Färjestad BK's women's team secured a place in Sweden’s top league after an astonishing 156-minute showdown against Leksands IF which lasted over five hours and eight periods is now the longest in Swedish hockey history The stakes couldn’t have been higher at Tegera Arena on March 2 desperate to retain its SDHL status after finishing last in the regular season faced a determined Färjestad side aiming for its first-ever promotion to the top division everything came down to this decisive game Few could have predicted it would stretch into the annals of hockey history Leksand struck first just 3:48 into the game when Lillian George found the net But Färjestad responded at 16:49 of the first period through Emma Murén What followed was an extraordinary goaltending duel Färjestad’s Amanda Rampado put on a historic performance while Leksand’s Emma Polusny was equally stellar Despite power plays and chances at both ends neither team could break the deadlock through regulation or the first four overtime periods this game officially became the longest in Swedish hockey history surpassing the 2002 playoff clash between Troja/Ljungby and BIK Karlskoga The dramatic winner finally arrived at 156:19 in the fifth overtime when Wilma Johansson capitalized on a rare opening to bury the puck past Polusny sending Färjestad into rapturous celebrations while Färjestad made history—not just by earning promotion but by doing so in a game that will be remembered for decades For the 469 spectators who witnessed the battle live this was a moment of Swedish hockey history they won’t forget Luleå wins their second title in Sweden, 29 years after the first one. Read more» The Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins will face off in Stockholm, Sweden, on November 14 and 16, 2025, as part of the NHL Global Series. These games at the renovated Avicii Arena mark the 47th and 48th NHL contests held in ... Read more» The young Swiss forward debuted in the SHL this winter and Andro Kaderli left the SCL Tigers' youth department in 2023 to try his luck in Sweden After only suiting up in the U20 last season the 19-year-old made his debut with Leksands IF's main squad this past winter if a young player accumulates 100 minutes on the ice they get offered a rookie contract for the following season - Kaderli passed that mark "When I got the chance to play with the SHL team here in Leksand earlier this year and that I have now signed my first senior contract is for sure something I am both happy and proud of" the youngster suited up 17 times for Leksands this past season he represented the Swiss national team at the U20 World Championship around the turn of the year They edged closer to the historic achievement with a 6-3 win over the strugglers on home ice this afternoon But in front of nearly 8,000 fans at the Monitor ERP Arena, a shock was on the cards early on, when Andre Petersson put the away side in front However, the league leaders showed their class to open up a 3-1 lead by the end of the first period, thanks to strikes from Theo Lindstein, Jack Kopacka and Miks Indrasis Radan Lenc narrowed the gap early in the second, but a crucial Greg Scott goal when Brynas were shorthanded restored the two-goal advantage heading into the third period A second for Kopacka and one for Victor Soderstrom made the score 6-2 before the game ended as it began Three assists for Soderstrom took him to four points in the game, as Erik Kallgren made 19 saves at the other end of the rink The win put Brynas 13-points clear of both Farjestad and Frolunda with only four matches left to play and only 12 points available Champions Hockey League runners-up Farjestad won 4-2 away at Timra and Frolunda scored three without reply to beat Malmo on the road However, a win for Lulea by any means away against Leksand would see them leapfrog both sides to reclaim the second place they held at the start of the day and remain at least 12 points shy of Brynas That would force the Gavle side to wait at least another round of matches to seal top spot and etch their names into the history books Everything went the way of Brynas in the opening two periods, as Justin Kloos gave Leksand the lead in the final minute of the first as they kept Lulea shut out for 40 minutes Having only forced 10 shots on goal in the first two periods, Lulea grabbed themselves an equaliser at 03:33 in the third, thanks to defenceman Frederic Allard With six minutes left, Linus Omark took advantage of a powerplay to put Lulea in front Leksand went for broke and pulled the goaltender, but everything was now falling Lulea's way and they capitalised with an empty-netter, scored by Mathias Brome The 3-1 success moves them onto 86 points - still unlikely to catch Brynas TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need Former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Johan Hedberg has been hired as a coach of Leksands IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) Per a release from that team Hedberg signed a three-year contract Thursday the 51-year-old Hedberg began his professional career as a player with Leksands IF in the 1990s Hedberg gained something of a cult following in Pittsburgh over three seasons in the early 2000s After being acquired via trade late in the 2000-01 season Hedberg took over as the team’s starting goaltender and helped lead the Penguins to a surprising run to the Eastern Conference final His success came while he wore a vivid blue mask with “Moose” imprinted on it the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League As his profile began to rise in Pittsburgh fans would chant “Moose!” anytime Hedberg made a save pic.twitter.com/b9chwyFvNI — EN Videos (@ENVideos19) April 3, 2025 a fan defaced the sign for the Heidelberg exit on the Parkway West to make it spell out “He d berg.” Hedberg spent parts of three seasons with the Penguins Hedberg played for five different NHL clubs he became a goaltending coach with the AHL’s Albany Devils before taking on the same role with the San Jose Sharks in 2015 He remained in that position with San Jose for parts of five seasons Hedberg has previous head coaching experience in Sweden He guided Mora IK of the second-tier Allsvensken league for three seasons as well as Orebro HK of the SHL during part of the 2023-24 campaign Hedberg was an assistant coach with Farjestad BK Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com Stay up-to-date on important news from TribLIVE 1-800-909-8742 © 2025 Trib Total Media | All Rights Reserved About Us Advertise Career Opportunities Contact Advertising Contact Circulation Contact Newsroom Contact Us Feedback Request Correction Resource Center Scholarship Opportunities Send Letter to the Editor Send News Tip Subscribe Subscriber Services Blog eFeatures Email Newsletters eTrib Facebook Home Delivery Instagram LinkedIn Marketing Minute Store Locations TribLIVE App - App Store TribLIVE App - Google Play X (formerly Twitter) Arts & Entertainment Best of the Best Business Directory Circulars Contests Coronavirus Lifestyles Local News YaJagOff Obituaries Opinion Our Publications Photos Real Estate Sports Video Weather Cookie Settings Privacy Policy Terms of Service Red Wings Prospect Brandsegg-Nygard Moving On Up Red Wings Continue Run of Bad Draft Lottery Luck The Daily: Ex-Red Wings Goalie Starting in Playoffs; Seider Named Captain Another Red Wings Player Poised to Join Sweden at Worlds Assets Red Wings Could Trade For Young Scorer (DHN+) Red Wings Have Cap Room and Desire to Land Big Name UFA (DHN+) Players Red Wings May Consider at No. 12 (DHN+) Are Buyouts in Play for the Red Wings? (DHN+) Five Moves Red Wings Should Have Made Earlier (DHN+) Johansson a two-goal scorer in Leksand victory the Swedish defenseman is out of options and would need to be clearing NHL waivers to be sent back to GR That means he’ll be given his shot with the Red Wings this season to prove he’s an NHL-caliber rearguard “Albert Johansson will get an opportunity to have an impact on the D corps and fit in somehow and we’re confident at some point he will play,” Detroit GM Steve Yzerman said Anton Johansson•“One year left in Leksand, but that doesn't matter when it comes to an NHL club. If Detroit misses me, it's up to them to decide where I'm going.”