What Is The Swedish Hockey League?

The Swedish Hockey League (SHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in Sweden. It was founded in 1975 as the Elitserien but has transformed over the years to be known as the SHL, or Svenska Hockeyligan in Swedish.

Teams

The Swedish Hockey League consists of 14 hockey teams, who are also the shareholders of the league. The SHL teams are:

• Brynäs IF
• Djurgården Hockey
• Frölunda Indians
• Färjestad BK
• IK Oskarshamn
• Leksands IF
• Linköping HC
• Luleå Hockey
• Malmö Redhawks
• Rögle BK
• Skellefteå AIK
• Timrå IK
• Växjö Lakers
• Örebro Hockey

It is common for players in the SHL to develop and strengthen their skills and talents on the ice before being drafted to play in the National Hockey League in North America, more commonly known as the NHL.

History of the SHL

The SHL was first formed in 1975, originally called Elitserien. The league started with only ten teams but was able to expand to 14 in 2015. The league has stayed constant at 14 teams ever since. To help with branding and international appeal, the Elitserien was renamed to its current name, Svenska Hockeyligan (SHL).

Regular Season Structure

The Swedish Hockey League regular season consists of 52 games for each team. Teams play in a round-robin format against all the other teams in the league. The regular season takes place from late September to early March.

Teams are given between zero and three points for each game during the regular season, with three points awarded for winning the game in regulation, two points for winning in overtime or a shootout, one point for losing in overtime or a shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the season, the team that has accumulated the most points is declared the regular season champions and awarded the highest seed in the playoffs.

Playoffs

The SHL playoffs feature the top eight teams from the regular season competing in multiple best-of-seven series to move on to the next round. The top six teams in the SHL automatically qualify for the playoffs. The next four ranked teams, those ending the season in 7-10 place, participate in a play-in tournament to determine the final two spots. The seventh-place team plays the tenth-place team in a best-of-three series, and the eighth and ninth-place teams do the same. The winner of these two series moves onto the quarterfinals. For the rest of the playoffs, teams are reseeded by round, with the highest seed playing the lowest seed, the second-highest playing the second-lowest, and so on. Whoever wins the final round of the SHL Playoffs receives the Le Mat Trophy and is given the title of Swedish Champion.

Relegation

The SHL follows a similar promotion and relegation structure to European club soccer. The two lowest-ranked teams in the SHL at the end of the regular season are required to play a seven-game series to determine which team will be relegated. The winner of the series retains their spot in the SHL for the next season, while the loser is relegated to the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. The winner of the HockeyAllsvenskan Playoffs is promoted to the SHL to replace the relegated team.

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