Möjligheterna att rutinerade Carl Söderberg återvänder till svensk hockey den kommande säsongen är tämligen goda.

Spel i exempelvis Schweiz är inte aktuellt, utan det står mellan en återkomst till Malmö och att köra vidare i NHL, avslöjar Kvällsposten.

Malmö-sonen börjar visserligen bli till åren (35) med hockeyspelarmått mätt, men vore ändå en tung värvning om han bestämmer sig för en SHL-återkomst.

Artisten har spelat i NHL i åtta år i följd och bokförts för finfina 297 pinnar på 597 bataljer i världens bästa liga.

Söderberg spelade senast i SHL säsongen 2012/2013 - en säsong där han var mycket framträdande i Linköpings tröja.

FORM PREVIEW: Hansen, Milik and Lathi

We continue our look at the form of some of the competitors who will be taking part in this year’s TAURON SEC and who also race in Poland’s League 1 division.

Having looked at Bellego, Lebedevs and Logachev, we now consider the next three highest scorers in that league.

4. Patrick Hansen, DEN, 12^th 2.094

5. Vaclav Milik, CZE, 23^rd, 1.828

6. Timo Lahti, FIN, 27th, 1.784

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Patrick Hansen, DEN

The 23-year-old Dane is one of the most improved riders of 2021. Last year he was in eWinner 2 League and finished 15^th overall, but now he one of the best riders in eWinner 1 and the leading foreign rider with his team, Arged Malesa Ostrow.

He started grabbing headlines earlier this year when he won the Danish SEC/ SGP qualifier losing only one heat when he was beaten by TAURON SEC rival, Mikkel Michelsen. But Hansen can still boast that he beat the 2019 European Champion earlier on in the competition.

That means that whilst Hansen is a debutant in the European Championship, he is definitely a name to look out for in this year competition.

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Vaclav Milik, CZE

The Czech Republic’s rider is one of the well-known faces of the European Championships. Now 28 yrs, he has appeared in every TAURON SEC final since 2015 and medalled in 2016 (Silver) and 2017 (Bronze). This year he comes to the finals after receiving a Wildcard.

At club level in eWinner 1, the Czech rider has found himself part of a winning squad with Wilki Krosno. The club is trying to go from eWinner 2 to Ekstraliga in just one season. However, he is in a supporting role behind the team’s heat leaders, including Latvia’s Andzejs Lebebevs. Milik gets better with every race and currently has a heat average of 1.828. But one thing he has over his rivals is experience in Europe’s best competition. Can he use that to better last year’s 10th place finish in Europe?

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Timo Lahti, FIN

Finland’s Timo Lahti (photo) made an impressive start to his first ever TAURON SEC appearance as a permanent rider in 2020 when he came 7th overall. That result was founded on two excellent results when he came second in Round 4 at Gniezno and then third in the final Round at Torun.

This year he received a Wildcard so that he could take part in this year’s competition after finishing just outside the automatic qualifying positions in the SEC Challenge in Pardubice.

He currently has an average of 1.784 for Start Gniezno, which puts him in 27th in the individual rankings in the Polish league.

But as he proved in the TAURON SEC last year, he is capable of more. For example, he top scored for his team when they visit Rybnik on 24 May, the venue for the final Round in this year’s European Championship.

*Statistics correct as of 8 June 2021

FORM PREVIEW: Bellego, Lebedevs and Logachev

With less than a week to go until the tapes go up on the TAURON SEC, fans across the world are talking about who will win Round 1 in Bydgoszcz on Saturday.

Below, we take a look at the current form of some of the top three riders who are racing in Poland’s eWinner 1 League. The first three are:

1. David Bellego, FRA, 3^rd, 2.281

2. Andzejs Lebedevs, LAT, 8th, 2.175

3. Sergey Logachev, RUS, 9^th, 2.167

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David Bellego, FRA

28-year-old Frenchman, Bellego, is due to appear in his third TAURON SEC in a row. He is the top placed rider in 1 League who is competing in the European Championship and there he has an incredible heat average of 2.281.

This was looking like the best season of his career and the Frenchman was hoping to get to finish in the top four of a Round for the first time in in the competition.