•When asked where he’ll play next year “It's hard to answer because I have no idea”#LGRWhttps://t.co/CtU0eCpCSR — Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) May 8, 2024 There’s been much fuss over Albert’s impending NHL debut that makes it easy to forget there’s another Red Wings Swedish defensive prospect with the name Johansson And he’s also working his way up the club’s organizational ladder It’s Anton Johansson and he’s doing his utmost to also get noticed pacing his club Leksand IF to a 6-3 victory over Valerengen Anton Johansson(4th round’22 for Leksands if) leads a nice rush and picks up the primary assist. #10 in white. He’s a really good skater. #LGRW https://t.co/Q1ZuK46PCQ pic.twitter.com/kpIDkSFp3f — Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) September 3, 2024 “In the second and third period, we may not reach the level we want to be at, but we still maintain a good level and win the match,” Anton Johansson told Leksand’s website “I think we take steps every day and every match We are ready for next week when we will face two SHL teams.” Fellow Leksand defenseman Fred Nilsson left no doubt as to who was the best player on the ice in the club’s Saturday victory “Anton (Johansson),” Nilsson said Anton reduces (the Leksand deficit) to 1-2 in the first period and then scores a power play goal in the middle of the second.” Johansson, 20, certainly appreciates putting two goals in the net. However, the player chosen 105th overall by Detroit in the 2022 NHL entry draft knows what he needs to improve in order to be taking further forward steps in his game “I think the defensive part,” Johansson said “I’m gonna still work on that and try to keep up my offense.” The Daily: Study Proves Red Wings Drafted Poorly; Johansson Update Enter your email address to sign-up and receive notifications of new posts by email Timra had hopes of breaking into the top six as the evening began, but they needed to end a five-match losing run and beat eighth-placed Vaxjo in 60 minutes to do so They also needed Rogle to lose to Malmo, or in-form Skelleftea to fall to a surprise loss to Modo who themselves needed a minor miracle to avoid finishing in the bottom two For a long time, it did not look to be Malmo's night, as Anton Bengtsson broke the deadlock for the away side in the first period and 1-0 was how things stayed until 40 minutes of play The Redhawks' playoff hopes were back on two minutes into the third period, when Lassi Thomson found an equaliser, only for them to be dashed four minutes later, when Dennis Everberg scored for Rogle However, the pendulum swung back with four minutes of regulation to go, with Linus Oberg grabbing Malmo's second equaliser Having sent the match to overtime, it was Oberg again who decided the match after three minutes of the extra period Two more points on the standings were more than enough for the southern side, after Frolunda scored four goals without reply to beat Leksand 6-3 which included damaging defeats to fellow top 10 hopefuls put an end to Leksand's postseason ambitions Orebro were on the wrong end of an entertaining 6-5 overtime game with Lulea but the four goals the home side scored in the third period to go level at 5-5 after 60 minutes meant they earned the one point required to finish above Leksand on goal difference Two points for Lulea meant they finished the regular season in second place Rogle's loss meant Timra were in with a chance of the top six and their night got off to the ideal start against Vaxjo when Anton Wedin put them ahead with a powerplay goal in the sixth minute Wedin made a quicker start to the second period, doubling their lead in the fifth minute, only for his side to be pegged back six minutes later when Emil Sylvegard made it 2-1 Then, the visitors' night got worse when they surrendered the lead with two minutes left in the second, as Joel Persson grabbed the equaliser for the Lakers would have had their fans wondering where this team had been for the past few rounds After Wedin completed his hat-trick, Oliver Kapanen and Per Svensson made it three unanswered goals for the visitors, wrapping up a 5-2 win Skelleftea spared themselves a nervy evening with a thumping win over Modo Andreas Johnson and Max Lindholm put Skelleftea in control early on, and though Modo pulled a goal back courtesy of Victor Berglund, the two-goal advantage was restored in the final minute of the first period, through Rickard Hugg In the 13th minute of the second period, the match was almost put beyond doubt when Oskar Nilsson scored to make it 4-1 Oscar Lindberg added a fifth in the third period, before Hugg made it two for himself and 6-1 to Skelleftea with one second remaining A 6-1 win for Skelleftea saw them cruise into the top sixOLA WESTERBERG / Bildbyran Photo Agency / ProfimediaHad Modo secured victory, it would not have been enough, given that Linkoping beat HV 71 4-1 meaning the Ornskoldsvik club will face HV 71 in the best-of-seven playout to see who can retain their place in the SHL Meanwhile, first-placed Brynas continued their limp end to the regular season, going down 4-1 at home to Farjestad who end the SHL regular season in fourth place Four consecutive defeats to take into the playoffs means newly-promoted Brynas fell three short of reaching the 100-point mark Malmo climbing to 10th and Rogle dropping to seventh means they will face each other a maximum three more times in the coming days in the Eighth finals The other best-of-three series sees Vaxjo meet Orebro with game of of both ties being played on Thursday The winners of the two ties heading to the Quarter-finals The Leksand Lumberjacks defeated the Rättvik Butchers, 4-2, in the final of the Swedish Elitseries, to win the top baseball league in the country. They succeed last year's champions the Sölvesborg Firehawks Starting pitcher Per Sjörs went the distance BOXSCORE, PLAY BY PLAY Leksand finished the regular season in first place and defeated Sundyberg in the semifinal thanks to a brilliant performance by pitcher Oscar Syrén Sundyberg-Leksand 2-5Sundsvall-Rättvik 4-7 Cover photo is by Swedish Baseball and Softball Federation's Lars Sundin Sitemap Media Data Protection Contacts Avenue Général-Guisan, 45 CH-1009 Pully | Switzerland The WBSC is recognised as the sole competent authority in Baseball and Softball by the International Olympic Committee Leksands IF were founded in 1919 and first started playing ice hockey in 1938 They spent 51 seasons in Sweden’s top division between 1951 and 2001 winning the championship four times between 1969 and 1975 They have won the SHL regular season three times – in 1980 and have continuously dipped up and down between the two tiers since They most recently returned to the SHL in 2019 has approximately 6,000 inhabitants and lies in the heart of Sweden about 3,5 hours away from the country's capital Stockholm They are the region’s biggest sports team and a popular team in Sweden that attract large crowds for every home game They will make their Champions Hockey League debut in 2021/22 Canucks’ Thatcher Demko Could Miss Series with Injury Ian Cole: Canucks Had ‘Tears in Their Eyes’ in Warmups Canucks Prospect Signs 2-Year Extension; What it Means Multiple “Team Europe’s” in NHL – The True Melting Pots (+) A Wild Ride with a Brock Boeser Shift Diary Elias Pettersson Shift Diary as the Vancouver Canucks Win Canucks Transplants Garland and OEL Love Life Ranked 38th overall among European skaters by the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau for the 2020 draft Aman was picked in the 6th-round by the Colorado Avalanche and went unsigned The Avalanche obviously have substantial depth and other pressing matters at hand Allvin signed another Swedish center, righthanded Linus Karlsson back on May 26th to a two-year His rights had been obtained in a trade with the San Jose Sharks back in February of 2019 and he’d been playing back home for Skelleftea in the SHL Aman apparently can play any forward position His deal is also a two-way for two years with the exact same terms as Karlsson his fellow 22-year-old: $70,000 salary at the AHL level $883,750 per season if they’re playing in the NHL “Nils is a smart hockey player who plays with speed and has a strong work ethic,” said Allvin in the announcement and we look forward to seeing his continued development on both sides of the ice with the Canucks organization.” Aman and Karlsson will be two more players to watch at the Vancouver Canucks Development/Prospects Camp that runs from July 10th to July 15th at UBC. The camp begins two days after the NHL Draft in Montreal Allvin’s hometown ties raised a question regarding super-sized 18-year-old defenceman Lian Bichsel a Swiss-born player who split this past season in Leksand with the junior team and then the big club Should the Canucks stay where they are in the draft and utilize their 15th-overall selection Allvin will know everything he needs to know Hockey Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom was apparently born in Avesta Canucks Roll Call: Oliver Ekman-Larsson – A Pricey Stalwart Canucks Roll Call: How Elite is Thatcher Demko Enter your email address to get notifications of new posts by email Vancouver Hockey Now is part of the National Hockey Now network and is in no way endorsed by the Vancouver Canucks or National Hockey League Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive Johansson signed two-year deal this summer Detroit’s 105th overall selection in the 2022 draft is expecting to begin his first full season in SHL play in 2023-24 was up for 21 games with the big club last season Anton Johansson preseason 🚨#LGRW pic.twitter.com/JXaHfH0Uwk — IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) August 26, 2023 “I’m going to play with the senior team in Leksands in the SHL,” Johansson said Johansson has been skating in the second defensive pairing for Leksands “I feel (comfortable),” Johansson said I’m just trying to play more so you get more comfortable with seniors of course.” By staying with