Swedish Junior Hockey: Recent Episodes
Jacob Dahlin
Oscar Alsenfelt spent 16 seasons as one of the all time great goaltenders of the SHL. He got hsi big break advancing Vaxjo to the SHL and repeated the same in 13-14 season with Leksand and spent the rest of his career where he played junior hockey in Malmo Redhawks before retiring last season. Oscar quickly was announced as the General Manager for the SDHL, Sweden's Women's Hockey league and he has quickly made his presence known not only by his fame but his passion and cerebral aspect of growing the game.
Kristian Skarphagen now spends his time as a speaker and motivational coach for businesses in Sweden and Europe. In this episode we talk about his career as a strength and conditioning coach in Frolunda, KHL and for the Chicago Blackhawks organization and how his experiences in three countries and cultures has shaped his message to motivating both the body and mind of athletes and businesses today.
Jens Brandstrom is in his 19th year as a hockey coach and speaks of the opportunity to use his experience nad knowledge in all levels of coaching in Swedish youth hockey, womens hokey domestically and internationally to make the move to Hungary and now university hockey in Romania. Jens talks about the similarities and differences of the countries hockey programs and levels and how he is able to use his style of leadership and coaching for success.
Kevin Cunningham the GM, coach and owner of the Norwich Sea Captains in the NA3HL speaks of his journey to starting a new team in the North American 3 Hockey League in Tier 3 of the US Junior System. From his time in the college coaching to his time in the NAHL he speaks about what it's like to play and succeed in the American junior system at the Tier III level.
Lucas Karlsson is a big Swedish Defenseman, originally from Koping but as he tells it in his conversation, has always been a Leksand fan, grew up playing youth hockey from age 9 to 14 in Leksand, Sweden where his father Joakim was the youth hockey director. His brother, Jack (previous episode) is 2 years older and was a big influence and both boys competed from a young age together.
When, at the age of 14, the family decided to make a professional move for his fathers job, he ended up in Maryland and eventually with the Washington Jr Capitols organization for a few years playing AAA hockey.
His imposing physical size of 6' 3" and 196 lbs makes Lucas and imposing presence. He made the move away from home and followed his brothers footsteps to join the NJ Titans organization this year and recently was awarded a NAHL tender with the organization.
We talk about his goals, his experience and how next step is to make the main camp roster and opening day spot for the NAHL NJ Titans.
Daniel Eriksson, player development coach in the HV 71 organization talks about his background both as a general manager, coach and area manager for the Swedish Hockey Federation and how his love of the game has moved him from his full time role as a teacher and principal to now working full time with one of the top organizations in Sweden. His background paved the way to become an educator in the game of hockey and to grow the game both vertically and horizontally in HV 71. IN this episode, we talk about the differences between the big and small clubs in Sweden and also how Sweden is focused on the compete part of the game and trying to establish themselves in the absolute top of the hockey world.
After a career ending back injury and 10 months of bedridden recovery from back fusion, Alex made the conscious decision to become a goalie coach. Alex grew up in St Petersburg, Russia and was one step away from becoming a professional goalie in the Russian system when a back injury almost caused permanent paralysis requiring emergency back surgery. This episode talk about his journey as a player to coaching and how he made it to become one of the youngest coaches in general and specifically as a goalie coach in the KHL. Alex has since left Russia and when we recorded this episode temporary lives in Israel and looking for the next step in his hockey and personal journey of life.
Daniel Triesler lives in Copenhagen and certainly has an interesting background. From playing ACHA DIII college hockey in the US, he went on adventure to play mens D3 and D2 hockey in both Sweden and Denmark and found himself getting entrenched in the coaching life in both Sweden and Denmark. Daniel talks about how his love of the game has stretched his boundaries geographically as well as as a person and currently has the opportunity to work as a scout for Malmo Redhawks.
Kim Hilmersson, 6'1" and 207 lb powerful forward that grew up playing in Almtuna, Uppsala in Sweden. He has taken a different path to reach his goal to play collegiate hockey at the division 1 level in the US by playing 3 years at the AAA level for Seacoast Spartans in New Hampshire and now first year player with Maine Nordiques in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) in the US.