However, a horrific three-way crash on Saturday 6 June in Rybnik has left him with a broken left collarbone. The initial prognosis was that he would be out for a least 10 days. That would mean he would miss the opening Round at his home track in Poland, Bydgoszcz. However, no operation can be done to heal the collarbone. So, it will be a question of how long it takes for doctors to say he can race again.

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Andzejs Lebedevs, LAT

When it comes to the TAURON SEC, Andzejs Lebedevs (red helmet, above) is one of the most experienced riders in the competition having appeared in six of the last eight events since 2014. And in 2017 the Latvian stunned the speedway world with his first ever win in the European Championships. Although he did not win an individual round, he came to the final in all four events, including a second place in Güstrow, which will also feature in this year’s competition.

The Latvian qualified by finishing 4^th in the SEC Challenge in Pardubice and is back as a permanent rider in the competition for the first time since 2018. Not only that, but his form in eWinner 1 with league leader’s Wilki Krosno shows that 26-year-old is back to racing some of his best speedway since the European title win.

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Sergey Logachev, RUS

The 26-year-old Russian has been in the European Championship before. However, he appeared in just one heat as a replacement when the event visited his club, Rybnik in 2020. This time around when the 2021 TAURON SEC visits the town, Logachev will be there as a permanent rider.

In 2020, the Russian was with his team in the Ekstraliga and finished the season off in 37^th position with a 1.465 average. That put him level with riders of the calibre of Michael Jepsen Jensen, Antonio Lindbäck and Krzysztof Kasprzak.

And this year in 1 League he is flying with a 2.167 average. His experience in this league could be a great advantage when it comes to the overall rankings. That’s because three of the four venues for this year’s TAURON SEC are clubs from this Polish league.

Three other of this year’s TAURON SEC competitors are also racing in eWinner 1 League in Poland. They are Patrick Hansen, Vaclav Milik and Timo Lathi. We’ll have a look at them in our next article.

*Statistics correct as of 8 June 2021

Västervik har lyckats bra med flera nordamerikanska värvningar de senaste säsongerna.

Nu har VIK plockat in ytterligare en spelare från Nordamerika.

Det handlar om Myles Powell.

Den 26-årige centern kommer närmast från spel i ECHL, där han mäktade med 44 poäng på 51 matcher i ECHL (inklusive slutspelet) den gångna säsongen.

Sportchefen Emil Georgsson om ettårsavtalet med Powell.

- Myles är en spelskicklig center som även kan användas som ytterforward. Han är högerfattad och har ett bra skott. Det är en poängspelare som vi kommer få stor nytta av i PP, säger Västerviks sportchef till klubbens hemsida.

Stefan Loibl har varit het i den tyska högstaligan de senaste säsongerna och var uttagen i landslaget så sent som i samband med den senaste VM-turneringen.

Den kommande säsongen blir det spel i Sverige.

Skellefteå blir nämligen nästa anhalt.

Den 24-årige forwarden har skrivit på ett kontrakt för en säsong.

General managern Erik Forssell om tillskottet.

- Det är roligt att vi kunnat göra klart med Stefan och ser fram emot att se honom i vår förening. Han är en duktig skridskoåkare, bra i spelet med puck och har ett bra skott. Vi tror att han kommer att ta ytterligare steg i sin utveckling i vår miljö och i den här ligan, säger SKE:s general manager till klubbens hemsida.

Måns Hansson var med om Troja/Ljungbys allsvenska avancemang tidigare i år.

Nu är det klart att den 23-årige backen följer med smålänningarna till HockeyAllsvenskan.

Skåningen har förlängt avtalet med en säsong.

Sportchefen Daniel Håkansson om beskedet att Hansson kör vidare.

- Måns med sitt spelsinne och rightfattning är en viktig del i vår speluppbyggnad och powerplay där han haft en viktig roll. Efter att ha varit en ungdomstalang tycker jag att Måns mognat och landat in i vad som krävs för att spela på en högre nivå. Han har spelet i sig och det ska bli intressant att se hur han kan utnyttja det på HockeyAllsvensk nivå, säger Trojas sportchef till hemsidan.

Malmö-produkten - som har provat på spel i HockeyAllsvenskan med Oskarshamn för några år sedan - mäktade med 32 poäng på 49 matcher den gångna säsongen.