SDHL Halfway Check-In: Part 1 (10-6)

The SDHL, Sweden's top division, is now on break for the next leg of the Euro Hockey Tour, signaling the midway point of their schedule. There's a very defined upper and lower half of the table thus far, and the first part of this check-in will focus on the latter.

HV71 (2-1-0-13, 8 pts, 10th of 10)

Other teams have seen their leading scorer depart in the offseason, but at least they retained their second-in-command. Not the case here. With Elin Svensson heading to Gävle and Hilda Svensson off to Ohio State, HV71 has suffered losses that have proved insurmountable this season. Their co-leading scorers, Kennedy Bobyck and Teghan Inglis, have fewer points apiece than Elin Svensson has goals for Brynäs. The addition of Evelyne Blais-Savoie has certainly helped in the faceoff dot, but not as much on the scoresheet, whether it be points or penalty minutes. Adriana Van De Leest has filled in admirably on the top pair, but hasn’t been able to replicate what HV71 got out of Jenna Raunio, who joined Hilda Svensson with the Buckeyes.

The goaltending has been a bright spot in this down year, at the very least. You can tell a netminder is getting shelled if their goals against average is inflated yet their save percentage remains respectable, and that’s exactly the case with Stephanie Neatby’s 3.20 and .911. Last year’s starter, Viktorie Švejdová, has been good when called upon, if a bit erratic. Their efforts notwithstanding, it looks like HV71 is bound for the relegation series for the second consecutive season.

Player to Watch: Ema Tóthová

With Julia Nearis receiving an invite to Boston Fleet training camp, Tóthová should have an opportunity to break into the top six, though how long that opportunity lasts remains to be seen. The Slovakian center, often second in national team scoring behind someone named Nela Lopušanová, has done well in her first season outside her home country. Tóthová’s put up two goals and five points thus far, good for a tie for fourth on HV71 as well as third among players with 2007 birthdays behind Frölunda’s Edit Danielsson and MoDo’s Lovisa Engström.

Färjestad BK (5-0-1-11, 16 pts, 9th of 10)

I don’t care what their record says, this is the most entertaining team in the SDHL. Färjestad’s games have featured 101 combined goals, the most in the league, and no one embodies this run-and-gun style more than Katie Chan. The Cornell graduate’s speed has translated excellently to the larger ice in Sweden, and despite being on for the most goals against of any forward, she’s maintained a plus rating through pure offensive firepower. Alongside her, Ella Albinsson is on a shooting percentage bender for the ages, scoring on 24.4% of her 41 shots to put her second in league goal-scoring behind Elisa Holopainen.

The additions of Alexie Guay and Annie Silén on the blueline have provided some much-needed stability amidst the chaos, and while netminder Ida Boman’s numbers are down from past years she’s as capable of stealing games as ever, just ask Frölunda. I cannot stress enough how incredible it is for a team fresh off promotion to be the ones to snap defending champions' 15-game unbeaten streak, plus erase a five-goal deficit against a legitimate contender in Brynäs for good measure. Just look past the double-digit goals that third-place Luleå dropped on them, okay?

Player to Watch: Emma Murén

Murén not only led Färjestad to promotion on the ice, putting up three points a night in the NDHL, but she also led them there off of it. She’s been the team’s general manager since the 2023-24 season. Every single player mentioned above, along with Lauren Bellefontaine, Michelle Löwenhielm, and more, were brought in by Murén this offseason to allow the team to keep pace in the highest division. She’s contributed to her own cause nicely as well, with 12 points in 17 games in the first half. Färjestad truly is Murén’s team, in a more literal sense than anyone the turn of phrase could be used for.

Skellefteå AIK (5-0-2-11, 17 pts, 8th of 10)

Skellefteå is tied for the second-lowest scoring team in the SDHL, but it sure isn't for a lack of trying. Ida Kuoppala is second in the league in shots with 76, but only has three goals to her name. Millie Rose Sirum’s 68 shots are right behind Kuoppala, and she’s got three as well. Jenna Pirttijärvi is just outside the top ten, and guess what? Three goals. It seems the only ones not snakebitten on this team are 15-year-old Tilia Lindgren, who’s only played the first two games of the season, and Aino Karppinen, who leads the team in goals with five as a defender.

