The top-ranked league competing in the CHL is the one based in Sweden, which has become somewhat of a factory of top talent in the sport. Read about its humble beginnings, through the decades to the top-notch professonal circuit it is today.

by Shaun Nicolaides

As in many European countries, the winter sport of bandy was the catalyst behind ice hockey becoming created in Sweden. Ice hockey first started being talked about by the Swedes in 1919, with an ice hockey association eventually being created in 1922 as it broke away from the Swedish Football Association, which had joined the IIHF in 1920.

Bandy was always the most popular winter sport in Sweden, but when ice hockey was announced to be part of the 1920 Winter Olympic Games, the Swedes started to take real interest in the sport. In early 1920, the Swedes decided that they would start to actively take part in ice hockey events, and in March of 1922 the first ever Swedish national ice hockey championship was held.

Gota and Djurgården dynasties

Djuargården, Hammarby and AIK from Stockholm, as well as Lidingo IF, IK Gota, IF Linnea, and Nacka SK took part in the inaugural Swedish ice hockey championship, with IK Gota coming out on top. Indeed Gota was the dominant force for a number of years, winning the championship seven times out of a possible nine between 1922 and 1930. It took until the 10th edition of the championship for things to be really shaken up, as Gota lost its grip at the top of the three. Hammarby and AIK battled it out against each other to be top dog, with the clubs winning six of the following seven championships.

Moving on to the 1950s and '60s, Djurgården completely took over the league, winning it an incredible six times in a row between 1958 and 1963. They really did have some great players. Legendary forward Sven Tumba, who played for Djurgården between 1950 and 1966, became top scorer of the league three times and was instrumental in the team’s success. Just to show how influential he was for Swedish sport overall, he was awarded the title of the best Swedish hockey player of all-time in 1989. Defenceman Ronald Stolz was also a key member of the squad, spending 15 seasons with the club. Djurgården was made to work for its success, however, with two of its titles being won only on goal difference.

Professional Elitserien

It took until 1975 for the league to become something similar as to what it is now. The old Swedish Division I was replaced by the new Elitserien, and straight away the number of teams competing was reduced from 16 to 10. Brynäs IF topped the 1975/76 regular season with 51 points, five ahead of nearest challenger Leksand IF, and the outfit from Gävle promptly went on to win the post-season playoffs to take the Le Mat Trophy for the seventh time in eight seasons, beating Färjestad BK Karlstad in the final series 2-0. They really gave their opponents no chance whatsoever, winning the first game 6-2 and then thrashing Färjestad again in the second game 9-3. Forward Lars-Goran Nilsson was without doubt their star man, racking up 53 points in the regular season, and four points in as many playoff games. Despite that outstanding season, Nilsson never played in the NHL, instead later on transferring to AIK in 1977, where he remained until the end of his career.

Brynas really managed to stay as Sweden’s top club until 1980, with10 titles in 16 seasons. After that, the club had to wait until 1993 to once again regain its place at the top of the three, with the 1980s seeing many more teams coming into the fray.

A factory of top talent

In that 1979/80 season, though, forward Anders Steen of Färjestad was simply fantastic. Whereas his team even failed to make the playoffs, finishing in seventh spot of the regular season, the forward notched up 46 points in 36 games and in the process earned himself a lucrative move to the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets. It didn’t really work out for him, though, spending half of the season in the CHL with Tulsa Oilers, and with Winnipeg he managed only 16 points in 42 games. Unsurprisingly, he promptly returned to Sweden never to leave again. Another highly successful player in Sweden did fare a bit better over in North America though. Djurgården forward Bo Berglund’s superb form year-in, year-out was rewarded with a transfer to the Quebec Nordiques, and in contrast to Steen at least he managed to stay there. In a three-year period, he moved back and forth between the NHL and the AHL, but he certainly proved that he had what it takes to play at the highest level possible.

Steen’s Färjestad club had real success as well, though. In 1988, the Elitserien was expanded from 10 teams to 12, and with the whole set up being changed. The best 10 teams in the initial regular season would go on to the final round, where the best eight then progressed into the playoffs. Farjestad, the sixth seed, went on to shock the whole country by going on to win the title for a third time, beating favourite IF Bjorkloven 3-1 in the finals. 23-year-old forward Peter Andersson was the star of the show, grabbing 14 points in nine playoff games to steer his team to glory. At that point the Elitserien was really starting to be recognised as one of the top leagues in the world, with the NHL poaching the league’s best stars regularly.

It took until the 1996/97 season for the structure to be changed up again, with just the one regular season being used to decide who would qualify for the playoffs. And for the next season, we witnessed the birth of two of the most famous players in Swedish hockey history. The identical twin Sedin brothers, Henrik and Daniel, began their careers with Modo Ornskoldsvik, and since the pair left for the Vancouver Canucks in 2000 they have gone on to become world stars. They weren’t the first legendary players to have been produced by Modo, as Peter Försberg, who is now in the IIHF Hall of Fame, learned his trade with the club before going on to become a simply fantastic player in the NHL, starring mainly with the Colorado Avalanche. Swedish hockey is without doubt one of the strongest in the world, with the country and the league producing top class players one after another. Erik Karlsson, widely regarded as one of the best defenceman around right now, got his career going with Frölunda HC, and the Ottawa Senators recognised his ability practically immediately.

New name, tradition continues . . .

The Swedes don’t let absolutely all of their best players go, though. While many European leagues have their stars robbed by the North Americans, the Swedish league is seen by many as the third-best league in the world, behind the KHL and of course the NHL. And it’s popular with the fans, too. The league last season had the third-best average attendance at 5,978, and just a couple of years ago it was indeed the best attended. The league set-up seems to be changing almost every year, though, and in June 2013 the league was renamed the Swedish Hockey League, and for the 2015/2016 season the SHL will have not 12 teams competing in it, but 14. The most successful teams in the last few years have most definitely been Skellefteå AIK and Färjestad. Jimmie Ericsson and Joakim Lindstrom in particular have fired Skellefteå to two straight championships in 2013 and 2014, whereas Färjestad have competed in no less than three playoff finals in the past six years, emerging victorious on two occasions.

2014/15 clubs

2013/14 leading scorers