Rats angered by chicken

The weathered AIK supporters like giving it large, but apparently can not stand it when they get some back. Örebro's new signing, former Djurgården player Markus Kristoffersson proves hockey players do have a sense of humour as he is led to the dressing room. The reaction of the travelling supporters might not be unexpected, but still completely uncalled for. Personally, I think it's a great wind-up. More of this please!

Check the run-up to the incident (immediately) and the incident itself (aprox. 1.25 into the clip).

Yetman leaves Västerås

It would seem that Patrick Yetman has made his last appearance in VIK's black and yellow jersey. When he signed, he only signed until the christmas break with the option of continuing if both parties so wanted. Västerås has apparently signed Carl Corazzini on a try-out contract, and with teams being limited to two non-european players on the bench, it seems likely either Christian Larrivee or Patrick Yetman is heading away. Larrivee is still under contract - so guess who's it might be.

Even more interestingly, where is he headed?

Eddie Meduza - a prophet?

Rodents close to extinction?

The latest news in the AIK saga is that the sign up for share options is going slower than expected. In a statement to Aftonbladet, chairman Peter Mellqvist said the club needs to bring in SEK 20 million. At the moment, the club has sold shares for less than half of this sum (9.3 million). The signing up period seems to have been extended by one more week to 31/12, but if the club has not received the sum required by then, the likelyhood of the club surviving is slim.

Players are warned they might not get paid for December. 'I hope we can, but there are no guarantees. We struggle to make our payments every month' says Mellqvist. Apparently, goalie Christopher Heino-Lindberg, have not been receiving payments  into his pensions account, as promised by the club, for the last few months.

The climate for rats are apparently better in Alberta

This of course means things are desperate indeed. It would be a sad day for Swedish ice hockey when [most likely]or if [miracles might happen!] the club hits the wall. Regardless of the short-term outcome, both supporters and the members of the board room will have to accept shared responsibility for the situation the club finds itself in. The marketing/sponsorship chasing part of the club has been non-existent over the last few years. And looking at the economical results they have made over the last few seasons, no measures has been taken to adjust the size of the outgoings. The supposedly 'numerous' supporters have stayed away game after game, even though the club has taken major steps forwards over the past couple of seasons. This combination is of course a perfect recipe for economical disaster. I'm no economist, but I know when my arse is above my head!

It seems supporters are more interested in watching football or floorball rather than ice hockey. Philistines!

I truly hope the club will make it, but the future does look dark for the infamous rats of Solna.

Round Up: Mora on fire!

Mora IK took thir ninth (!) consecutive win when they ripped apart Malmö on away ice. The final result was 4-1 to the guests. Mora is now in the final automatic qualification spot for Kvalserien. Harald Lückner has done a brilliant job with this young team and has surprised most experts with their performance of late. Malmö on the other hand has shown very patchy form lately and needs to improve if they are to avoid having to go through the play offs for a place in Kvalserien. It might help that they are finally getting rid of goal tender Jani Hurme who has not only been one of the most expensive players in the league, but also a complete liability once he has been on the ice. A reported salary of around SEK 310.000/month is now taken away from the expenses account at Redhawks. I'd happily open a door for a few days per month for 3x20 minutes for less than that. Percy, call me!

Good bye and thank you for the fish!

In the mid-season final, injury hit Leksand beat Växjö comprehensively with 8-3. This will give LIF a little bit of breathing space at the summit. Off the ice rumours are rife the club is about to sign a forward (center?) of some some statue. As always with Leksand in the rumour mill, more or less realistic names are branded around. Suffice to say, one the day arrives, we shall all find out.

In the fight for the play off spots, Bofors secured in important result by grabbing the extra point following a penalty shoot out at Borås. Borås  now has six points up to play off place and Bofors are now pleased not to have to feel them breathing down their neck.

At the other end of the table, Sunsvall lost important points after ending up on the wrong side of a 6-3 score at Björklöven and Oskarshamn looks on the money for relegation after losing at home against demotion rivals Troja/Ljungby 3-0.

There is still much to go of the season, but the table seems to divide up in clear sections. However, any team getting on a streak like Mora is currently would quickly move up the table. One thing is for sure, the league is tighter than it has ever been and teams keep dropping and taking points from each other like never before. Is this a sign of the strength of the league, or is it because the top teams are weaker than in recent years? I guess we will find out in Kvalserien.

Lihagen's life saved by referee

In the derby between Bofors and Örebro yesterday, Niklas Lihagen fell to the ice after what seemed an innocuous incident. The referee noticed the Örebro forward remaining on the ice after play continued elsewhere and stopped the game immediately. Lihagen was unconcious and had no pulse and would possibly not still be alive, had it not been for referee Wolmer Edqvist, a day time ambulance driver, who started resuscitation immidiately. Ambulance arrived on the ice after a few minutes and Lihagen is now in intensive care, but said to feel fine.