Leksands until his contract is up it’s likely that Johansson will have enjoyed the experience of two full years of playing against men in the SHL Looking at the resumes of several players now playing in North America with the Red Wings two years of full SHL exposure is proving to be standard operating procedure Anton Johansson (#10) sets up the OT winner in today's preseason game for Leksand #LGRW pic.twitter.com/FSAhjxBl8z — IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) August 23, 2023 Lucas Raymond, Marco Kasper, Elmer Soderblom, Simon Edvinsson and William Wallinder all saw two full years of SHL duty prior to moving across the Atlantic Ocean. Albert Johansson and Jonatan Berggen were both allowed three years of experience in Sweden’s top league he lost much of one campaign to a back injury Anton Johansson has been part of the Leksands hockey program since 2019 is expecting a big step forward from his son in 2023-24 “He is big but still very athletic out on the ice,” Thomas Johansson said of Anton on the Leksands website “He possesses many good qualities and in Anton’s case it is very much about continuing to build experience and physique is fearless and can break a pattern to create offensive chances.” The Daily: Will Crosby Numerology Work on Next Deal?: No Love for Red Wings Goalie Husso Lashoff Making Transition From Griffins Player to Coach Sweden-After becoming Swedish Women’s Softball National Champions Leksand Lumberjacks repeated themselves in the U-19 age bracket In both cases they defeated Enkoeping in the final Leksand Lumberjacks won the Swedish Women’s fastpitch softball title defeating Enkoeping in the final They then repeated themselves claiming also the U-19 title through a 20-8 win (against Enkoeping again) in the championship game The U-19 Swedish Championship played it’s final day in Skoevde Leksand also earned MVP honors through Julia Wiklund who went 2 for 2 with a grandslam in the final The U-19 Leksand Lumberjacks pose after the win (Kristian Pälviä) Leksand, without question, experienced the ups and downs of hockey in the Champions Hockey League in their debut campaign. At first claiming dominant wins in their first four Group Stage games, before experiencing defeat in their next two contests. Yet, the ride wasn’t over and for Leksand’s Matt Caito this last batch of matches was more of the same highs and lows we weren’t playing well going into the break and then we started off not using our speed against them.” With home ice on their side to begin their Round of 16 home-at-home series Klagenfurt utilised the opportunity to the fullest to gain as much ground on their opponents as possible tallying four markers against Leksand to give the Austrians a comfortable lead on aggregate when all was said and done So when it came to bringing the game back to Sweden Caito felt it was time for some redemption “I think we needed a little payback from going down four nothing in their building and we just played to have fun and try and make it happen.” If Klagenfurt came out guns blazing in their arena Leksand brought the entire armada as they stormed to an early lead and never looked back After putting eight past a talented team in Klagenfurt it might seem like Leksand were making easy work of the visitors They’re a very good team over there and we just had to play a little bit harder than we did last time against them,” he admitted their performance against a formidable opponent was just what the Swedes needed as they continue to go to work not only in the CHL but in their domestic league After dropping their previous four SHL affairs a win in any capacity would have been welcomed and when asked if this game could be the turnaround they needed We haven’t been scoring too many goals so this helps us confidence-wise.” with some of their veterans out of the lineup this victory came off the back of some of the youngsters who showed they were more than capable of contributing so it was good that the young guys stepped up and played amazing for us.” Did you find any incorrect or incomplete information? Please, let us know Three Swedish award winners has been announced this weekend Junior of the year: Gustav Forsling, Linköping Coach of the year: Per-Erik Johnsson, Leksand (promotion to SHL) Leader of the year: Roger Rönnberg, Frölunda (CHL and SHL champion) Swedish Preseason games Tuesday August 25th There's been four preseason games in Sweden today in todays only preseason game among the Swedish SHL teams Färjestads goalscorers were: Johan Persson Filip Forsberg was today anounced winner of the award "Guldgallret" as the best junior of HockeyAllsvenskan Forsberg was named winner due to his leadership that helped Leksand to win the regular season. Forsberg was also named to the All-Star team of the World Juniors earlier this season Leksands IF participates in season 2025-2026: SHL mister-baseball.com Passionate about European baseball since 2007 The Leksand Lumberjacks came back from a 0-1 deficit in the best-of-three Swedish Finals to beat the Stockholm Monarchs 2-1 It’s their 21st title in the Swedish Elitserien and their first since 2005 Stockholm had won six of the last eight championships in Swedish Baseball In game one of the finals Stockholm held on to a 8-4 win in a game which needed to be resumed on Saturday morning after darkness forced the suspension on Friday evening Leksand then beat Stockholm 5-3 in game two to tie the series In the decisive third game Leksand celebrated a lopsided 8-0 shutout to clinch the series Celebrating a hockey goal by hugging it out is pretty standard But doing so with the very opponent you just scored on seemingly too thrilled to even realize what happened laughed off the punch and skated over to his teammates Who brought him in for the real thing: a group hug French forward Betty Jouanny is in a good place right now She has gotten a fresh start in her SDHL career by joining a new club This will be Jouanny’s seventh season in the league but her first with Leksands IF She feels welcomed with her new squad and very much at home “I decided to play for Leksand this season because I had heard good things about this team,” Jouanny shared “and all the time when I have played against them I had a good discussion with our head coach Lars Stenmark and I liked his projections for this season and it looks like my village in France – but without my big mountains,” she laughed France but spent most of her life growing up in the town Chamonix in the French Alps she will turn 28 years old only a few days into 2020 The veteran forward has faced more than her fair share of adversity the past few seasons and it is something that we discuss at length for this interview Sometimes referred to as “butterfly made of steel” nothing keeps her encumbered for very long “The difference between who you are and who you want to be is the work that you put in.” The 2018-19 SDHL season was a tumultuous one for Jouanny to say the least She played for three different hockey clubs all in the same season One of those teams was in the lower-tiered Division I league the level just below the SDHL in Swedish women’s hockey I played for three teams last year,” she said because I had some trouble with Djurgården but it was very hard because I worked so hard with my second foot injury to come back and to get this problem was very unfair for me.” Jouanny had initially signed with Djurgårdens IF during the summer of 2018 Despite what appeared to be a promising season ahead she would end up playing only a single game with the team This was after Jouanny had spent months recuperating from breaking her foot twice within a year and a half “I thought a couple of times about quitting hockey because I couldn’t find the pleasure to play,” she shared I was in pain every day with my plates and screws (in her foot) my friends and family who supported me during this hard season.” Jouanny would leave Djurgårdens in late November 2018 and joined with Division I’s IF Björklöven She played brilliantly for this new but unexpected club 12 assists for 19 points in only seven games Jouanny’s performance caught the attention of SDHL’s MODO who brought her aboard for their postseason run MODO called me to play in the playoffs so I was very happy It was a good thing for me before the Women’s Worlds with Team France They don’t always care about your health so you must listen to yourself and make good decisions for your own health because after having three surgeries in two years I am now back at my best level of play.” “It was just amazing to play in this division for the first time ever,” Jouanny smiled “Our team has again written a good performance and we want to continue to show that French hockey has grown up.” In Espoo, France put together a better run than what they may have gotten credit for. As first-timers, they posted an unattractive looking record of 0-1-0-4, but that included an overtime victory. Additionally, while scoring just seven goals in five games, they managed to only allow 13 against That was at least equally stingy to or better than Finland Jouanny played in all five of France’s games, including the 3-2 overtime victory