[SHL] Hockeylördag - Season opener in virus times

Welcome back to my weekly SHL thread that I've been running more or less every Saturday for 4? years.

We'll start off with a short preview of all the teams since it's the season opener and then we'll list the games. Later in the season top scorers and standings will be added but there's no reason for that yet.

Brynäs: Had a rough season last year and missed the playoffs. Switched coach to a harder style coach. Peter Andersson, formerly of Malmö. Lets see if it pays off. The roster itself is also mighty upgraded with players coming home to Sweden (K. Berglund, Bertilsson, Nyberg) and upgrades from other teams (Patrik Berglund, Victor Andrén). Still expecting them around 10th. But depending on how quickly they adapt to the new system they can finish literally anywhere in the standings.

Djurgården: Injuries and not wanting to spend on players because of COVID (risk of running out of money), Djurgården has lost a lot of players and barely signed any. They are also combatting a lot of injuries as mentioned, so expect us to see lots of youngsters and juniors in the line-up. It's not necessarily going to go bad, but it's risky putting all the eggs in the junior basket. I expect them to have a hard time this season. But who knows, maybe Holtz will go off and score 70 points or something. For now look for them in the lower regions of the standings.

Frölunda: The favourite who fell out of the top 6 last year, still won the CHL and have strengthened their team with a lot of interesting players like NHL-prospects Norlinder and Sellgren and a returning star forward in Jan Mursak. Ryan Lasch is gone which is the big question mark. But expect Frölunda to fight for the gold this year, they have a title to defend after all, with last years season not finishing like normal and no champion crowned.

Färjestad: Was strong last year, they are even better this year, on paper. See them as the clear favourite going in with star D Jesse Virtanen returning and a lot of young guns signing while the managed to retain the players the wanted, even in these times. If they perform as expected look for them glued to the top of the standings.

HV71: The most improved team, from an already very solid position. They got some great players coming in like Wedin, Forsberg and Kokkonen. They managed to retain what they wanted and secure a loan for Lias Andersson. HV should challenge for the gold this year, anything else would be seen as a failure. PS. they've got some great prospects to keep an eye on, Nybeck and Andrae seem to get a full season this year.

Leksand: Saved by the bell (COVID) with relegation playoffs cancelled. Leave nothing to chance this year and have spent more money than anyone else trying to make sure the chance they got to stay isn't wasted. Got a great first line with Cehlárik, Hrivík and Camper. The rest of the team still need some work. Should be able to avoid relegation play, but it won't be easy. Look for them next to Djurgården and Brynäs and in the bottom 5.

Linköping: After a few rough years it seems to be a turning point for Linköping. Robertsson's system seem to have started to produce results at the end of last season and this year they've strengthened the roster so much that they should be able to challenge for playoffs. If they don't, then the future is grim since they've been stuck in purgatory for a while now and money is starting to become a problem.

Luleå: Was easily the best last year and look equally strong this year if not for one thing, they lost Lassinantti to the KHL. With their starting goalie gone they'll have to trust veteran Rautio who back-upped last year and superstar prospect Jesper Wallstedt to provide the same security. Should contend for the win this year and join Färjestad and HV with the glue at the top.

Malmö: No money, lost their headcoach, will lose their best player come NHL-start. Yeah this is looking grim from the outside. Improved their D with Lauridsen brothers and still have top 3 goalie in the league in Alsenfelt so it's not all doom. But I expect them to be battling to avoid relegation, with a thin roster lacking star power, while also having to adapt to a new system.

Oskarshamn: Was worst last year (as expected), will probably be worst this year. Retained their spot in the league thanks to relegation playoffs being cancelled. But they do look interesting even if they on paper aren't strong enough to challenge anyone else. New young coach, lots of misfits and prospects from all over Europe. Cheap and expected to be relegated but still exciting.

Rögle: Last years surprise team, seems to have retained a solid foundation but they did lose their 2 best players in Curran and Brithén. Signed Canadian junior Raphaël Lavoie which seemed exciting, but they seem to have voided his contract today (with a clause). Interesting team, solid foundation but some question marks and now this breaking a contract on the day of the opener. Should be solid, have decent goaltending and strong forwards. But there's question marks on how they've replaced their lost stars. Should make the playoffs anyway though.

Skellefteå: Always good as long as their veteran duo of Möller and Lindström produce. Nothing says they won't continue that this year. Added the record breaking top scorer from the Allsvenskan and retained most of their team while having a great academy full of prospects that can challenge for spots. Should be equal or better than last year. Only weird thing is having three shared head coaches instead of one with the main responsibilities. We'll see how that works out for them.

Växjö: Coming off their worst season since promotion to SHL has meant seeing fan favourites like Shinnimin leave to make space for new players. Goldmakers from 2018 Joel Persson and Robert Rosén are back, they've got a whole Finndefense signed and spiced the team up with American junior star Jack Drury coming over. Should finish top 6 or it's a failure for them. But with all the question marks it's hard to expect more than a top 10 finish. Can land literally anywhere in the standings and that's a sentiment shared by mostly everyone.

Örebro: Finally looking like a challenger for top positions, they've built their strongest roster ever after coming off a solid season. Borna Rendulic and Nick Ebert are joining and so is Jhonas Enroth. Should finish in the playoff spots comfortably after finally turning it around last year after a few mediocre years.

A lot of games got postponed because of a decision by the government to raise the minimum attendance allowed so while waiting for conformation on that teams decided to re-schedule in hope of getting more income from the games. Hence why half the teams aren't playing.

Today's games:

*Time listed in CET

I'll try to keep this consistent for every week, but there's always one or two misses per season because of other commitments. For now tune into a new and exciting SHL season with all the unpredictability that comes with it.