hockey news

Linköping gets a heavy loss for next season. Marcus Högberg, one of the SHL’s best goalkeepers, is leaving the club to play in the NHL.

Marcus Högberg signed a contract extension with Linköping on March 12. A contract that would keep him at the club until 2028.

But now it is clear that the star goalkeeper is leaving, just over a month later.

Linköping announces that the 29-year-old will use the right to leave for an NHL club for the coming season. Which means that this stay in Linköping is over.

– It obviously feels good to get this chance again. I wasn’t really prepared for something like this to appear, but I’m very happy and excited to test my wings on the extreme world elite again, says the goalkeeper himself.

This is of course a heavy loss for Linköping. In recent seasons, Marcus Högberg has been one of the SHL’s best, if not the best, at his position. This past season, he was also a big part of the team making the playoffs for the first time in five years.

The sporting director: “Obviously a very tough message”

Now they have Jesper Myrenberg under contract for next season, while they now have to go out and look for a replacement.

– It is obviously a very tough message for us to receive in this situation. At the same time, it happens relatively early, which means that we can fairly immediately put in a new plan for the work and move on. Of course it will be a bigger job for us to pull, but it is our job to be prepared that something like this can happen when you have very talented hockey players around you, says sporting director Peter Jakobsson.

Marcus Högberg has spent four consecutive seasons in Linköping since he returned from playing in North America. Then there were 42 games in the NHL and 77 games in the AHL spread over four seasons.

In 2022, the goalkeeper was also part of Tre Kronor’s World Cup squad.

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Björn Hellkvist.

Photo: Daniel Eriksson/Bildbyrån

Björn Hellkvist will not coach Leksands IF next season.
Instead, the profile takes over as the new head coach for Björklöven.
– I am passionate about projects and this is a great and wonderful challenge, says Hellkvist.

The bomb has been confirmed.

Björn Hellkvist will not be Leksand’s head coach next season, but the SHL club chooses to invest further in its coaching team from this season with Charles Berglund and Mikael Karlberg at the helm.

Hellkvist thus leaves Leksand after four seasons in Dalarna.

– In consultation with Björn Hellkvist, I have agreed that Björn will not coach Leksands IF next season in the SHL. Björn will be rented out during the last year of his contract, which feels like a good solution for all parties. We had a good second part of the season with the management team that was added after Björn was forced to take sick leave and we believe in continuing with this team as intact as possible as the best for Leksands IF. I want to thank Björn for four incredibly fun years together that contained a lot of laughs but also great challenges that we faced and good luck in the future, says LIF’s general manager Thomas Johansson.

Hellkvist helped take Leksand to a third place in the SHL 2020/21 – the club’s best record in the Elitserien/SHL since 1998. He was then named coach of the year in the SHL.

– I want to thank you so much for four fantastic years in Leksand and Leksands IF. At times it has of course been tough, including during the pandemic season when we were forced to play in front of empty stands, but the support from all the supporters we have had all along is hard to find elsewhere in Sweden. That support has carried both me and the team. Speaking of support from supporters, I want to once again thank you for all the support I received during my sick leave when I was showered with wishes for recovery, something that helped me come back faster than I thought, says Hellkvist at the club’s website.

Björn Hellkvist takes over Björklöven

At the same time, it is instead clear that the 47-year-old will be the new head coach for Björklöven in HockeyAllsvenskan.

– I am passionate about projects and this is a great and wonderful challenge. A project is not over because you achieve success, but it is the final goal that is important, says Hellkvist on “Lövens” website.

Earlier in his career, Hellkvist was involved in promoting Malmö to the SHL in 2015 and he has also been head coach for Rögle, Oskarshamn and MoDo.

– It feels good that we have brought in Björn as a coach in Björklöven. I know him well since the time in Oskarshamn and liked working together with him. He is very structured in his work and a top coach at this level, says Björklöven’s sporting director Per Kenttä.

Hellkvist’s contract with Björklöven is written over a year and he replaces Viktor Stråhle, who was fired after the fiasco this season.

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Gustaf Westlund stays in Oskarshamn.