over the Germans on Apr The French also lost two extremely close contests with Sweden – one of which was the ninth place game – by scores 2-1 and 3-2 Though she did not generate points during the tournament Jouanny was one of the most heavily used players in the face-off circle for France 70 times she took a draw within the five contests “We won against Germany,” she recalled “and we lost the last game against Sweden We were disappointed because we saw how close we were with the other teams we will have one target – to come back in the top division and stay there this time.” Jouanny saw one dream come true by playing in the IIHF’s top division It is one that has been in the forefront of her mind for a while and my big dream is to get our team into qualification for the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing.” Jouanny has the 2019-20 SDHL season ahead of her While she has practiced and had some exhibition play with Leksands at the time of this interview the regular season had not yet commenced Beijing might be her biggest dream right now but her focus presently is on what she can do to make Leksands a winning hockey club The club’s leading point scorer last season was Anna Borgqvist with 32 (7G Leksands’ top goal scorer was Danielle Stone who potted 15 of them – she has joined HV71 as well last season’s Leksands team had 12 different players reach double digits in points Though Jouanny will not be expected to lead the team in scoring per se Leksands will call upon her to be a player that can produce 2018-19 may have been disappointing for her but Jouanny is still a proven point-getter She has generated double-digit SDHL seasons four times Her finest season offensively came with Brynäs IF in 2014-15 when she put forth 10 goals and seven assists in 28 games Putting up numbers is something Jouanny feels she can do in 2019-20 without question and she sees doings so as a means to an end “My goal as a team is to make the playoffs – and that is the minimum,” she said firmly I want to produce points and show the way I can give 100-percent; work hard as I like to do Focusing on the present is a very fine place to start and though Jouanny feels at times that she is getting older She can continue to play hockey for as long as she would like If Jouanny’s sights are set on Beijing 2022 then figure that this “French butterfly” will remain at the professional hockey level for another three years at least No matter how active and fast-moving Jouanny may be she can relax in the comfort of knowing that time is on her side I am just playing hockey,” she stated I already have my degree as a conditioning coach I want to work in a rehab center for athletes who get injuries and must work to get back on track I am also finishing my certification in 2020 to be an ice hockey coach” “And find a boyfriend and have a family The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey commentary and features from hundreds writers worldwide our articles are read millions of times every month                 Credits: Anna Hållams/imagebank.sweden.se  Six Places to Enjoy a Truly Authentic Swedish Midsummer Swedish cities are usually quiet as most local people head off to the countryside and celebrate the Midsummer holiday with their families and friends Here are a few places where you can join the fun celebrate like a local and experience this truly authentic tradition Please note that celebration programs from the below list may only be updated at the end of May or early June Make sure you check the latest information before leaving Midsummer in Leksand, Dalarna gathers 20,000-30,000 visitors every year to Sammilsdal (Gropen) It is also the world's largest & longest-running midsummer celebration Dalarna is home to many of Sweden's timeless treasures The centuries-old UNESCO-listed Falun Mine is only an hour away from Leksand by train Or after the Midsummer feast go hiking along the route of the world’s oldest long-distance cross-country ski race 'Vasaloppet' Midsummer celebrations at Skansen are the real highlight of the summer in Stockholm Follow the folk dancers and dance through until Sunday the summer will then officially have arrived Pay a visit to both wild and domestic Nordic animals living in the world’s oldest open-air museum and learn from Skansen’s approach to species conservation and biodiversity It is worth noting that Skansen has recently earned the honourable distinction of Sweden's most sustainable brand in the travel industry according to the “Sustainable Brand Index 2023” as Skansen has consistently played an active role in preserving and making Sweden´s cultural heritage accessible Slottsskogen in Gothenburg is a well-designed city park combined with a natural forest It creates a large open area for people to gather and celebrate festivities Both locals and visitors alike are invited to the big lawn in front of Björngårdsvillan every year to enjoy this classic Midsummer event This year’s celebration promises to be different as the city also celebrates its 400-year anniversary in the same month A variety of festive activities are lined up throughout the year and the city will be filled with music Småland – Getnö Gård We often say Småland is ‘Sweden for real’ thanks to its rich culture and undisturbed nature. If you want to treat yourself to a real authentic Swedish midsummer as well as their enchanting countryside, you should not miss Getnö - Lake Åsnen Resort in Småland The resort is a natural paradise, nestled by the Åsnen National Park Enjoy a magical Midsummer night by the tranquil Åsnen lake old beach forests and its unique archipelago landscape Gotland off the east coast of Sweden embraces both wild nature and rich culture. Its mild summer weather and long hours of sunshine make it a holiday paradise for Swedes. Visby preserves a beautiful walled town dating back to the 12th century The Midsummer celebration in Visby on June 23rd starts at noon with a parade from Södertorg Square with horses and carriages, down to Paviljongsplan (Pavilion Square) Other than the traditional activities like raising the May Pole and folk dances live music performances and fun activities will also be arranged for the children This event is made possible by a non-profit organisation If you are travelling through Southern Sweden Lund is a wonderful option for experiencing the Midsummer festival with youthful enthusiasm in a traditional setting The students from Lund University will perform a folk dance at the Kulturen open-air museum. Come early and help decorate and raise the maypole! Buy your midsummer lunch on site or bring your own picnic to the beautiful museum park. Visit Sweden har det offisielle oppdraget fra den svenske regjeringen om å markedsføre Sverige som reisemål. Vår visjon er at Sverige innen 2030 er verdens mest bærekraftige og attraktive reisemål bygget på innovasjon. Nå mer enn noen gang, må målrettet reise være meningsfylt, bevisst og skape varig verdi med hensyn til våre gjester, for lokalsamfunnet og planeten vår. Velkommen til Sverige. The third semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2019 has taken place in the Tegera Arena in Leksand. Halfway through the six week marathon, we are one step closer to determining who will represent Sweden in Tel Aviv. Jon Henrik Fjällgren with “Norrsken” and Lina Hedlund with “Victorious” will proceed direkt till final, while Martin Stenmarck with “Låt skiten brinna” and Rebecka Karlsson with “Who I Am” are moving through to Andra Chansen. They will have to fight another day for a spot in the grand final. Simple but never boring, Jon Henrik specialises in atmosphere and that’s what he brought today. Fire and ice collide on stage, leaving us with “Norrsken”. There was little doubt this was going direkt till final and Jon Henrik will be a huge contender on March 9. After all, the Eurovision lineup would be incomplete without a man singing to a reindeer, right? Alcazar may not be in Melfest 2019 but Lina Hedlund ventured out on her own and slayed. Surrounded by a circle of light, Lina owned the stage and came out “Victorious”. Joined by four dancers over the bridge, this builds to an epic climax. Congratulations, Lina! A post shared by wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) on Feb 15, 2019 at 4:29am PST Martin Stenmarck brought a much needed dose of Swedish to Leksand. There were no big gimmicks on stage but the experienced singer brought flawless vocals and lots of charisma. “Låt skiten brinna” certainly resonated with Swedish fans and Martin lives on to fight another day in Andra Chansen. A ballerina, boxer and rhythmic gymnast walk into a bar… and out comes a Melodifestivalen entry. “Who I Am” combines some interesting characters around Rebecka Karlsson, who shines with a composed performance and excellent vocals. Rebecka showed maturity beyond her years and earned a spot in Andra Chansen. Robbed, I say! Dolly Style brought epic choreography and Middle Eastern realness. You can’t listen to “Habibi” without having the tune stuck in your head and Dolly Style worked their signature brand and image on stage. Dolly Style made it through the first round of voting