This season’s Promotion Series play-off in the HockeyAllsvenskan has the potential to be one for the ages.
It is a battle between two teams whose history suggests they should be battling for SHL glory, not simply the chance to play in the top-tier of Swedish hockey.
Brynäs trying to bounce straight back
Brynäs are looking to get back to where they belong. This is a team that had never been relegated from the top-tier of Swedish hockey (over 60 years) before disaster struck in 2023.
They finished that season second from bottom, in 13th place, and were beaten 4-1 by Malmö in the Relegation Series to condemn them to the HockeyAllsvenskan for the first time.
It wasn’t completely out of the blue. Brynäs had faced the relegation play-off series two years before where they got the better of HV71 to avoid the drop. A 10th-placed finish in 2022 was an improvement, but not one that lasted. Finally, in 2023, the unthinkable happened.
The team has responded to this blow in a perfect manner. They have finished top of the league by a distance, 17 points to be exact, winning 38 of their 52 games (5 in Overtime). They swept Nyrbo Vikings 4-0 in the Quarter-Finals and then beat Karlskoga in five games in a relatively stress-free march to the Promotion Series.
However, none of that will matter if they fall at the final hurdle. The objective is simple: promotion at the first attempt. Anything else will be considered a failure for the second most successful team in Swedish hockey.
Success at the second attempt for Djurgården?
No one knows that better than their Promotion Series opponents, the most successful team in Swedish hockey, Djurgården.
The 16 times champions Djurgården were relegated two years ago, in 2022, during a season in which they won only 14 games before being defeated in the Relegation Series by Timrå.
They finished fourth in the HockeyAllsvenskan last season and made it through to the Promotion Series where they lost to MoDo, so they’re aiming to go one better this time around.
They have history on their side too as this is how things played out the last time they got relegated, 12 years ago. They were relegated in 2012 and then got back up at their second attempt.
Not just status at stake
The financial disparity between the SHL and HockeyAllsvenskan is considerable, with broadcasting revenue approximately one-tenth of what comes teams way in the top tier.
A newly-relegated team does receive a parachute payment in their first year to soften the blow and Brynäs have used their budget well this season to give themselves a great chance of taking full advantage.
If they don’t, they’ll be in a similar position to Djurgården now, trying to find a way to put together a roster befitting the club’s history and expectations of fans without the benefit of the SHL broadcast money to fuel their budget.
Who to look out for?
Brynäs’s main strength is the depth of their roster and you can almost go so far as to say that they are an SHL team in the second tier.
Miks Indrasis was brought in over the off-season with over 500 games in the Russian KHL under his belt and he has been everything they hoped for, finishing second in the HAS points-scoring ranks with 58 in 52 games (only bettered by Södertälje’s Marcus Eriksson’s 59 points).
American Jack Kopacka showed promise last season with Kristianstads in the HAS and Brynäs saw a hard-working, physical forward who had the potential to add more goals to his game. He proved them right by scoring 33 times, the most of any player in the league, and he leads the team with 6 goals in 9 play-off games.
At the other end of the ice, Brynäs made a real statement of intent in mid-October by adding defenseman Jordie Benn to their group, a veteran of other 600 NHL games. He’s one of several quality defenders playing in front of the colossus that is 6ft 6in goalie Damian Clara. The 19-year-old was taken in the Second Round of the 2023 NHL draft by the Anaheim Ducks and has been hugely impressive in the HAS this season, following it up by conceding only 12 goals combined in 7 play-off games so far.
As for Djurgården, we have to start with the evergreen Linus Klasen. He had a point-per-game season as a 38-year-old (47 points in 47 games) and, after amassing 16 points in 15 play-off games last season, he’ll be desperate to help his team get over the final hurdle this time around, potentially as fitting swansong to a brilliant career.
Djurgården captain Marcus Krüger also put up 16 points in the play-offs last season. The disappointment of the Promotion Final defeat has been added to in 2023-24 due to him being sidelined for two extended spells due to injury. Thankfully for Djurgården, he’s been a consistent presence in the team since the start of March and, as a player who was part of two Stanley Cup-winning teams with the Chicago Blackhawks, having him fit and firing at this time of year has been a big factor in their progression to the Final.
At the back, they can rely on the steadying presence of goaltender Viktor Andrén. The former Brynäs goalie has started all 11 of Djurgården’s play-off games so far and you can expect him to be in between the pipes throughout the Promotion Final series.
Which way will it go?
Brynäs have shown few weaknesses across the regular season, and the play-offs so far, and it’s difficult to avoid the feeling that they should go on and complete the job; however, such great expectations come with great pressure.
The first two games of the best-of-seven series will be played at Brynäs’s Monitor ERP Arena. If Djurgården can win even one of those contests then they will fancy their chances at using their home-ice advantage at Hovet over the following two games to really test their opponent’s resolve.
The sensible prediction would be for a competitive series ending in a 4-2 victory for Brynäs, but no one should be surprised if we end up with a winner-takes-all Game Seven.
Series Schedule
- Weds 17th – Gm 1 at Brynäs
- Fri 19th – Gm 2 at Brynäs
- Sun 21st – Gm 3 at Djurgården
- Tues 23rd – Gm 4 at Djurgården
- Fri 26th – Gm 5 at Brynäs
- Sun 28th – Gm 6 at Djurgården
- Tues 30th – Gm 7 at Brynäs