Photo: Bildbyrån

Gustaf Westlund accompanies IK Oskarshamn to HockeyAllsvenskan. He has signed a new one-year contract with the club.
– It’s a matter of course to get a continuation with Gustaf, says sporting director Oscar Alsenfelt to the club’s website.

After Tomas Rydén, Emil Kruse, Rasmus Bengtsson, Niclas Burström and Hampus Karlsson, Oskarshamn has received a sixth player who left the SHL with the team under contract for the coming season.

It concerns forward Gustaf Westlund, who has signed a new one-year contract with the club.

– I’ve had a great time in Oskarshamn and feel excited to once again represent the club, he says.

26-year-old Westlund came to Oskarshamn from college play before last season, scoring seven points (3+4) in 50 SHL games.

– It’s a matter of course to get a continuation with Gustaf. Great guy, both on and off the ice. It will be very exciting to see what results his strengths will get in the HockeyAllsvenskan, says the club’s new sporting director Oscar Alsenfelt.

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Brynäs continues to dominate in the hockey Allsvenskan playoffs. Now the Gävle team is just one game away from moving up to the SHL. That after winning match three at Hovet with 6-3.

Djurgården is really bad in the final of the Hockeyallsvenskan. After losing match three at home, the Stockholmers now have a tough task to say the least. If there is to be any advancement already this year, Djurgården must make history and become the first Swedish team ever to turn around a 0-3 deficit in matches.

In match three, it only took twelve seconds before Wiktor Nilsson received a match penalty for a tough tackle on Simon Bertilsson. The veteran defender was lying in pain at the same time as the referees chose to take a match penalty.

To make matters worse for Djurgården, Kevin Karlsson immediately went on a two-minute penalty for delaying the game, and it was a five-on-three game for two minutes. Djurgården managed to kill both minutes and also managed to concede a goal in the entire five minutes.

Instead, Linus Klasen gave the home team the lead at the end of the first period. A lead that carried into the second act.

The overrun in the second period

There, however, the away team took over completely.

1-1 came via Oliver Tärnström, 1-2 via via Jordie Benn, 1-3 via Noel Nordh and 1-4 from Tyler Vesel’s stick. Four quick goals that killed the energy of the home team.

In the third, Djurgården made an early attempt to come back, and they also came really close. Marcus Krüger had an open goal, but hit the inside of the post. Speaking for the final series and game three.

Instead of a reduction of the home team, Theo Lindstein then flicked in 5-1.

Killed all hope

Djurgården got some life again when Anton Gradin responded quickly with a 5-2 goal. With just over four minutes left in the match, 5-3 also came via Ludvig Rensfeldt. The energy returned to Hovet, but it was short-lived. With a 6-3 goal in an empty net by Tyler Vesel, Brynäs killed the hope once and for all.

Now the Gävle team has the chance to close the series on Tuesday at Hovet. If Djurgården is to turn this around, they must now do something that no other team in Swedish ice hockey history has succeeded in doing.

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Hampus Sylvegård’s Vimmerby goes up to HockeyAllsvenskan.

Photo: Hockeyettan/Screendump & Christoffer Borg Mattisson/Bildbyrån

Kristianstad had everything in their own hands, while Vimmerby needed to win big in the last round of the qualifying series for the HockeyAllsvenskan.
Then Kristianstad lost – at the same time as Vimmerby won with a whopping 8-1 against Halmstad.
Vimmerby HC, led by Hampus Sylvegård, thus advances to the HockeyAllsvenskan for the first time ever.

Before the last round of the qualifying series, Kristianstad, Vimmerby and Hudiksvall all had the chance to go up to the HockeyAllsvenskan. Kristianstad and Vimmerby both stood on 17 points and Hudiksvall with 16 points.

All three teams also played at home against the three suspended teams when Kristianstad faced Brödernas/Väsby while Vimmerby faced Halmstad and Hudiksvall played against Piteå.

Both Kristianstad and Vimmerby then had it all in their own hands before today’s matches, while Hudiksvall was dependent on other results to go up. Kristianstad had a three-goal better goal difference before the last round and Vimmerby then needed to win big to have a chance to pass.

