Excitement the World Over

In the world of sports, it is a general rule that the world comes together to watch football (soccer). It is not so for hockey and most Canadians are fine with that, but there are parts of the world where hockey does thrive. One such place is Sweden and the Swedish Elite League, Eliteserien, has had many players transfer back and forth with the NHL over the years. With the NHL trade deadline upon us and playoffs looming, it is actually also a very exciting time in Swedish hockey. The regular season here is over and playoffs begin on Thursday. Yet, there are subtle differences between the setup of the Swedish Elite League and the NHL.

An obvious difference is the number of teams who make up the league. With just twelve teams in the league, the top eight of these qualify for the playoffs. Whereas in the NHL the playoffs teams are seeded in a predetermined manner based on their regular season standing, Eliteserien takes a different approach and allows the top four teams to choose their first round opponent from the teams placed five to eight in regular season play.

This past Monday night in Sweden teams chose their first round opposition, starting with first placed Färjestad who chose the number seven placed Brynäs. Then second place Linköping chose to go up against the sixth placed Skellefteå. As third place Frölunda was set to make their choice of either the eighth place Timrå or fifth place Luleå, it would come as somewhat of a shock to many that they chose the higher finisher Luleå against whom they have had only limited success this season. This left the fourth place HV 71 with no option but to face the eighth place Timrå, which would seem like a good deal on the outset. However, this Timrå team that seemingly snuck themselves into these playoffs has really just had a year in which the points were not working in their favour. Timrå has had seven overtime wins this season, for which they have received only one point instead of the usual three that are gained from a win in regular time. As things stand, even the eighth place Timrå seems to have more than a fighting chance in these playoffs as their record against HV 71 stands at 2-1-2 this year. The playoff selection process in Eliteserien is different and highly exciting. If nothing else, it makes this week of hockey news almost overwhelming in the unpredictability.

As much as the anticipation of the NHL Trade Deadline will have all hockey analysts and many fans in Canada on the edge of their seats this week, in Sweden it is all about the match choices made this Monday and the commencing of the actual quarter finals on Thursday.

Sweden may be known for their Scandinavian welfare state in terms of social political structure, but their hockey league drops teams that are not performing.

Yet, when the playoffs come to the NHL, it is often the case that fans of all those teams who do not make the playoffs feel disappointment and have only their vague hopes for next season. This would be a comfort for fans of Eliteserien. Every year four teams from the league do not make the playoffs and, of those, the bottom two might not even be in the league the next year.

Why so?

Sweden may be known for their Scandinavian welfare state in terms of social political structure, but their hockey league drops teams that are not performing. The two lowest ranking teams from the regular season are forced to enter into a series called Kvalserien (the qualifying series) competing with the top four teams from the lower Allsvenskan (All Sweden) league. After playing a round robin tournament the top two teams enter the Eliteserien. So, this process of relegation is not without a chance for redemption for those Eliteserien teams who fared so poorly in their season. Still, fans of the New York Islanders, Atlanta, Pheonix, and Colorado should count their lucky stars that they do not have to face such trials and potential seasons ousted from the NHL. As a result of play this year in the Eliteserien, the teams of Rögle and Södertälje will be entering Kvalserien in an attempt to win so they can play Eliteserien next year. As it stands, the teams they will face in this Kvalserien will be Västerås, AIK, Leksand, and Mora; the top finishers from Allsvenskan league.

For those of you with a little hockey memory, those last two teams, Leksand and Mora, were the hosts of the 2007 World Junior Hockey Championships. Additionally, Leksand signed Ed Belfour last year in an attempt to ascend from Allsvenskan to Eliteserien. While they dominated the Allsvenskan league that year, Leksand with Belfour could not clench one of the top two spots amidst the six teams in Kvalserien.  This year, with no Belfour, Leksand will try again. This shows how nerve-wracking the end of the season can be for the losing teams of the year, and moreover for their fans.

In any case, while it might not be NHL hockey, Swedish hockey is alive, well, and budding with excitement this week. Fans here can be as crazy as NHL fans, as they take from a tradition of football (soccer) fan mentality and tradition. While the NHL is an amazing league, Eliteserien hockey proves that other league models are possible and very functional to generate some exciting and competitive hockey action. Maybe if the NHL is serious about intentions to grow hockey they have something to learn from Swedish hockey – not that a Canadian or Don Cherry could ever admit such blasphemy – but just maybe.

For OpenIceHockey.com in Sweden, I’m Stephen Webb.