Linköping HC explained

Current:2022–23 SHL season
Text Color:
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Bg Color:background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#003690 5px solid; border-bottom:#FF151F 5px solid;
Team:Linköping HC
Logosize:250px
City:Linköping, Sweden
League:Swedish Hockey League
Founded:4 August 1976
Arena:Saab Arena
Capacity: 8,190
Gm:Peter Jakobsson
Coach:Klas Östman
Captain:Oscar Fantenberg
Website:lhc.eu
Name1:BK Kenty
Dates1:1932–1976
Name2:Linköpings HC
Dates2:1976–2019
Name3:Linköping HC
Dates3:2019–present

Linköping Hockey Club, often known by its initials LHC, or colloquially among its fans as Cluben, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Linköping, founded in 1976. The home arena of the team is Saab Arena (formerly Cloetta Center) which accommodates 8,190 spectators.

Competing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL; formerly Elitserien), the club is placed twelfth in the marathon standings for the top Swedish ice hockey league.[1]

History

1942–1975: The club's roots

In 1942, a group of football players of BK Kenty founded the ice hockey club BK Robbi, who mostly played friendlies against other local clubs on Stångån during the winter.[2] The board of Kenty had first been hesitant to establish a hockey department, but in 1945, the two clubs merged following lengthy discussions.[3] Being heavily dependent on weather conditions, Kenty only played 30 games in five seasons during the second half of the 1940s.[4] By the end of the 1950s, Kenty had established itself in Division 2, the domestic second tier. Meanwhile, the club was also granted a permanent home ground at Folkungavallen, close to the city centre.[5] In 1969, Kenty merged with another local club, IK Terra.[6] In the 1970s, Kenty suffered from internal differences, since part of the club's board wanted to financially prioritize football in favor of ice hockey.

1976–1998: Foundation of LHC and rise to Elitserien

Linköping HC was founded on 4 August 1976, as a spin-off from BK Kenty, and moved in to the newly-built indoor arena Stångebro Ishall.[7] [8]

1999–: Establishment in the top division

Linköping HC first played in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL; formerly Elitserien) in the 1999–2000 season, and has been in the top division since the 2001–02 season. They have reached the playoffs eight times. LHC reached the final for the first time in 2006–07, where they lost to Modo Hockey. In the 2007–08 season, Linköping HC advanced to the final again, this time against HV71; they lost and won the silver medal.

Season-by-season results

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Linköpings. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Linköping HC seasons.

SeasonLevelDivisionRecordNotes
PositionW-T-L
W-OT-L
2018–19Tier 1SHL12th15–14–236,079
2019–20Tier 1SHL11th14–17–216,306
2020–21Tier 1SHL12th17–7–280
2021–22Tier 1SHL11th16–13–234,987
2022–23Tier 1SHL12th20–11–216,045

Players and personnel

Current roster

Updated 15 August 2024

Honored Members

Linköpings HC retired numbers
width=40px No.width=130px Playerwidth=40px Nat.width=40px Positionwidth=150px Career
7 1990–1997, 2004–2007, 2009–2015
10 Mats Andersson 1976–1989
15Stefan Jakobsson 1988–1999
16Mike Helber 1992–2002
33 1999–2010

Club records and leaders

Scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers of Linköping HC since the 1975–76 season, in the top tier (Elitserien and SHL). Figures are updated after each completed regular season.[9]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; = current Linköpings HC player

Points
Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Magnus JohanssonD463632232860.62
Broc LittleF3401481362840.83
Tony MårtenssonC312851922770.88
Mikael HåkansonRW416841342180.52
Jonas JunlandD401391351740.43
Niklas PerssonC316641031670.53
Jaroslav HlinkaC180411261670.93
Pär ArlbrandtRW162611001610.99
Jan HlaváčLW17281781590.92
Andrew GordonRW26165871520.58

Appearance leaders

These are the top-ten players of Linköping HC with the most appearances since the 1975–76 season, in the top tier (Elitserien and SHL). Figures are updated after each completed regular season.[9]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; = current Linköpings HC player

Points
Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Sebastian KarlssonC51456521080.21
Fredrik EmvallLW49766681340.27
Magnus JohanssonD463632232860.62
Mikael HåkansonRW416841342180.52
Jonas JunlandD401391351740.43
Andreas PihlD3772136570.15
Henrik TörnqvistRW34952581100.31
Broc LittleF3401481362840.83
Niklas PerssonC316641031670.53
Tony MårtenssonC312851922770.88

Other departments

Linköping's women's football team, Linköpings FC, is affiliated with and financially backed by Linköping HC. On 3 October 2008, the club announced that the elite men's and women's teams of local volleyball club Team Valla would also become affiliated with Linköping HC, under the name Linköpings Volleyboll Club.[10]

Works cited

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Maratontabellen för högsta serien. Swedish Ice Hockey Association. sv. 25 March 2021.
  2. Torell, p. 20.
  3. Hagesund, p. 7-9.
  4. Torell, p. 20.
  5. Hagesund, p. 9-17.
  6. Hagesund, p. 20.
  7. Web site: Nu fyller vi 40 år!. Linköping HC. sv. 25 March 2021.
  8. Web site: Historia. BK Kenty. sv. 25 March 2021.
  9. Web site: Linköpings HC - All Time SHL leaders . quanthockey.com . 31 May 2019 . 31 May 2019.
  10. Web site: LHC och Team Valla blir LVC . 6 October 2008 . Linköpings HC . sv . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110615184729/http://www.linkopinghc.com/index.php?articleid=353 . 15 June 2011 .