Kim speaks about the decision to leave Sweden and his family to billet and take online classes in High School with SPA in NH and the challenge with the language and a new family.
We talk about the difference in levels of play and style between Swedish U16 and US U16 and also J18 elite vs. U18AAA and NAHL. We also go into his goals of making the Swedish Junior National Team and how that has been some of a sacrifice to play in the US where it is easy to be forgotten from Swedish evaluations. The goal is still set and for the next two to three years year we will see Kim tear it up in the NAHL or higher.
Daniel Franck, CEO of Sportway, the developer of svenskhockey.tv or Swedish Hockey TV that all teams in Sweden uses to watch games at the U12 through juniors.
Daniel talks about the partnership with Swedish Hockey Federation and the penetration of participants across the footprint of rinks in Sweden and how this partnership has been crucial in getting traction with the technology.
Sportway has similar partnership in Finland, Norway and Denmark and is in the middle of installing 2,000 systems in indoor handball facilities in Norway.
We talk about the differences between systems in the US and how the technology often is thought to have an actual camera person and not artificial intelligence that handles the camera tracking.
Next stop US and Canada? Perhaps after we air this episode.
Enjoy!
Ludwig grew up playing youth hockey in Huddinge, a suburb of Stockholm and at the age 13 change to powerhouse Djurgarden until U16 when he and teammates and current SHL and NHL stars such as Timashow, Kempe, Kyllington, Lundin and Englund won the U16 National Championship. He then accepted the opportunity to go to academy (gymnasium) at the NIU level and play at BIK Karlskoga and received his degree as an electrician in 3 years. He moved back home to Stockholm after graduation and played Division 2 semi professionally for teams such as Varmdo, Transund, Handinge and Gota/Traneberg.
We discussed how one day a call came from EV Zug in the Swiss league for him to have the opportunity to try out and he got on a plane and took that opportunity. Even though he wasn't selected as one of the few import positions, it was a valuable experience and something he will never forget.
Because of the Covid shut downs, he eventually took the opportunity as a 26 year old player to make the change to be a coach. He accepted a position for the J20 Region team in Tyreso and this year as first year head coach for newly advanced Haninge in J20 Region East.
This episode focuses on Ludwig's journey and the ability to leverage his own experiences as a player and the opportunity to align mentally with the young players he is leading in their goals on the ice and in life.
Ludvig Steenberg was not selected for the Stockholm TV puck tournament and did not get a chance to play at the NIU Gymnasium in Hockey but worked hard and took his own path to continue to play.
After a year at SDE J18 Elite and 2 years in gymnasium (Swedish High School) he signed up to go play prep hockey at the National Sports Academy in Lake Placid, NY an. d did his senior and a post grad year there before graduating. His goal was to play college hockey in the US and joined the Connecticut Oilers in the EHL and won a EHL championship with a very good team there. At a showcase during the season he was offered the spot on the Plymouth State University in the NCAA DIII league and he realized his goals and dreams are coming true. He again charted his won path and declared his own major and graduated in 4 years with a degree in interdisciplinary studies and an experience of a lifetime. One of his teammates was from Norway and he went to play in the Norwegian Fjordkraft Legaen as a first year pro. Covid had a major impact of forcing some difficult decision and he decided after 2 years to move back home to Stockholm and got into coaching his first year in Sollentuna as he played for their Div. 1 team and took the position as the U16 head coach and assistant for the J18 team. This year, Ludvig is testing out all the years of hockey playing and learning from his past coaches and is the new head coach for Lidingo Vikings in J18 Region (elit) in Region East of Swedish Juniors. He is also the GM and oversees the developmental programs from U9 to J18.
We hope you enjoy following Ludvig's journey and learn details and experiences from both Swedish and US hockey programs.
Alec Roberson, a hockey player, fan and writer for Beyond The Glass Hockey is the guest of today's episode of the Swedish Jr Hockey Podcast.
Alec grew up in NC and found hockey later in his youth and fell in love with the game. During his undergrad at UNC WIlmington he played with the club team and turned heads during Friday lunch pick ups at the Greensboro Ice House during his law school days at Wake Forest University.