but were unable to secure a spot in Andra Chansen or beyond. Hello, hiiiii. @dollystyleofficial at last night’s #melfest Welcome Party ?? A post shared by wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) on Feb 15, 2019 at 3:58am PST A perfect blend of Nordic and Latin realness, Omar served attitude for days. Staged with a clever use of green screens, there was plenty of energy on stage. Unfortunately, Sweden wasn’t quite feeling it in this strong semi-final. Omar suffered the same fate as the other O in FO&O. He won’t progress any further in this year’s Melfest. A post shared by wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) on Feb 15 The Lovers of Valdaro certainly had staging going for them With the lead singer swathed in pink over a sea of whites they got lost in a sea of stronger upbeat numbers after opening the show Did your favourite advance direkt till final Antranig Shokayan comes from an Armenian background and lives in Australia. He has been watching Eurovision since Armenia's debut in 2006 and became hooked after Sirusho slayed in Belgrade. His claim to fame is winning the biggest jackpot ever on Pointless Australia. He also writes books in his spare time. You can follow him on Twitter @ant_shok and @ReductionSeries Boring negative opinions as always about Australia ,Russia and Sweden Russia will probably have to and Sweden will send Hanna/liamoo i think and do well While I agree with you on the negative opinions I feel like Liamoo/Hanna wouldn’t be the best choice to do well with the popular vote… but that’s just my opinion Sometimes in some countries people dont like traditional music because they think that it is only for older people but traditional music isn’t strictly European It’s not even the same in every European country And the term traditional music is wide because it can incorporate many sounds And yes But if it’s mashed up with modern sound it can find a new audience He mixed traditional Irish music with modern pop sounds ad got hits Or Lady Gaga who mixed traditional American folk-sound with rock to create Shallow Had he been strictly traditional no one… Read more » if I was adopted as a baby to a family in Iran I would offcourse inregrated to their culture and religion I am not raised as a same and I as well as other swedes have not the same conection to therir traditions and way of live their lives My opinion after watching the semi final 3: Lovers of Valdaro – Terrible song No sexual allusions and “so bad it’s good” lyrics At least we have another song in Swedish going further Lina – The song has really typical lyrics Omar – This was bad and all over the… Read more » Never expected a place in the final so very happy:) I was like WTF when reading Victorious went DTF and Dolly and Omar got left in the semi So happy that Jon Henrik completed the DTF hat trick the Melfest Twitter account has officially announced that Omar finished 6th in semifinal 3 and The Lovers of Valdaro finished 7th The pre-recorded backing vocals have gone wild Dolly Style were not singing their choruses live Also who was singing the chorus to Norrsken At least it made me appreciate Lina all the more why were the 6th and 7th places not revealed on screen Why would backing vocalists be behind the stage when backing vocals don’t even have to be live N E ways,,,does anyone have recommendations for national finals to watch next year instead of this mess of a competition Thanks…literally none of my favorites this year (except for Wiktoria) are still in the competition and I want death You should never forget the classics: Festivali i Kenges and San Remo other good national finals are Australia Decides Just because your favourites didn’t make it through this year Does it mean it has to be like that next year Melodifestivalen is every year one of the worst competition in europe I think JHF’s song this year is his 3rd best entry in Melodifest I’d happily see him on the Eurovision stage and I’d certainly vote for him if he is selected to represent Sweden this year but this song is not his best nor Sweden’s best song/performance at this year’s Melo I don’t think he should go to ESC this year because I have a question why don’t you talk about the chart performance of these songs You did it for some countries after their semifinals (like France) and I found it interesting For example after 3 weeks Anna’s Ashes to Ashes is still #2 on iTunes I tune in every week waiting for a song that is better than “Ashes to Ashes” Winning Melo after reaching the Final via AC has been done before though at this point it would be a big upset to Wiktoria and Mohombi I wish that Mariette was waiting in SF4 with a really good song I’m not sure the iTunes chart is very significant – in Sweden The numbers who actually buy from iTunes are so low Melodifestivalen’s songs doesn’t suit Wiwibloggs this year either It takes ages to post news and to this third semifinal no links to the rehearsal clips were given as they usually do Still people complain about the favouritism against Sweden When it’s pretty obvious that all people do is to complain how bad and unspiring it is I don’t see any favouritism any more Weak semifinal tonight But I keep watching Melodifestivalen since it brings me wonderful memories every year and makes me know new music which I can enjoy and add to my playlist though Rebecka sang quite out of tune tonight and the song slightly reminds me of “Love me like you do” My… Read more » I am surprised that Rebecka qualified to AC Her song was a bit meh and her vocals were off at times… I’m shocked that Omar and Dolly Style didn’t at least gonto Andra Chanssen not too surprised with the direct qualifiers they are comeback artists with good records at Melfest Looks like Malou Prtyz is the only debutant who directly qualified the estonian raindeers were smoking too after they had sex victorious is the party voice of 2019… is it me or melfest this year is totally….meh The songs so far are not something great,the stagings are not as creative as before they need to start focusing on the songs rather than on staging too much radio pop and lack of quality music Last year they flopped on televoting but i dont think they tried to change anything… if you dont like it then don’t watch it They had the same thing as Slovenia (releasing snippets) yet they released it per semifinal which would kill the vibe–especially if the anticipation is high and we end up having okay songs the DTF can’t have their performances uploaded or their songs released I tried to watch two national finals at the same time tonight but i got kinda bored by melfest as there wasn’t a lot of diversity and every song started to blend together into a blob of pop music If singing out of tune is worth going to the final… …and many other “singers” singing “in tune” 😉 but she could be a Sweden’s sweetheart like Anna B in 2010) … ofc she is not the frontrunner and not that popular so she will not win… All day I was singing or humming to myself one song – Habibi So you can imagine how sad I am that Dolly Style were eliminated From the other qualifiers I’m most ok with Jon Henrik Fjällgren but I like it a little bit more after hearing it live Rebecka and Lina didn’t impress me at all How dare dolly style copy a bollywood song!! It is a copy of “maahi ve” from the movie kal hoo na hoo and Habibi is nothing compared to Maahi Ve imagine if India had been a special guest and entered with “It’s The Time To Disco” and brought some real Bollywood to ESC 🙂 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M03GOY5eINg I think Salaam Namaste would’ve done better 😉 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nFKteKPVU5E ‘Des Rangila’ from the film Fanaa would probably be a great ESC entry for India (in this Bollywood Fantasy we can imagine) So beautifully performed with the choreography and lighting and it sounds lovely (even if the song lyrics and the film are quite nationalistic) I still and will probably always think Kajol is one of the most beautiful women/humans I have ever seen I think the same whenever I watch Ukraine’s ‘Gravity’ (from ESC 2013) and see Zlata Ognevich In this moment she… Read more » The performance and staging did it for Jon Henrik So he shouldn’t win Melodifestivalen with that Omar should have gone DF and Lina could have stayed at home during the final instead So Fredrik Kempe invited Eric Saade to work with him again and “win Mello” I don’t mind 😀 We’ll see the outcome of that invitation I can’t say that I’m over-excited by the artists But I’m curious… Read more » I think Anna Bergendahl is most likely to make to the finals and do decently Swedish plastic and joking hosts are wearing out They downvote you because you say the truth Why watch something if you don’t like it hoping for a eurovision winner every year Tonight a swede have won in Estonia and John Lundvik has written UK’s entry and so on and so on. We are somehow entitled to have a few bad years and come back strong I think We can watch whatever we want and give our opinion here Don’t read my comment if you don’t like it then I thought all 4 of the last entries were worthy finalists I think its a sign of