Elitserien preview

Just as the last few years we could probably expect a very even Elitserien season with many teams with a good shot at winning the title. The even league will make the league exciting but it seems like it will be no extra excitement with NHL players in case of a NHL lock out. The association of the elite clubs, Hockeyligan has decided only to sign NHL players to contracts for the full season which means that NHLers could only play in Elitserien if the NHL season is cancelled.

Last season's champions Brynäs could very well repeat their success this season but is not one of the main favourites with key players like Jakob Silfverberg and goalie Niklas Svedberg leaving for the NHL. But the clubs has also made some interesting signings in Sebastian Enterfeldt and Johan Harju both from Luleå and Andreas Thuresson and Dennis Persson who both returns to Sweden after a few years in the AHL. As replacement for Svedberg Brynäs chose Robin Rahm who just returned from a two year doping suspension. Brynäs had four wins in seven European Trophy games.

A team who has swept the European Trophy with seven straight wins is Luleå who won the regular season last year but failed in the play off. The team had a very good defence last year and looks to have this year as well only conceding eleven goals on the seven ET games. The club has ten new players some of them very interesting as Linus Klasen, Karl Fabricius and Kim Hirschovits. But in the pre season it's players like Toni Koivisto, Niklas Olausson and the Abbott twins that has scored most.

HV71 is another team that has done very well in the ET with six wins in seven games and a goal difference of 27-9. Nine goals in seven games is very good for a team were the defence looks a bit thin on paper with only seven defenders on the roster. New Rhett Rakhsahni from Bridgeport has been impressive with ten points in five games. Other notables within the new players are Gustaf Wesslau and Marcus Nilson both from relegated Djurgården and late bloomer Elias Fälth from Luleå. The club is hoping to improve from last year when the season ended in quarter final.

Skellefteå has lost the final two years in a row and is looking for revenge. The club has been great in producing young talents like David Rundblad but many of them has left for NHL. The club has been very silent on the transfer market the only notable new player is the American Ryan Vesce from KHL. This could be a wise tactic in a time when it's not unusual with half the rosters being switched out between seasons. Skellefteå also managed to keep many of their key players including top scorer Bud Holloway. And as usual the club has hopes for some new young guys to bloom. In the pre season they won five out of eight games.

AIK was the big sensation last year with a semi final spot. But how will they manage without their great goalie Viktor Fasth? The league's top scorer Robert Rosén also left the club together with AIK second best scorer Richard Gynge. Replacers are Daniel Larsson in goal and Esa Pirnes and Björn Melin on forward, will they do as good? AIK started the pre season with a couple of good wins but only won two of the last seven games.

Linköping was the big disappointment last year and missed the playoff. The question is if they will do better this year. A lot of player left but the only big signing is Mattias Weinhandl who is back after a few years in Russia. Fredrik Norrena who has been goalie for many years in LHC has left is replaced by Andreas Andersson who mainly has been backup in HV71. Linköping has been uneven during the pre season, perhaps they will be the same during the season.

Many clubs lost their goalie to NHL, Frölunda even lost both and this year they are relying to two new goalies in Hudacek and Galbraith to help them improve last year's quarter final spot. Number two and three top scorers Mika Pyörälä and Fredrik Pettersson both left. Will Dick Axelsson and Fabian Brunnström be able to replace the points they made. Mathis Olimb was top scorer last year and will be important once again but Frölunda has a solid roster with many experienced quality players like Joel Lundqvist. Frölunda has three wins in seven European Trophy games.

Färjestad made it to the semi finals last year and managed to keep most of their key players. They had some problems scoring last year with only one player over 30 points (Mikael Johansson). Perhaps NCAA graduate Jack Connolly will be the top scorer they have been looking for as he has scored 11 points in Färjestad's seven European Trophy games (3 wins). Färjestad has a winning culture and is always a contender but are they really good enough this year?

The big talent school in Sweden MoDo hasn't been so succesful in recent years. Last year they had injury problems in a thin roster and for this year they have signed 13 new players. Will they manage to build a good team with so many new players and are the new goalie duo good enough? Some traditional players like Niklas Sundström and Per-Åge Skrøder are still with the team which could be important. Defensive forward Samuel Påhlsson was one of the biggest signings but he could miss the entire season due to injury.

Växjö was a newcomer last year that wasn't afraid to take place and almost made it to the playoff. Star goalie  Martin Gerber left the team and is replaced by Fredrik Norrena, but the question is if he still is on top level, competing with him about the position in goal is the 14 years younger Mattias Modig who has return to Sweden after a couple of years in North America. Växjö also lost two other key players in Illka Heikkinen and Mike Iggulden. The scoring defender Heikkinen will be hard to replace but Robert Rosén (Elitserien top scorer last year) and Petr Vampola are very good additions for Växjö's offence together with Växjö's top scorer last year Brad Moran who still is on the roster. But perhaps there are some question mark on defence where Jonas Holøs is one of few well known players. The pre season has been up and down but they won all games they played against other Elitserien teams.

Timrå finished in last place in the 2011/2012 season and there is a lot pointing of in that direction also this season. With a few exception the team is very anonymous with hard working players and the club is hoping that a good team effort will improve them from last season. Matt Murley and Fredrik Bremberg who were some of the few offensive forces last year both has left and the only reinforcement on offense with star quality is Niklas Nordgren. The club also hope that WJC top scorer Max Friberg will get his break through on senior level. Defensively the team looks a bit stronger since Sebastian Erixon returned from AHL but just as last year there are some questions marks on the goalies.

Rögle was a bit surprisingly promoted last season sending Djurgården down to Allsvenskan. As new in Elitserien they have signed several players of high calibre. Former NHL goalie Martin Gerber will be important together with new additions like Lasse Kukkonen, Mike Iggulden and Fredrik Warg. It will also be interesting to see how young Dane Thomas Spelling will do in Elitserien. But Rögle's roster seems a bit thin especially on defence with only seven players. The pre season also shows that it might be a hard year with a 2-2-5 record.

 

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