Alec has a passion for educating and informing the reader of details of specific areas of hockey. Prom his days working as a private practice attorney, his skillsets in details and breaking down processes, how things work in the inner circles of hockey, he challenges the reader and takes the complicated and makes it understandable to the public. Alee has a special interest when it comes to the health and wellness of hockey players and their families and in this episode we discuss some of this and I challenge him to dig further into the good and bad parts of junior hockey
Tomi Stahlhammar, currently the head coach of Jokerit U16 youth hockey team in Helsinki, Finland. Tomi started out his career in Espoo, Finland and enjoyed a strong youth to junior career and had several seasons in the finish junior national team before moving with his family to the US and a year with Cedar Rapids in the USHL. Tomi shares his journey and how his experience has groomed him for a future as a young coach in the finish juniors.
Kari Ellsworth, part owner of the NAHL Anchorage Wolverines and executive director of the new hockey documentary Year One.
Year One follows the inaugural season of the Anchorage Wolverines in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) following the trend of sports documentaries such as Last Chance U on Amazon Prime and Cheer on Netflix. For the Swedish audience, this is the American version of Rinkside or Eagles and Beartown.
Kari explains the origin for the idea of creating the documentary, her background as a sports journalist in Anchorage and how she herself was drawn into the lives of the players and their amazing season in 21-22.
Although the movie/series is currently in post production with a release date approx 6 months, you can find the trailer at www.yearonefilms.com or on YouTube and Facebook. You can also follow Kari Ellsworth on Twitter @Karibusto
Ted Suikhonen grew up in Duluth, MN, USA and won a national high school championship and the following year the Kelly Cup with USHL's Lincoln Stars in their inaugural season. He moved on to the D1 program at University of Alaska – Anchorage and figured the trajectory would follow. After 2.5 years in Alaska, against the advice of his parents, he left to go pro in Europe once the phone did not ring at the pro level in the US. As a young hockey player at a variety of countries such as Netherlands, Italy, Sweden. A second major knee injury finally ended his playing career and moved back to the US to get into coaching at the High School level in Alaska. Ted has since spent the last 18 years in a variety of coaching positions in the US, Norway, Sweden. Prior to this year, Ted worked as Direct or of Player Development for the M20 in the Russian Junior League for HC Lokomotiv and this year moved in a similar position with EVZ Zug in the Swiss League.
In this episode we not only talk about his journey and his experience but also how his player career has shaped and molded him as a coach. How the first few years were mainly about pressing the throttle with practices and games but in later years, after finishing his degree and later getting into the neuroscience of learning has put him on the map as one of the premier skills and player development coaches in Europe.
You can find details and examples of his beliefs, techniques and videos by following him on Twitter @tedsuihkonen77 and on IG @suihkonen.77. Here you can not only find great video content but also the philosophy behind WHAT, HOW and most importantly the WHY specific things are done.
We hope you enjoy this episode of the Swedish Junior Hockey Podcast. If you like what you hear, please share it with your friends and subscribe as a regular listener on your choice of podcast player.
Feel free to contact us by sending a DM on Twitter @SwedishJrHockey, IG @swedishjuniorhockey and on FB Swedish Junior Hockey
Tommy Salo is someone that needs very little introduction. From growing up in a small torn of Surahammar and his path from playing with older players as a youth hockey athlete and how his success drove his focus at age 15 to go to hockey gymnasium in Vasteras. Tommy spend over a decade as a international team goalie in both juniors and Sweden's Olympic and world cup teams. One of the most iconic goaltenders in Swedish history with an Olympic and World Championship gold medals.
We talk about his rapid rise in the ranks and how he got a call ion a hotel room telephone during vacation in Florida that he was drafted to the Islanders.
We also talk about his views on junior hockey players and specific players such as Filip Forsberg as a GM and how Sweden's system has a proven history of producing top level players in the world.