a strong selection when all songs are Good I dont think a winner is to be found here but I enjoyed all the non existent staging or the fact she was off key I liked or song as well but I think 3rd or 4th was fitting Jon Henrik Fjällgren and Lina Hedlund direct to final expected that after watching all the songs Martin Stenmarck was the surprise of the results had him at fifth to sixth place (battling with Omar) but well would switch them with Martin and it would’ve been the result I predicted after I watched all of them I’d ever would listen to (only if it is… Read more » I also had Martin 6th (Omar for me was 5th) I would have switched Dolly Style with Martin Still waiting for a good song in this year’s Melodifestivalen… I really liked mohombi with hello i must say Mohombi wasn’t that good live… even if the song was kinda ok The finals is gonna be between Jon Henrik and hanna & LIAMOO I think I prefer all of them over Hanna and LIAMOO’s song (which isn’t bad but just wouldn’t be my personal favourite to go to eurovision at least) the Eurovision lineup would be incomplete without a man singing to a reindeer There’s always room for cervines at Eurovision Apparently Voting Swedes don’t have ears since they voted the off key Rebecca Karlson to AC She sings way better normally like she did on swedish idol 2016 but yeah i agree with you She had the only good song of the night though. Being on Swedish Idol gave her a boost too Who thought those three unicorns would stand a chance…srsly This was the first time I didn’t stay for the results because nothing caught my interest But my concern is that the stage felt empty and they should’ve included backing dancers to somehow save the performance I said Lina’s song is the typical song on the melodifestivalen final last year was party voice that sounds similar… chocked at how Lina made it to the final… Though I am happy to see Lina in the final I was hoping to see Dolly Style at LEAST in AC I think the new voting system hurt them 🙁 i dont think sweden will dare to send john henrik international juries aka uncle bjorkmans friends will not place them high His previous entries were stronger and he couldnt win then lets wait the next semi but i am afraid that we wont see a winner there Typical long Lolek post incoming (with my thoughts on the results): DF: Jon Henrik – No surprise here I realize there are elements of his song that resemble some other hit songs out there (namely one by Axwell Ingrosso) Always enjoyable and unique in contrast to many other entries and I quite like his selection Lena – I realize many are surprised by her qualification (and perhaps would have preferred another song instead) She was my other choice qualifier based on the early previews and her performance truly wowed me Sorry but Rebecka’s singing was very out of tune and the performance was boring as hell Overview Meet the team Press Write for us Input your search keywords and press Enter Leksands IF took a hard knock in their first game of the Champions Hockey League Quarter-Finals, going down to Frölunda Gothenburg 5-2 tying the game by the end of the first period and keeping the second period scoreless three goals in quick succession towards the end of the third period gave Frölunda the win and a vital three goal edge on aggregate.  and Leksand's strong performance throughout the Group Stage and Round of 16 games it's a moment Bichsel has been looking forward to "Its unbelievable for me as a younger player." He's ecstatic to have had a teammate collect a token of that moment and I have a good place at home for it," he chimed Leksand managed to outshoot Frölunda 37-23 the two teams were almost identical when it came to penalties making the loss that much harder to swallow The two sides have just a single day of rest until they lock horns again however Bichsel is upbeat about the impending challenge With their sights set on bridging the aggreagte on their Return Game at Frölundaborgs Isstadion the game-plan against their Swedish rivals will be a straight forward one be strict in the d-zone, keep to our plan Leksands IF are one of the most storied hockey clubs in Sweden After two decades of bouncing between the SHL and the Allsvenskan the club from central Sweden appear to have regained their position at the top of the country's domestic hockey scene With new head coach Björn Hellkvist at the helm Leksands IF stormed up the standings to finish the 2020/21 SHL regular season in third place their best Swedish top flight campaign since the 1990s and a far cry from their 13th placed finish in the preceding season Their strong showing in the SHL last season means that the club from the central Swedish town of Leksand will make their debut in the Champions Hockey League this season who joined the club in the summer of 2020 after several seasons coaching in the Allsvenskan Leksands IF are right to believe that they deserve a seat at the top table of both Swedish and European hockey "I don't believe it’s that big of a deal to finally make it back to the top performers Leksand is a classic club and a big organisation that belongs at the top of Swedish hockey But it feels good to give something back to our fans that have been performing at the top level for a long time," Hellkvist said Leksands IF are one of Sweden's most respected clubs historically The team had a remarkable run of success in the late 1960s-early 1970s winning four Swedish championships over a six-year span and the club's fans provide an atmosphere that is one of the best in Europe "Leksand and its fans have a very unique relationship One couldn't ask for more supportive and faithful fans Whereever you are in Sweden you can find a fellow Leksand fan They meant the world during these trying COVID times," Hellkvist remarked Hellkvist said that his first season behind the Leksands IF bench was "individually developing and challenging," but praised his team for their success last season The club's top line of Slovak forwards Marek Hrivík and Peter Cehlárik who could be found alongside Ohio native Carter Camper was the most lethal in the SHL last season and a large part of the club's success Hrivík was awarded the SHL's MVP honours after scoring 51 points in 44 games and Hellkvist said that his team's star forwards gave them a chance to win every night "Marek's line has been an impact line for us all season long they have carried big minutes and have been decisive in many games All three have acted as role models and set an example," the Leksands IF Head Coach remarked Neither Hrivík nor Cehlárik will be wearing Leksands IF's colours next season with the former having already agreed a deal to play in the KHL Camper will be back to lead the forward lines along with top tier offensive defenseman Matt Caito and bruising forward Carter Ashton who scored 19 points in 24 games with the club last season Leksands IF will also have a new face in net as Finnish shot stopper Kasimir Kaskisuo joined the team after an extended period of time in North America Hellkvist said that his side will give their all in the Champions Hockey League "Leksand will try to push for a top performance in the CHL this coming year and we always strive to get better and to win," he concluded View the entire CHL 2021/22 Group Stage schedule here #35 Emma Polusny - 24/25#87 Ellen Jonsson - 24/25 Senast uppdaterad  28 aug -24 Läs även: LAGBYGGET HERR Coming into the week Leksand was rolling on a four game win streak and were looking to continue the momentum on Thursday evening They were coming up against a Brynäs team who they had beaten all four times last season and have beaten in six out of their eight previous meetings Leksand has also managed to grab a single point against Brynäs in all eight of those matches as both of the victories for Brynäs came in overtime This game was a tough one for Brynäs as the struggling team from Gävle managed to score just a single goal Leksand was able to regain the lead before the end of the opening twenty minutes and would not look back Leksand also heavily outshot Brynäs in the opening frame 16-9 The second frame saw more offence from Leksand as Isak Rosén Martin Karlsson and Carter Ashton found the back of the net to push the score to 5-1 Even goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo jumped in on the action registering a secondary assist on Karlssons goal Brynäs was still able to manage a few good chances and registered 11 shots on target in the second frame Unfortunately for them they just could not find a way past Kaskisuo the four game win streak was not the only active streak for Leksand Max Veronneau carried a six game scoring streak into the game Veronneau had also registered five points in his previous two games The third period would see him extend that scoring streak with the only tally of the frame to bring the score to 6-1 and extend his streak The win also extended the Leksand win streak and extended the losing streak by Brynäs to five in a row Checkout full game highlights here Leksand came into Saturday against an Örebro team that had won their previous two games and had won three of their last four Unlike the offensive performance