photo: © SKE / Olivia Granlund
When the Swedish SDHL kicks off this week, for the first time in half a decade, Lulea isn’t a sure-fire favourite to win the championship, thanks to the new order in the women’s hockey world. The six-time champions lost four world-class players to the North American PWHL, including SDHL scoring leader Noora Tulus and defenders Ronja Savolainen, Anna Kjellbin, and Daniela Pejsova.
For the SDHL, though, that may be good news. In total, nine SDHL players were drafted into the PWHL, and even with some of last year’s SDHLers still seeking free agent opportunities in North America, the SDHL remains a strong league. With Lulea going through a rebuild, the standings are expected to be closer than in years past.
The balance of power has also shifted in another way. The last-place team of 2023-24, Stockholm AIK, got relegated and replaced by another AIK, from Skelleftea, 750 kilometers farther north.
Skelleftea launched its women’s team in 2017 and since then has been one of the dominant teams in Division 1, or the NDHL, advancing to the qualification playoffs to the SDHL five times in six tries. Last season, they cruised through the quarterfinal and semifinal, sweeping both Haninge and Falun with a 17-0 goal difference.
They clinched their SDHL spot in Stockholm when they beat the other AIK 3-1.
“I didn’t quite know what to think, I was just overwhelmed by joy and relief,” said 24-year-old SKE goaltender Miranda Dahlgren, who posted an impressive 98.1 save percentage and a 0.38 GAA in the five games she played. "I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I’ve been with the team since the start in 2017, and we have been close so many times.”
For the SDHL, though, that may be good news. In total, nine SDHL players were drafted into the PWHL, and even with some of last year’s SDHLers still seeking free agent opportunities in North America, the SDHL remains a strong league. With Lulea going through a rebuild, the standings are expected to be closer than in years past.
The balance of power has also shifted in another way. The last-place team of 2023-24, Stockholm AIK, got relegated and replaced by another AIK, from Skelleftea, 750 kilometers farther north.
Skelleftea launched its women’s team in 2017 and since then has been one of the dominant teams in Division 1, or the NDHL, advancing to the qualification playoffs to the SDHL five times in six tries. Last season, they cruised through the quarterfinal and semifinal, sweeping both Haninge and Falun with a 17-0 goal difference.
They clinched their SDHL spot in Stockholm when they beat the other AIK 3-1.
“I didn’t quite know what to think, I was just overwhelmed by joy and relief,” said 24-year-old SKE goaltender Miranda Dahlgren, who posted an impressive 98.1 save percentage and a 0.38 GAA in the five games she played. "I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I’ve been with the team since the start in 2017, and we have been close so many times.”
photo: ©SKE / Olivia Granlund
Skelleftea has kept the core of the team together, but they have also bolstered the defence with two Team Finland players – Sini Karjalainen and Aino Karppinen – and Canadian Isabella Pozzi from the University of Saskatchewan. Up front, SKE also has two prominent Finns in Ida Kuoppala, fresh out of the University of Maine, and Jenna Pirttijarvi, who has won three Swedish titles with “neighbouring” Lulea. Dahlgren also gets a new goaltending partner in Camryn Drever, a university teammate of Pozzi's.
“It’s not easy to build an SDHL team from the ground up," said rookie SDHL coach Martin Lindh, entering his first season behind the Skelleftea bench. "Skelleftea has built this team over time, step by step, and allowed it to take however long it takes. And now we’re here.”
In the pre-season, Skelleftea has proven that it can take on the more established SDHL teams, posting a 1-1-2 record against Lulea and Modo, last season's finalists.
“We’re newcomers in the league, and we’re trying to establish ourselves, so we’re trying to learn something from each game and get better all the time,” Dahlgren said. “We know we’re going to lose games, which hasn’t always been the case in the NDHL.”
“It’s not easy to build an SDHL team from the ground up," said rookie SDHL coach Martin Lindh, entering his first season behind the Skelleftea bench. "Skelleftea has built this team over time, step by step, and allowed it to take however long it takes. And now we’re here.”
In the pre-season, Skelleftea has proven that it can take on the more established SDHL teams, posting a 1-1-2 record against Lulea and Modo, last season's finalists.
“We’re newcomers in the league, and we’re trying to establish ourselves, so we’re trying to learn something from each game and get better all the time,” Dahlgren said. “We know we’re going to lose games, which hasn’t always been the case in the NDHL.”
photo: ©SKE / Olivia Granlund
Getting promoted to the SDHL has made the whole organization rise to the occasion, according to Dahlgren. The women’s team has gotten better resources, some players can be part-time pros, and the team’s practice times have improved.
“No more late nights,” said Dahlgren, who works part-time in a school. “I like to have something else to do.”
For Skelleftea, playing in the SDHL qualification round has been a yearly tradition, but the team is determined not to wind up there in 2025.
“Our goal is to be in the Top 6,” Dahlgren said. “The SDHL is one of the best leagues in the world and it feels good to be a part of it.”
And yes, the SDHL is still one of the best leagues in the world and according to Johan Schillgard, the league’s director of hockey operations, it will keep on getting better.
“The clubs have become more professional, the players’ skills level has gone up, and I don’t think there’s one player in the league who doesn’t compete,” he said. “The quality of hockey has also gone up, especially since we allowed body-checking.”
And that, according to Schillgard, is also the SDHL's charm.
“The game is a little more open, but there are still puck battles, and lots of speed," he said. "Also, the skilled players can do amazing things with the puck. What I’d like to see this season is that games are close, that we see a Game 5 in all our (best-of five) playoff series, and that we can get attendances up. The players are worth it.”
“No more late nights,” said Dahlgren, who works part-time in a school. “I like to have something else to do.”
For Skelleftea, playing in the SDHL qualification round has been a yearly tradition, but the team is determined not to wind up there in 2025.
“Our goal is to be in the Top 6,” Dahlgren said. “The SDHL is one of the best leagues in the world and it feels good to be a part of it.”
And yes, the SDHL is still one of the best leagues in the world and according to Johan Schillgard, the league’s director of hockey operations, it will keep on getting better.
“The clubs have become more professional, the players’ skills level has gone up, and I don’t think there’s one player in the league who doesn’t compete,” he said. “The quality of hockey has also gone up, especially since we allowed body-checking.”
And that, according to Schillgard, is also the SDHL's charm.
“The game is a little more open, but there are still puck battles, and lots of speed," he said. "Also, the skilled players can do amazing things with the puck. What I’d like to see this season is that games are close, that we see a Game 5 in all our (best-of five) playoff series, and that we can get attendances up. The players are worth it.”