Joel Kinnander from Olofstroms IK, 2003 and starting his final year of Swedish Juniors in J20 Elite. In this episode we discuss his journey from being a late starter to a strong finisher, his big frame and how it suits his dream of playing juniors and D1 college in the US or Canada and how his goals drive his strategy for improvements but also how to market himself and get noticed by teams from across the Atlantic.
Leo Girod speaks about his unique journey from being born in Havana, Cuba and growing up in the French alps in a hockey family of Grenoble. He took the leap of faith to make it as a professional hockey player in Sweden and through a lot of hard work and utilizing his personality and networking skills, built a name for himself the right way one relationship at a time. Leo has since started Gotmyteam.com, a platform for players, coaches, clubs and agents to find and share opportunities to advance. Hope you find the episode enjoyable and inspiring.
Casper Stockfisch, GM and coach for Vojens IK J17 and J20 hockey club jumped straight into coaching juniors after a promising hockey career was cut short due to injuries. In this episode of Swedish Junior Hockey Podcast we talk about the differences between the Swedish and Danish junior hockey system and some advice he would give himself 10 years ago today.
Urban Omark grew up in Overtornea 1000 km from Stockholm next to the border to Finland where a small non-hockey town produced three brothers and a cousin to play at the absolute elite level of National and International Hockey. After a long and successful career, Markus Naslund makes the call for Urban to get into coaching the MODO J18. This episode highlights what makes a team great and the challenges even big clubs have to sustain success at the highest level.
Jack Karlsson, oldest son of Joakim Karlsson (episode 2) talks about his journey from Leksand U16 to hockey gymnasium in Almtuna to powerhouse Farjestads J20 elite and eventually to winning a National Championship with the New Jersey Titans in the North American Hockey League. Jack discusses the ups and down of being passed over at the gymasium level to clawing his way through Covid and eventually finding success in North American Hockey.
Kim Lindgren is coaching Saltjobaden J18 while working a full time job. His view of coaching U12 up to J18 in Sweden gives the listener a great view of the big market landscape of Stockholm and how small clubs like Saltsjobaden plays an important role in the growth of hockey.
Nicola Blomqvist is the goalie and video coach for Malmo Redhawks U16/J18 and J20 teams. In this episode we will discuss how it is to work as a goalie and video coach in one of the top clubs in Sweden, the utilization of technology and teamwork with the rest of the coaching staffs between multiple teams.
Philip Warmegard the strength and conditioning coach for IK Oskarshamn J18/J20 and SHL team has leveraged his own experiences as a player and has a goal to impact young men in a small market culture of IK Oskarshamn and competing well with the biggest and most established clubs in SHL.
Today's guest is a Steve MacIntyre or Big Mac as he sometimes is known as. Today we deviate a little away from junior hockey specifically but will talk about the commitment to a craft that takes a person from the Canadian farm land to the Western Hockey League to the NHL. The influence of coaches that propelled his career from a minor league big guy to one of the most feared enforcers in NHL history. We hope you enjoy this conversation!
Erik Vikstrom from Umea, Sweden, a long time coach in both Swedish Juniors, Swedish and Danish Elite League coach and also Swedish Parahockey team in Olympics. In this episode we dive into Erik's experience in Leksand Hockey School, working for a NIU Hockey Gymnasium, ParaHockey and also the climate in the Danish Top League.
Mans Karlsson is the editor in Chief at Hockeysverige.se, one of the most prominent publication of hockey news content in Sweden. We will discuss which programs in Sweden produces the best talent to the SHL and NHL, the affiliation with Eliteprospects and the upcoming NHL draft.
Ian Gately from New Hampshire, USA shares his story from Tier 3 juniors in NA3HL to J20 Elite in Baden, Sweden and the twists and turns to play hockey in a new country. You will find the journey worthwhile and entertaining.
Joakim Karlsson grew up in Koping, Sweden and has many years of coaching and currently resides in Maryland, USA and is a father to two junior hockey players. Todays episode will focus on the path for Swedish hockey players from youth hockey to Gymnasium to Juniors in the Swedish system.
Johan Erikson lives in Welland, ON and native of Karlstad, Sweden. In this episode we discuss the Swedish junior hockey vs. Canadian system and how players are seeking the thrill of playing in North America.