But in all this, Bofors supporters were chanting 'Let him die' and 'Get the corpse off the ice'. This is by no means surprising as their vocal supporters are generally kids who are just finding their first pubic hairs. They had a bad reputation before, but this is taking them to a new low. Sadly enough, inbreeding just got a bad name.

Also, while hockey is the love of my life (along with Mrs LondonMas of course), this really puts things in perspective. I've been known to shout abuse at referees and players alike, but here we have a man who steps up to the plate when needed. All respect to Wolmer Edqvist.

 

This doesn't mean I won't shout abuse at him next time he referees a game I'm watching.

AIK Ltd while waiting for the rubels

The saga of AIK goes on. The team yesterday lost at home against promotion hopefuls Malmö at home. Not too surprising, but AIK fans are really letting the team down. Just over 2.500 spectators came to this important game between two of the top teams in the division. AIK has budgeted for 4.000 attending per game, and at the moment the average is a paltry 2.077. For a team with economical problems this is obviously disastrous. Some could even say it's slightly ironic for a team who claims to be the most supported team in Sweden under the slogan 'We're Everywhere'. Everywhere apart from in Johanneshov that is. The club lost SEK 8.000.000 last season and had hoped to break even this season - with falling attendances and a tough sponsoring market, this has now been adjusted to a prediction of of about SEK -8.000.000 again.

The Weekly Echo

Before the game, an announcement was made regarding the future of the club: The hockey section is going public in order to get the funds to meet the rules of not being in debt for two years running. The club is aiming to raise SEK 9.350.000 through issuing and selling shares. The offer is for SEK 12.50 per share for a minimum of 200 shares. This is a  cost of SEK 2.500 per post. Even though this is a substantial sum for most people, it should usually be manageable if you are a big fan. However, people only have 10 days to sign up, and adding to that, the deadline is just before Christmas. If money ever is tight, it is during the jolly season. Or are they hoping for this to be a stocking filler??? The timing could obviously have been better, and the notice period could also have been made a little bit longer. It seems as if they are trying to make things difficult for themselves...

'Are you selling those pesky shares?'

The club, in its statement, reiterates its ambition to join the KHL and somewhat strangely adds that the efforts to join the Swedish top league is not conflicting with their ambition to join the KHL. Ehhh...??? At the same time, Viacheslav Fetisov has been is Stockholm on a crash visit to check out the credentials of AIK. He says KHL would be proud to be welcoming AIK with its long tradition and many (sic!) fans. He also indicates KHL would help AIK sort out its economic issues if needed. That'd be a nice russian bear-hug if anything.

Its obvious AIK is stuck in between the proverbial rock and hard place. There really seem to be only three options for the club:

• Advance to the Swedish top league at the end of this season. Not looking likely the way things are looking on the ice, but not impossible. The extra SEK 28.000.000 in TV money would certainly not hurt.
• Join the KHL. I don't think that is the future, but it certainly beats folding. It is a lifeline, and KHL seem just as desperate as AIK to make this work. I do however think this is likely to be stopped by the Swedish Hockey Association.
  
• Fold and start again from the bottom under a new name. Not an ideal situation, but the club can not keep going as is at the moment.
  

Anger signs for Leksand?

According to people in the know, Leksand will announce the signing of Niklas Anger from Timrå. The forward has been released after a torrid season, scoring only five points from 25 games. Previous season  he managed a very respectful 42 points from 51 games in a struggling Djurgården side.

I find this somewhat strange as the team has more forwards than enough, and what is really need is an outright center. He's not a bad player by any means, but the money could be spent much better. Anger is also rumoured to go to Switzerland.

Update: False Alarm! Timrå confirms Anger is leaving the club. In a statement issued they say he is leaving for a Swiss club.

Source: http://www.hockeykanalen.se/1.1392214/2009/12/13/timra_bekraftar_anger_lamnar_klubben

Update 2: He has now officially been named in the Basle squad

Elitserien to get NHL sized rinks?

The Swedish Hockey League and the directors of the top clubs in Sweden yesterday discussed the possibility of changing the rink size from the current Olympic size (30m x 60m) to NHL sized rinks (26m x 61m). There has been sporadic calls for this for a long time, and they are now taking it up for debate and looking at the costs involved in changing the rinks. They are also keeping the option open of having an in-between sized rink of 28m x 60m that (as far as I'm aware) is used by some teams in Finland.

This is a reaction of the dropping popularity of Elitserien, the top Swedish league (also known as SEL). I assume the hockey league are desperate to get people back into the arenas and have now listened to the people who advocate the NHL sized rink as the solution to all the ills and problems of man-kind. From personal experience I think it is generally the sports fans who prefer to watch hockey from the comfort of their armchair who are the most vocal supporters of this. The have watched a few NHL games and are astonished with the speed in which the games are played. Of course, as armchair supporters that tend to watch the Stanley Cup semis or the final games when teams are giving it their all. Personally I am not a great fan of NHL - mainly due to the style of play which is forced due to the smaller rink. Dump'n'Chase is not my idea of entertainment. Nor is eating popcorn while watching a game.

