After enjoying a whole load of Champions Hockey League action over the weekend, and then recording the latest podcast episode yesterday evening, I’ve spent part of my Tuesday evening catching up on some SHL team notes. As always, click on the team name to go their dedicated team page where you can find the Team Line-up chart and further details.
Brynäs
Brynäs are continuing to look for a defenseman following the news that Christian Djoos will be out for 4-6 weeks. He confirmed today, in an interview with Gefle Dagblad (via HockeyNews.SE) that he has discarded his crutches and his recovery is going to plan. “I hope [to return] as soon as possible, but hopefully I will be back in four weeks”, is how Djoos puts it.
We know that there will not be a return for Jordie Benn as the Canadian confirmed today that he has retired. Whilst Brynäs would have loved to have him back, the fact that his wife is due to give birth to their third child soon always made that seem unlikely. There was a chance that he may sit-out the first few months and then join later in the season, but his retirement has closed that door.
Brynäs next take to the ice on Wednesday with a pre-season game against MoDo.
Frölunda
The good news coming out of Frölunda’s pre-season training camp is that Gustav Rydahl’s rehabilitation from back surgery is going well.
Rydahl last played at the end of December and it’s been a long road back for him. He was able to start skating last week and it’s hoped he will be able to take part in team training this week. That means there’s a chance he could be ready for SHL Opening Day although, given his lengthy lay-off, you would expect Frölunda to be cautious rather than risk a setback. Having Rydahl back within the first couple of the weeks of the season starting would be a bonus in any event.
Färjestad
Färjestad had an excellent start to the 2024-25 season in the Champions Hockey League by winning both of their first two matches. They beat Lahti Pelicans 5-0 and KAC Klagenfurt 6-2.
Joel Kellman missed the opener but was in the line-up on Sunday and Färjestad’s other injured players all have a chance of being involved in the CHL games this weekend, with the exception of long-term injured defenseman Jérémy Groleau. David Tomasek was close to being involved on Sunday, but ultimately was not risked, although it’s currently expected he will play this weekend. The same goes for Linus Johansson and Magnus Nygren.
HV71
HV71 today announced the signing of defenseman Sean Day. He has spent the past four seasons in the AHL playing for Syracuse Crunch, as well as making 2 NHL appearances for Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2021-22 season.
This will be Day’s first foray into Europe and, as with all North American players, we should expect there to be a period of adjustment as he gets used to the bigger rink and the slightly different style of play. He will have a familiar face to welcome him to Jönköping in goaltender Hugo Alnefelt, who was previously a teammate of his in Syracuse.
HV also announced today that young forward Herman Träff is being loaned to Nybro Vikings so that he can get some regular playing time in the Allsvenskan.
HV71 played a pre-season game against Örebro today, winning 5-4. Their starting line-up included young Swiss forward Jamiro Reber. He only turned 18 years-old last week and is set to be part of the J20 team again this coming season having scored 39 points in 46 games at that level last season.
Örebro
Head Coach Niklas Eriksson was interviewed on Örebro’s official website yesterday and spoke positively about how pre-season has been going.
The preseason has been a week longer than before. It will be seven weeks, we usually do six weeks and now we’ve done this tough loading part. Now it’s more about trying to fine-tune, find fresh legs, fresh minds, and find a game where we are clearly precise and have a common thought in what we do.
Things look fairly settled with Örebro’s line-up ahead of the SHL Opening Day on September 21st, with William Wikman now back in full training with the team.
