Ice hockey in Sweden
 Ice hockey in Sweden
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| Association: | Svenska Ishockeyförbundet |
| Founded: | 1922 |
| IIHF member since: | 1920 |
| First international match: | |
Sweden 8-0 Belgium 1920 in Antwerp , Belgium |
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| Medal winners men: | |
| WM: | 11 × gold, 16 × silver, 13 × bronze |
| Olympia: | 2 × gold, 2 × silver, 4 × bronze |
| Medal winners women: | |
| WM: | 1 × bronze |
| Olympia: | 1 × silver, 1 × bronze |
Ice hockey is one of the most popular sports in Sweden . In percentage terms, 0.75% of the population (approx. 67,500) do sport, which puts the Scandinavian country in third place behind Canada (1.76%) and Finland (1.2%). In comparison, only 0.04 percent of the population in Germany play ice hockey; in Switzerland and Austria the rate is 0.35 and 0.1 percent, respectively.
The sport of ice hockey is organized on a national level by the Swedish ice hockey association Svenska Ishockeyförbundet . In the current IIHF world rankings , the Swedish men's team is in second place, the women in fourth place.
history
With the spread of ice hockey , which originated in Canada , in Europe towards the end of the 19th century , the Nordic countries Sweden and Finland in particular found a new national sport in this game, as, among other things, the conditions in these countries were ideal for ice hockey, which was then still played in the open air were. In some parts of Sweden, ice hockey could be played all year round, a decisive advantage over other European countries.
By 1920 , ice hockey was firmly established as a sport in Sweden. At the demonstration tournament at the Olympic Games in the same year, a group of bandy players came together, who could achieve fourth place for Sweden. The Swedish national team won the silver medal as early as the 1928 Olympic Games in St. Moritz .
Since 1922 the Swedish ice hockey championship has also been played at national level , this happened in various competitions until the establishment of the professional league Elitserien in 1975 , after which the winner of this league automatically became national champion. In June 2013 the league was renamed Svenska Hockeyligan . The record winner with 16 titles is the Djurgårdens IF ice hockey team .
Overall, Sweden has been Olympic champion twice ( 1994 and 2006 ), and the World Championship has been won 10 times, most recently in 2017 in Cologne.
See also the main article: Swedish national ice hockey team
Several international tournaments have also taken place on Swedish soil, including the ice hockey world championships in 1949 , 1954 , 1963 , 1969 and 1970 in Stockholm , in 1981 next to the capital in Gothenburg , in 1989 in Södertälje , in 1995 in Gävle and in 2002 in different Swedish cities. In addition, the 2005 women's ice hockey world championship was held in Linköping and Norrköping .
In addition to the awards from Svenska Hockeyligan , the Swedish Ice Hockey Association has awarded the guldpucken for the best Swedish ice hockey player every year since 1956 , as well as the awards for coach of the year since 1993 and for Sweden's best ice hockey player since 2004 . A special feature is the Viking Award , which is given exclusively to Swedish players in the North American professional league NHL .
organization
Ice hockey was part of the Swedish Football Association until 1922 , and membership of the IIHF , which Sweden had been a part of since 1920 , was transferred to the new association with the founding of Svenska Ishockeyförbundet in 1922.
The umbrella organization Svenska Ishockeyförbundet today organizes the two professional leagues Svenska Hockeyligan (SHL) and HockeyAllsvenskan as well as numerous lower-class leagues in which a total of over 650 clubs are organized.
Swedish players in North America
Due to the high quality and the perfectly organized Scandinavian ice hockey due to the broad base, the National Hockey League quickly became aware of the Swedish and Finnish star players, who have been increasingly committed by teams from the best professional league in the world since the 1980s. Swedes who are successful in North America include a .:
- Daniel Alfredsson - current player for the Detroit Red Wings
- Per Johan Axelsson - 851 NHL appearances for the Boston Bruins
- Ulf Dahlén - 1,051 NHL missions, a. a. for the New York Rangers , the Minnesota North Stars, and the San Jose Sharks
- Nils Ekman - 292 NHL appearances for the Pittsburgh Penguins , San Jose Sharks and Tampa Bay Lightning
- Peter Forsberg - 859 NHL missions, a. a. for the Colorado Avalanche ; Hart Memorial Trophy , Art Ross Trophy (2003) and Calder Memorial Trophy (1995) winners
- Johan Franzén - current player in the Detroit Red Wings
- Johan Garpenlöv - 653 NHL missions, a. a. for the San Jose Sharks and Florida Panthers
- Bengt-Åke Gustafsson - 647 NHL appearances for the Edmonton Oilers and Washington Capitals
- Johan Hedberg - current goalkeeper for the New Jersey Devils
- Tomas Holmström - current player in the Detroit Red Wings
- Kenny Jönsson - 705 NHL appearances for the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders
- Anders Kallur - 450 NHL appearances for New York Islanders
- Niklas Kronwall - current player in the Detroit Red Wings
- Nicklas Lidström - former Detroit Red Wings player; Winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy (2001-2003, 2006) and the Conn Smythe Trophy (2002); Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 1997, 1998 and 2002
- Andreas Lilja - current player of the Anaheim Ducks
- Per-Eric Lindbergh - 180 NHL appearances for the Philadelphia Flyers ; Vezina Trophy 1985
- Henrik Lundqvist - current New York Rangers player
- Fredrik Modin - 955 NHL missions, a. a. for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning; Stanley Cup winner with Tampa Bay Lightning 2004
- Douglas Murray - current player in the Calgary Flames
- Markus Näslund - 1,169 NHL missions, a. a. for the Vancouver Canucks ; Lester B. Pearson Award 2003
- Mats Näslund - 753 NHL appearances for the Montréal Canadiens and Boston Bruins; Lady Byng Memorial Trophy 1988, Stanley Cup - 1986 with the Canadiens, Hockey Hall of Fame since 2005
- Mattias Norström - 959 NHL missions, a. a. for the Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars
- Michael Nylander - 967 NHL missions, a. a. for the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers
- Samuel Påhlsson - current player in the Columbus Blue Jackets
- Mikael Renberg - 728 NHL missions, a. a. for the Philadelphia Flyers and the Toronto Maple Leafs
- Börje Salming - 1,229 NHL appearances for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings
- Tommy Salo - 548 NHL appearances for the New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers
- Mikael Samuelsson - current Detroit Red Wings player
- Daniel Sedin - current Vancouver Canucks player
- Henrik Sedin - current Vancouver Canucks player
- Alexander Steen - current player of the St. Louis Blues
- Mats Sundin - 1,437 appearances in the NHL, a. a. for the Toronto Maple Leafs
- Henrik Tallinder - current New Jersey Devils player
- Dick Tärnström - 275 NHL appearances for the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers
- Mikael Tellqvist - 113 NHL missions, a. a. for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Phoenix Coyotes
- Henrik Zetterberg - current player in the Detroit Red Wings
- Kent Nilsson - 553 NHL appearances a. a. for Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota North Stars