we saw against Brynäs this game would turn out to be a goaltender duel as both Kasimir Kaskisuo and Jhonas Enroth put forth great performances between the pipes The first period saw Örebro come out hard and fast as they were looking to quiet the packed arena in Leksand Registering 14 shots on net and only allowing 6 Örebro were certainly the dominant team in the first twenty minutes but Kaskisuo stood tall and turned away all the shots he faced The second period was a reversal from the first as Leksand The main difference from the first was that Leksand was able to capitalize on their chances Patrik Norén was able to take the feed at the side of then net and rip it home for the opening goal of the game Despite the onslaught of shots from Leksand The pressure and shots would continue for Leksand in the third frame as they absolutely dominated on the shot clock in the final twenty minutes Jhonas Enroth continued to impress between the pipes Unfortunately for him he could only do so much by himself and Norén Kaskisuo also registered his first SHL shutout Check out full game highlights here Max Veronneau did get an assist on the final goal of the game to extend his point streak With his assist he now sits at 15 points on the season just three back of his season total from last year Leksand will look to keep their streak alive with games against Luleå and Växjö this week The defending champion Växjö Lakers have strengthened their roster this week with NHL veteran Tobias Rieder The 28 year old German has played 478 games in the NHL with the Arizona Coyotes He has scored 64 goals and added 81 assists in his time in the NHL He has also represented Germany in five World Cups – Toby is a player who will fit perfectly into how we play He works hard at the same time as he has a very good level of skill says Växjö's sports manager Henrik Evertsson His contract is valid through the end of this season This week was surprisingly busy when it comes to player movement perhaps the biggest news of the week is the return of Fredrik Händemark to Malmö The former Redhawks captain was released by SKA Moscow this week and announced his return to his former club After starting last season in Malmö he moved to North America for the start of the NHL season in January He played 8 games with the San José Sharks and 14 with their AHL affiliate In his 355 SHL games with Malmö and Leksand he has scored 53 goals and added 99 assists over nine seasons the majority of which has been spent with Malmö – We are of course very happy that Fredrik is coming back to us He was one of the league's best players when he was last here and we know what we get in him He is also sets goals and is a leader in the group who will strengthen the squad both on and off the ice says Malmö Redhawks sports manager Patrik Sylvegård Tobias Ekberg made a lateral move as he goes from Djurgården to Leksand Ekberg will be rejoining Leksand as he was part of their junior program for four seasons Ekberg has also previous played with the Malmö Redhawks – In Tobias we get a defenseman with good mobility and skating It feels good that we are broadening our defence The contract extends through the 2022/23 Season Robert Lantosi has also moved from one SHL club to another as he goes from Rögle to Linköping The 26 year old from Slovakia has previous experience in Sweden playing in both HockeyEttan and HockeyAllsvenskan He appeared in six games with Rögle to start the season I am happy to be here and I hope I can do a lot for the team Örebro has signed a pair of their young players to long term extensions as Elias Ekström and Oliver Eklund inked deals this week 20 year old Ekström has registered one goal and four assists in ten games this season and has been awarded with a contract that is valid through 2025 – We are very happy to sign a longer agreement with Elias A guy from the region who has made a great journey in with our team Elias is a very smart player and has an extremely good eye for the game Elias has started the season strong and we see him as an important player over a long time to come It will be fun to follow Elias' continued progress in the Örebro jersey says Örebro's sports director Niklas Johansson Eklind has also been awarded with a long term extension which will see him stay with Örebro until at least 2024 – It feels great that we manage to extend the contract with Oliver He has made an impressive journey since he came here which we have seen here during the start of the season We believe very much in Oliver and see great potential in his game Skellefteå has extended the contract of Måns Forsfjäll The 19 year old mad his SHL debut last season and has appeared in all ten of Skellefteås games this year who has not appeared in a game this season has announced he will be moving to the Austrian league to play with Grz99ers He joins former team mate Andrew Gordon in Austrias top league Oskarshamns Oliver Larsen will be heading across the baltic as he announced this week he will be joining Jukurit in Liiga Caito’s prowess on the backend shouldn’t come as much of a surprise considering that for most of his career 86 kg blueliner has consistently reached the double-digit plateau Transitioning to the European ice surface is something that has only lifted his game “The big ice has helped me develop more skill and patience with the puck as well as my skating,” he explained The point-man has done wonders for Leksand on their CHL debut with Caito not only leading Leksand defencemen His defensive contributions have also been on full display with him tied for first in blocked shots with 13 “Playing for great coaches who have helped me each and every year get better,” is something the American attributes to his elevated play as well as the fact that the players on the team have also been very very talented and they’ve helped me.” the success of a player is the product of the success of a team and vice versa, and Caito respects the system that enabled Leksand to compete at such a high level “I think we just had a purpose of just trying to play our game And I think that’s what’s kind of made our success in the CHL the Swedish side found a way to shift the momentum in their favor and get results “The first two games we were down right at the start We have a team that doesn’t get too down when that happens and so we found a way to turn it up to another level in those games and came back and that’s kind of what guided us in those four games in the CHL.” This kind of assurance comes with a chemistry that is all too evident in the Leksand locker room Players relying on each other and staying accountable; supporting forwards and defencemen in a layered “We like to keep everything on the outside and we’ve had both our goalies play pretty well for us in those games in making the first save from the outside That kind of helps the defense because you know where everybody is from the goaltender’s standpoint so he knows that he’s got five guys protecting his middle so he just has to make the first save on the outside,” Caito explained So far, this play style has held up for Leksand against their Group F counterparts, but a new script will be written when the club meets the other powerhouse in the group - Fribourg-Gottéron Fribourg’s top spot is anything but secure overcoming the Swiss side will require a concerted effort by Leksand “From what I saw watching them in the CHL skilled and that’s something we’re going to have to be very careful with and pay attention to that aspect They can score goals at will which is really good for them.” this is what CHL hockey is all about – top teams battling it out; a “be the best have to beat the best” mentality – and this is what excites Caito about playing in the league “The CHL is awesome - you get to see all these different leagues combined and the different styles playing against each other.” having the support of the crowd brings a tangible incomparable energy – one that was sorely missed last season Leksand were allowed to host 50 spectators after seeing that number climb to the thousands their presence cannot be understated according to Caito “Finally being able to hear the whole building rock with all of the fans it definitely felt like a full crowd because we weren’t used to it and it was so exciting and so cool to see that and be able to play in front of that.” the club is focused on their two upcoming SHL games and "looking to keep our momentum of play going," as they try to "figure out the best way to keep playing at a high level.” “that’s the key: just focus on us.” As their focus shifts to their upcoming contests Leksand will be looking to fine-tune their system and continue the camaraderie that the players have found This means maintaining their tenacity and constantly improving their game in order to reach the upper echelons of the CHL it’s going to be the same way; to see how our system will match up against them and how we can keep getting confidence and keep getting better in it." But first thing's first: "We still have to finish the Group Stage and it’ll be exciting to keep playing those games.” Emil Heineman’s season got off to a slow start partly due to