2022–23 SHL season explained

2022–23 SHL season
League:Swedish Hockey League
Sport:Ice hockey
Season:Regular season
Season Champ Name:First place
Season Champs:Växjö Lakers
Top Scorer:Antti Suomela (IK Oskarshamn)
Playoffs:Playoffs
Playoffs Link:
  1. Playoffs
Finals Champ:Växjö Lakers
Finals Runner-Up:Skellefteå AIK
Playoffs Mvp:Emil Larmi (Växjö Lakers)[1]
Relegate:Brynäs IF
Relegate To:HockeyAllsvenskan
Playoffs Mvp Link:Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy
Nextseason Year:2023–24
Prevseason Year:2021–22
Seasonslistnames:SHL

The 2022–23 SHL season was the 48th season of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). The regular season began on 17 September 2022 and ended on 9 March 2023, where it was then followed by the playoffs and the relegation playoffs.

The Växjö Lakers completed their second league and playoff double in three seasons; having finished three points clear of Skellefteå AIK after the 52-game regular season, the two teams met again in the playoff final with the Lakers prevailing 4–1 in the best-of-seven series.[1]

Teams

The league consists of 14 teams; HV71 returned to the SHL after one season in the HockeyAllsvenskan, where they won the 2021–22 title.[2] Djurgårdens IF were relegated to the HockeyAllsvenskan at the end of the previous season, and as a result, Stockholm was not represented by a top-division team for the first time.[3] In the end of the season, Brynäs was relegated for the first time ever, leaving Färjestad as the only team to have played every season in the league since it was founded.

TeamCityArenaCapacity
Brynäs IFGävleMonitor ERP Arena7,909
Frölunda HCGothenburgScandinavium12,044
Färjestad BKKarlstadLöfbergs Arena8,647
HV71JönköpingHusqvarna Garden7,000
Leksands IFLeksandTegera Arena7,650
Linköping HCLinköpingSaab Arena8,500
Luleå HFLuleåCoop Norrbotten Arena6,300
Malmö RedhawksMalmöMalmö Arena13,000
IK OskarshamnOskarshamnBe-Ge Hockey Center3,275
Rögle BKÄngelholmCatena Arena5,150
Skellefteå AIKSkellefteåSkellefteå Kraft Arena6,001
Timrå IKTimråNHC Arena6,000
Växjö LakersVäxjöVida Arena5,700
Örebro HKÖrebroBehrn Arena5,150

Regular season

Each team played 52 games, playing each of the other thirteen teams four times: twice on home ice, and twice away from home. Points were awarded for each game, where three points were awarded for winning in regulation time, two points for winning in overtime or shootout, one point for losing in overtime or shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finished with the most points was crowned the league champion.[4]

Standings

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following shows the top ten players who led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season.[5] If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.

PlayerTeam
IK Oskarshamn51372966+2045
IK Oskarshamn52233861+1114
Rögle BK49232346–1414
Skellefteå AIK50113445+1228
Skellefteå AIK48232144+1910
IK Oskarshamn49232043+330
HV7147212142+316
Timrå IK52202242+820
IK Oskarshamn52202242+1710
Örebro HK51192241–212

Leading goaltenders

The following shows the top ten goaltenders who led the league in goals against average, provided that they had played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.[6] [7]

PlayerTeam<--(s)-->
Växjö Lakers311850:5821950893.351.62
Skellefteå AIK301690:5922746692.941.63
Leksands IF412364:12241686492.072.18
Luleå HF402304:41162384689.572.19
Timrå IK472793:192422108491.152.32
Frölunda HC412336:54191993391.012.39
Örebro HK372238:12221593290.542.49
Växjö Lakers221297:2013954289.512.50
Färjestad BK321917:37201281291.152.53
IK Oskarshamn321915:26181383292.142.60

Playoffs

Ten teams qualify for the playoffs: the top six teams in the regular season have a bye to the quarterfinals, while teams ranked seventh to tenth meet each other (7 versus 10, 8 versus 9) in a preliminary playoff round.[8]

Format

In the first round, the 7th-ranked team meets the 10th-ranked team and the 8th-ranked team meets the 9th-ranked team for a place in the second round. In the second round, the top-ranked team will meet the lowest-ranked winner of the first round, the second-ranked team will face the other winner of the first round, the third-ranked team will face the sixth-ranked team, and the fourth-ranked team will face the fifth-ranked team. In the third round, the highest remaining seed is matched against the lowest remaining seed. In each round the higher-seeded team is awarded home advantage. The meetings are in the first round played as best-of-three series, and in the later rounds as best-of-seven series. In the eighth-finals, the higher-seeded teams play at home for game 2 (plus 3 if necessary) while the lower-seeded teams play at home for game 1. In the later rounds, the higher-seeded teams are at home for games 1 and 3 (plus 5 and 7 if necessary) while the lower-seeded teams are at home for games 2 and 4 (plus 6 if necessary).[8]

