subject: The Swedish Hockey System - How It Works [print this page] The Swedish Hockey System - How It Works The Swedish Hockey System - How It Works
Here is a brief explanation of how the Swedish hockey leagues are set up.
The top league in Sweden is called the Eliteserien (Elite Series). The series is comprised of 12 teams from all over the country and the current defending champion is a team called HV71 from the town of Jonkoping. The second tier league is called Hockey Allsvenska and is made up of 14 teams, also from the entire country. Below Allsvenska there is Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3. These 3 bottom levels are divided into separate series based on geographical location.
Teams are able to move up and down to higher or lower divisions from year to year depending on their performance in the previous season. The format for qualifying up or being demoted down can vary slightly from year to year, but the general process is the same. For example, if your team is playing in Allsvenska and you finish the season in the top 2 or 3 of the standings, you will then move on to a playoff system in order to try to qualify up to the Elite Series. After a couple rounds of playoffs, there will be a qualification series which is like a mini-season between the top 2 teams from Allsvenska and the bottom 2 teams from the Elite Series and the two teams with the best record will be awarded a place in the Elite Series for the following season. On the other hand, if your team finishes at the bottom of Allsvenska, you will have to play in a qualification series with the top Division 1 teams in order to maintain your position in Allsvenska and avoid being demoted to Division 1 the following year.
So, in theory, it is possible for a team to advance from Division 3 all the way to the Elite Series in 5 seasons, although this is highly unlikely.
If you are interested in getting an official Swedish hockey jersey, you can visit the website contained in the author bio of this article, we are often holding drawings for them.