Their goaltending situation has been quite intriguing as well. Out of the three netminders Skellefteå's had both this season and last, being Miranda Dahlgren, Camryn Drever, and Blanka Škodová, Dahlgren played the least games in 2024-25. However, she appears to be wrestling the starter’s job from a struggling Drever, recording a 2.27 GAA and .914 SV% in eight games compared to the Albertan’s 3.02/.891 in ten. Whoever Skellefteå ends up running with needs to perform in the second half, as they’re clinging on to the final playoff spot with Färjestad hot on their heels.

Player to Watch: Nicoline Söndergaard Jensen

The captain of Denmark’s national team, Söndergaard Jensen has been a focal point of Skellefteå’s offense for the last three years, and played a major role in their promotion to the SDHL following the 2023-24 season. This season, she’s third on the team in points and second in points per game, with the discrepancy coming from the fact that she missed Skellefteå’s last four games. It’s unclear whether or not Söndergaard Jensen will be ready to return following the break, but her presence would be a massive boost for Skellefteå, especially with an important tilt against seventh-place Djurgården as their first game back. Speaking of...

Djurgårdens IF (5-1-1-10, 18 pts, 7th of 10)

Making up for the offseason departures of Tereza Plosová (University of Minnesota), Tereza Pištěková (SDE), and Hana Haasová (Linköping) has been a decidedly mixed bag thus far for Djurgården. Brette Pettet has picked up her scoring pace and Alice Östensson has fully taken advantage of her heightened opportunity, already sitting at higher totals than she put up all of last season. On the other side of the coin, they’re averaging less than two a game as a group, Linda Vocetková is shooting under 5%, and Kaitlin Jockims still sits second in team goal-scoring despite not having found the back of the net since September.

They’ve struggled to keep pucks out of their own net as well. Lauren Bench, though serviceable, isn’t reaching the same level as the departed Boman, and an injury to Charlotte Akervik on defense hasn’t helped matters either. Djurgården’s first half has been rife with inconsistency, but their comparatively lower ceiling than others experiencing this issue has prevented them from escaping the bottom half of the table.

Player to Watch: Isabelle Leijonhielm

Leijonhielm, the other of Djurgården's top five scorers from last year to return alongside Pettet, has been streaky in her own right. The 19-year-old put up a point per game for a stretch of seven contests, but has just a single point outside of that run. The other facets of Leijonhielm’s game are what set her apart, though. She’s the team’s best faceoff taker with a 53.2% success rate and has only been on the ice for six opposition goals, completely blowing Östensson’s 14, Pettet’s 15, and Jockims’ 18 out of the water. Leijonhielm’s got a lot of Sara Hjalmarsson in her game and that’s a good sign for her trajectory, especially as she cracked the Swedish senior national team for the first time last year.

Linköping HC (5-2-2-7, 21 pts, 6th of 10)

Ebba Svensson Träff.

Player to Watch: Ebba Svenss- Alright fine, I’ll write the section properly.

I do have to give Svensson Träff her flowers first, though. She’s somehow picked up where she left off last season, putting up outstanding performances night in and night out despite receiving minimal goal support. While she isn’t on pace to replicate her ridiculous eight shutouts from last year, her 1.87 GAA and .945 SV%, if they stand, would be career highs for the 20-year-old.

Svensson Träff not requiring as many shutouts to win games does mean she’s gotten a bit more help thus far. Hjalmarsson, speak of the devil, is once again leading Linköping in scoring, but she’s due to head to Sceptres training camp soon. That’s where Ellie Kaiser and Madie Leidt come in, as the newcomers have potted a combined 11 goals, many of the clutch variety. They should keep Linköping’s offense treading water in Hjalmarsson’s absence, but if the center does indeed sign in Toronto, they’ll definitely need some support the rest of the way. Haasová finding her early-season form again and the continued reacclimation of Haruka Toko following a long-term injury are likely the best places to look for it.