christians certainly doesn’t fit the norm for the profile of a successful hockey player.

But success has followed these two players, wherever they have gone.

Ryan Lasch

Born in Lake Forest, CA. in 1987, Ryan Lasch, has now played five of the last seven seasons in Sweden.

Like many emerging pros, Lasch’s early career saw him bouncing between leagues in Europe and North America as he sought to establish himself and hone his skills. In 2012 it looked like that he might get the much sought after dream ticket of playing in the NHL after becoming the first native of Orange County to be signed by local club, the Anaheim Ducks.

But at only 5’7″ (170 cm) his size was probably never suited to the more physical North American game and the larger European rinks gave him a chance to use his speed and agility to duck and dive out of tackles and develop into a potent goalmouth threat.

He maybe one of the shortest players in the SHL he is not short of trophies and accolades.

This year he picked up top scorer in the pan-European club competition, the Champions Hockey League (CHL), top scorer in the SHL Regular Season and the Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy as the Playoff MVP.

But Lasch himself says it is not really points he is after, but titles. In which case this year should count as a great success- for the second time in four years Frölunda are double SHL and CHL champions- a feat no other European club has ever achieved.

Rhett Rakhshani

Rhett Rakhshani‘s route to Swedish success is the result of a steady move eastward from Huntington Beach, CA. where he was born one year after Lasch. He moved from the Pacific coast, to the University of Denver and then to his first professional contract in 2010 on the Atlantic coast in Bridgeport, CT.

But his rise up the career ladder suddenly came to an abrupt end. Rakhshani was a success in Bridgeport Sound Tigers, but he was unable to register a single point in his NHL games with the New York Islanders.

At only 24 years old age, Rakhshani found himself at a crossroads in his career – continue in the AHL and hope to be one of the few to gain a ”veteran” contract or move to Europe and hope to adjust and establish himself on a different continent.

He took the risk to go further east, not as far as his grandfather’s homeland in Iran, but to Sweden, where he has been ever since.

The gamble sees to have paid off as 31 year old Rakhshani, with the classic hockey player’s toothless grin, has now won his second SHL championship in four years.

References

https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=106&artikel=563077

https://www.expressen.se/gt/sport/hockey/shl/lasch-om-tuffa-tiden-sprang-in-i-vaggen/

https://www.expressen.se/gt/sport/hockey/shl/darfor-valde-stjarnan-frolunda-avgorande/