Eighth-finals

(8) Leksands IF vs. (9) Rögle BK

Quarter-finals

(4) Örebro HK vs. (5) Timrå IK

Semi-finals

(2) Skellefteå AIK vs. (4) Örebro HK

Finals

(1) Växjö Lakers vs. (2) Skellefteå AIK

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the playoffs. If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.[9]

PlayerTeam
Skellefteå AIK173912+612
Skellefteå AIK1601212+26
Skellefteå AIK177411+50
Örebro HK135611+610
Timrå IK7281002
Växjö Lakers18459+32
Örebro HK13189+84
Växjö Lakers18189+72
Skellefteå AIK15538+44
Växjö Lakers18538+20

Leading goaltenders

The following shows the top five goaltenders who led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the playoffs.[10]

PlayerTeam
Växjö Lakers181150:0912625493.801.30
Skellefteå AIK161048:149725593.211.43
Frölunda HC12725:106623292.771.90
Örebro HK12762:085727092.262.13
Leksands IF3189:48127088.332.21

Play Out

The two bottom-placed teams from the regular season played a best-of-seven series, with the winner remaining in the SHL and the loser relegated to the second tier, the HockeyAllsvenskan. The higher-seeded team held home advantage over the series, playing at home for the odd-numbered games while the lower-seeded team was at home for the even-numbered games.

Brynäs IF's defeat in the series ended their 63-year run in the Swedish top flight.[11]

SHL awards

AwardWinner(s)
GuldhjälmenAntti Suomela (IK Oskarshamn)
Guldpucken
Honken TrophyLinus Söderström (Skellefteå AIK)
Håkan Loob TrophyAntti Suomela (IK Oskarshamn)
Rookie of the YearFilip Bystedt (Linköping HC)
Salming TrophyJonathan Pudas (Skellefteå AIK)
Stefan Liv Memorial TrophyEmil Larmi (Växjö Lakers)
GuldpipanLinus Öhlund

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Jonathan. Nilsson. Tomas. Ros. Hans. Abrahamsson. Växjö Lakers svenska mästare i ishockey. Swedish. Växjö Lakers Swedish champions in ice hockey. Aftonbladet. LOSchibsted. 24 April 2023. 24 April 2023.
  2. News: Daniel. Grefve. HV71 tillbaka i SHL. Swedish. HV71 back in SHL. 2022-05-04 . 2022-05-05 . SVT Sport.
  3. News: Utan Stockholmslag för första gången. Without Stockholm team for the first time: "Doesn't see any financial impact". SVT Nyheter. Oskar Juan Pablo. Danielson Frost. Linn. Krigsman. Swedish. 4 April 2022. 22 September 2022.
  4. News: Ida. Forsgren. Jörgen Jönssons succé – Växjö vinner grundserien i SHL. Jörgen Jönsson's success - Växjö wins the regular season in the SHL. Swedish. Sveriges Television. 9 March 2023. 9 March 2023.
  5. Web site: Spelarstatistik 2022/2023 . . SHL AB . 9 March 2023 . Swedish . Player Statistics 2022/2023.
  6. Web site: Leading Goalies by Goal Against Average. Stats Swehockey. Swedish Ice Hockey Association. 9 March 2023.
  7. Web site: Målvaktsstatistik 2022/2023 . . SHL AB . 9 March 2023 . Swedish . Goalkeepers Statistics: 2022/2023.
  8. Web site: Seriebestämmelser och Verksamhetsplan: Säsongen 2020–2021. PDF. Swedish. Series regulations and Business plan: Season 2020–2021. Swehockey. Swedish Ice Hockey Association. 27 March 2021. 4–6.
  9. Web site: Spelarstatistik 2022/2023 . . SHL AB . 24 April 2023 . Swedish . Player Statistics 2022/2023.
  10. Web site: Målvaktsstatistik 2022/2023 . . SHL AB . 24 April 2023 . Swedish . Goalkeepers Statistics: 2022/2023.
  11. News: Emil Eiman. Roslund. Nils. Rahm. Brynäs åker ur SHL – efter 63 raka säsonger i högsta serien. Swedish. Brynäs leaves the SHL - after 63 consecutive seasons in the top league. Sveriges Television. 23 March 2023. 23 March 2023.