the fact that he went over to Montreal Canadiens camp and missed the start with Leksand he got injured and had a lengthy stay on the sidelines but the fact that Leksand’s power play didn’t work at the start of the season (and rarely after) and that Heineman wasn’t an option due to his stay in Montreal he wasn’t given a chance on the power play a lot of the blame on Heineman’s mildly disappointing season should be left on Leksand’s coach Björn Hellqvist’s shoulders It is a bit baffling to not use one of Heineman’s main strengths – his shot – on the power play I say ‘mildly’ as Hellqvist mainly used Heineman at five-on-five and the good thing is that Heineman’s underlying numbers shot-attempt share of 54% and a relative possession mark to his team of +2% point to a strong year However he was sheltered by being deployed mostly in the neutral and offensive zones pointing to the fact that it is in his defensive game where you find Heineman’s glaring weakness something that needs to be addressed before he becomes a full-fledged NHLer and fans say ‘a missile’ they use any hard shot as an example Heineman’s shot is more akin to a sabot round; it goes through coverage and blockers The shot can be placed more or less anywhere Much in the same way that Heineman can generate pace on his shot his hand-eye coordination is good and I can see why he was used as he was on the power play even if I don’t agree with the usage and balance mean that he can be used in the forechecking role suiting the North American rinks a bit better than the Olympic-sized rinks in SHL I come back to this in any write-up I do about Heineman: he is a player I would like to have from the neutral zone and forward however in the defensive zone his coverage can be bad at times but maybe because he knows it’s a weakness and he tries too hard I think he is finding it a bit easier on North American ice where there is less space to cover however he needs to process the game faster in the defensive zone it hasn’t been the easiest season for Heineman and that is reflected in in his final grade He has more or less the same points-per-game percentage as last year – 0.43 this season and 0.42 last season – being used in much the same role with Leksand finishing in more or less the same spot even if his underlying numbers point to a certain development and something that raises his season from a C I would like to point out that if Heineman’s stellar AHL debut were to be included in the grade it would have been higher what if he had stayed in the AHL the full season The great offensive start Heineman has had in the AHL is more than promising and if he can be surrounded with a good defensive centre with passing skills I have always said that Heineman is a Victor Olofsson (Bufflao Sabres) kind of player Olofsson has managed to carve out a good NHL career after having had to learn to defend better in the AHL There is the possibility of Heineman doing the same Elite Prospects’ Jimmy Hamrin joins the podcast to evaluate Heineman’s SHL season Does the Olofsson comparison hold up to scrutiny And what about Heineman’s defensive ability We also take some time to talk about Adam Engström Print Special to the Los Angeles Times Reporting from Tallberg Sweden — As I examined a map of central Sweden place names seemed oddly familiar: Siljan … Leksand .. A number of the firm’s wares are named after Swedish cities that wouldn’t be the strangest sensation I’d encounter here in Tallberg This village of 217 souls is tucked into the Dalarna region Mention to Stockholm citizens that you are headed for Dalarna Three hours northwest of Stockholm by train or car modern capital to a land steeped in folklore With its tidy buildings painted a deep red and trimmed in white Tallberg seemed suspiciously like a quaint theme park apple-cheeked young woman in a flower-embroidered She wore her costume without a trace of the irony an American of similar age would surely exude The hotel’s main building is the oldest farmhouse in Tallberg 20th and 21st generations of the original family still operate the business portraits of various stern Akerblads ancestors scowl at diners a contrast with sprightly painted folk designs that decorate the room I began to realize that the folk atmosphere of Dalarna wasn’t a re-creation for the benefit of tourists but a way of life that has changed little over the years It’s not at all unusual for locals to wear traditional dress at church and towns still own the sleek oared vessels known as church boats once the only means worshippers had to travel across Lake Siljan to Sunday services can be seen in summertime races and midsummer events undulating shoreline belies the body of water’s violent origin — it was formed more than 375 million years ago when a meteorite 11/2 miles in diameter crashed to Earth and we watched a few brave swimmers stroking through the clear I started to ease into the Dalarna mind-set Cows grazed in lush pastures crowded with delicate wildflowers — meadows so dense with diverse plant life that 10 square feet can contain 60 species the organizers of my husband’s conference had provided some local “fairy godmothers” to entertain those not taking part in official events These kind women showed us the area sights from an artist’s modest yet astonishingly decorated cottage to a massive quarry-turned- opera venue I had never heard of Carl Larsson before visiting his home in Sundborn about an hour’s drive southeast of Tallberg His paintings of family life at the turn of the 20th century are similar to Norman Rockwell’s work is the ever-expanding cottage where he lived with wife Karin and their seven children The couple amassed a collection of decorative items spanning centuries and put their own stamp on everything In an era when furnishings were dark and serious the Larssons splashed their house with turquoise filling it with clean-lined furniture they designed themselves Their aesthetic is as stunning as Frank Lloyd Wright’s or Gaudí’s The Larssons kept adding on to their abode including a miner’s cottage Carl rescued to preserve its flowing paintings of religious themes and foliage Carl painted rooms with garlands and thought nothing of covering a Baroque-era cupboard with a portrait of his daughter Brita or swathing an antique spice cabinet in jaunty colors “Karl Larrson bought this old cabinet to put junk and other things in.” Karin wove tapestries and textiles in Art Nouveau patterns evoking Japanese block prints and stylized bits of nature The couple was a touchstone for Swedish art and design and their house continues to inspire today’s designers we drove about 15 minutes from Tallberg to Leksand and the Munthe’s Hildasholm museum a 1911 house built by a physician to the Swedish royal family The house contains fine antiques but seems ordinary compared with the Larssons’ home until you see the dazzling collection of tiny marionettes and stage sets created by Munthe’s wife and children courtiers and more once cavorted in their amateur productions the Dalarna countryside comes to life on fabrics printed by hand at the Jobs Handtryck studio in Vastanvik Their vibrant colors and bold graphics (one bestseller features rhubarb plants) have little in common with those dainty designs A studio tour lets you watch bolts of cloth being stenciled with as many as 16 colors on two 100-foot-long tables chairs — is available in patterns that date from 1944 you can visit two workshops to watch Dala horses being made then decorated by women with flourishes of flowers You’ll see them everywhere: brightly painted blocky wooden horses of every size (some villages even have a large version displayed as their mascot) where copper was extracted for more than12 centuries but I did venture nearly 200 feet down into a limestone quarry near Rattvik Now transformed into the massive Dalhalla amphitheater The stage is set amid an emerald lake at the quarry’s base and entertainers often make a grand entrance by rowboat jumped into the water and sang while floating on her back attendees and mates were treated to a midsummer’s eve-style celebration complete with a flock of fiddlers in frock coats who led us on foot down to the lakefront even more fiddlers of all ages stood on the dock playing as the church boats glided across the rippling lake tinted salmon and gold by the lingering sunset that rewards those who dwell in northern countries Then the rowers astonished us by igniting a bonfire set out in the water I wandered the little clutch of antiques and crafts shops along Siljansvagen Road hand-knitted goods and stunning contemporary silver jewelry cherry-red vintage Mustang drove past me on the narrow lane -- then a vintage T-bird and a Pontiac followed by a whole stream of mint-condition American cars from the 1960s slowly cruising through the bucolic countryside My entire youth was passing before my eyes returning waves from the Swedish drivers who called out cheery hellos just when I’d settled into Dalarna’s folkloric lifestyle travel@latimes.com Travel & Experiences California Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including 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