In the first period, Hudiksvall took the lead early against Piteå and then went up to a temporary lead in the qualifying series. At the same time, Kristianstad were shocked when Fredrik Forsberg gave Brödernas/Väsby the lead. There and then it was Hudik who had the Allsvenskan place.

Kristianstad squandered the chance

But at the end of the first period, Vimmerby came to life. Elias Lindgren made it 1-0 in the power play and just a minute later Anton Carlsson made it 2-0. Then Vimmerby went past and into the qualifying series lead.

In the second period, Kristianstad equalized at 1-1 but it wasn’t enough as they needed to win to take the lead. At the same time, both Vimmerby and Hudiksvall stood out. Hudiksvall went up to 3-0 while Vimmerby just kept going and scored three straight goals for a total of 5-0 after two periods of play. They had then acquired a large lead in terms of goal difference as well and Kristianstad was then whipped to win by greater numbers against Väsby to advance.

It was then a crazy third period in Skåne. Väsby took the lead again but Kristianstad made it 3-2 with two goals in 43 seconds. Only 19 seconds after the 3-2 goal, however, Väsby equalized and killed KIK’s momentum again. With nine minutes left in the match, Brödernas/Väsby once again took the lead in the match with 4-3 and Kristianstad’s dream of promotion seemed to be shattered.

Vimmerby goes up – for the first time

At the same time, Vimmerby went up to 7-0 in their match and they stormed against HockeyAllsvenskan. Admittedly, Halmstad reduced, but Vimmerby responded by making it 8-1 with just over eight minutes left.

Kristianstad then lost 5-3 at home against Brödernas/Väsby and swamped their chance to go back up to HockeyAllsvenskan after being in the lead for almost the entire qualifying series.

However, Vimmerby wins their match 8-1, which means that they end up in first place in the qualifying series with 20 points, one point ahead of Hudiksvall, who comes second on 19 points, while Kristianstad is only third on 17 points.

Vimmerby HC then goes up to HockeyAllsvenskan for the first time in the club’s history. Led by 27-year-old coach Hampus Sylvegård, Vimmerby has made it all the way to a historic promotion.

The club went up to Division 1/Hockeyettan in 2011 and has since played in the third division, but this is the first year that Vimmerby plays in the qualifying series and they go up to HockeyAllsvenskan directly on the first try.

The results of the last round

Vimmerby – Halmstad 8–1 (2-0.3-0.3-1)

Vimmerby: Hugo Ollila 2, Elias Lindgren, Anton Carlsson, Adam Petersson, Eddie Levin, Isac Andersson, Isac Göransson.
Halmstad: William Gustafsson.

Kristianstad – Brödernas/Väsby 3–5 (0-1,1-0,2-4)

Kristianstad: Joel Svensson, Axel Hurtig, Kevin Wennström.
Brödernas/Väsby: Fredrik Forsberg 2, Ludwig Laband, Carl Wassenius, Joni Nikko.

Hudiksvall – Piteå 3–2 (1-0.2-0.0-2)

Hudiksvall: William Eckmyhl, Filip Lander, Marcus Limpar Lantz.
Piteå: Theo Keilin, Petter Mäkitalo.

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Skellefteå AIK won against Frölunda

Montage

The loss on Thursday away to Skellefteå means that Frölunda is eliminated in the SM semi-final. The match ended 1-4 (1-2, 0-1, 0-1) and Skellefteå thus won overall with 4-3 in matches.

Skellefteå started best and scored 1-0 already in the opening match. After just 2.28, Jonathan Johnson scored, assisted by Oscar Lindberg and Jonathan Pudas.

Frölunda equalized at 1-1 after 6.26, when Jere Innala got a hit played by Jayden Halbgewachs and Tom Nilsson.

Skellefteå took the lead again after 9.37, through Martins Dzierkals on a pass by Filip Sandberg and Arvid Lundberg.

After 16.24 in the second period, Linus Lindström netted, played by Dylan Sikura and Axel Sandin-Pellika and made it 3-1. 17.02 into the third period Max Lindholm struck and increased the lead for Skellefteå. That settled the final score at 4-1.