Another important aspect they forget when considering this is the quality of the players. SEL is in all respects, a reasonable league, but in comparison to any NHL team, they are mediocre at best. Watching mediocre ice hockey on a small rink leaves you with Dump'n'Chase without the Chase. What's the point? Especially as in the Swedish hockey of today, you're hardly allowed to tackle anyone.

For me, it would diminish the important tactical aspects of the game. With the bigger rink size you have an awful lot more space to direct the play, smaller sized rinks mean there will be very few players who can/will be allowed to hold the puck for long enough to create play. NHL today seems to me to be one or possibly two passes before shooting the puck. The initial shot rarely goes in, but if the gods are smiling at you, the 'keeper will leave a rebound which might be converted. Correct me if I'm wrong

Can't do it, Guv. My Zamboni is way too big!

Even more importantly, would the SEL go through with this, it would most certainly put up another obstacle for and team to get promoted from Hockeyallsvenskan (HA). The cost of converting your rink size would not be a small one. Today you have Leksand and possibly Malmö (with the help of Percy Nilsson) who could afford this.

In fact, I believe they are looking in the wrong direction if they want to create more interest in SEL. Extend the league to 14 teams who play eachother four times in a season. One automatic relegation place, SEL 8-13 play with HA 2-5 in Kvalserien. Make every game count and you'll get people back in the seats. Simple!

Crybaby wants new playmates

Malmö Redhawks has somewhat controversially decided to take disciplinary action against their talisman, Carl Söderberg and suspend him for one game. Last year Malmö had severe financial difficulties and had release all players during the season and fill the vacant spots with youth players. Redhawks hence became known as Babyhawks. One of their [supposedly] better players, Carl Söderberg, took the noble decision not to abandon ship (it is however well known the man behind Malmö, the property developer Percy Nilsson, personally guaranteed his wages and gave him a nice little bonus for staying with the team). Söderberg, who has had an open invitation to come over for a try-out at Boston Bruins but has so far preferred to stay at Redhawks, complained about his line-mates on live TV after the loss against Mora. 'I'd happily have new playmates before the end of January'. Surprise surprise, Mr Crybaby got his wish immediately; Wile Redhawks take on AIK, crybaby gets to play all alone in his sandbox. Who, knows, maybe Imaginary-Morgan and Fantasy-Fred can join him.

Muuuaaahhhhwwwww

He's been known to behave like a  spoilt brat before, but he has set himself new standards with this one. If you'd bother passing any of your team mates every once in a while, you might actually get something done on the ice. Doesn't sound likely tho - does it.

For any Bruins fans out there, don't touch this toss-pot with a barge-pole. He might have a little bit of talent, however, his attitude stinks and he's actually not as good as people make him out to be. He tends to want to overdo things in order make himself look all fancy. This is actually so transparent that every defender in the league know what is going to happen once he gets the puck; He'll take it all the way from defensive zone through to goal himself. Nowadays he rarely gets across the red line. When things don't work, he's moaning and winging like there's no tomorrow. If the team wins, you'll know who's the one to stand in front of the cameras polishing his ego. The future of Swedish ice hockey? Another could-have-been more likely.

First of the '82s returning

Leskands IF has just signed one of their lost boys of the 1982 class. Daniel Hermansson returns after being released by Brynas. The signing itself may not be a remarkable one, but it is a reminder of what the total imbecile of a Sporting Director, the former Leksand and Sweden star Anders 'Masken' Carlsson, did to the club during his reign. This is of course not mentioning what he did outside (and possibly inside) the board room...

Sign that Russian whatewverhisnameis - his wife is well fit!

It was really simple, the man spent millions on buying foreign players he'd never seem - who apparently came well recommended by their agents. He spent so much money savings had to be made elsewhere, and in his wisdom the first thing to go was the academy. At the time of his appointment, Leksand had one of the best academies in the country. Not only did he close this, he released the promising home grown players we had at the time (all born in '82) saying they were not good enough although they had taken Leksand U20 to the Swedish Final a couple of years earlier - this while signing players that no one had ever heard of before or since. Fans now hope Daniel Hermansson is the first of many from this cull to come back. Realistically not many will (why return to a club that never believed in them?), at least not when the club is finding themselves in the second tier of Swedish ice hockey.

Players from this year includes Lars Jonsson, Daniel Widing, Pontus Petterström and Jonas Nordquist among others.

It's hockey, not cycling!

Anyone following Hockeallsvenskan might be excused for getting confused as to what is actually going on. Since the opening day of the season, no team has really stood out or pulled away from the pack. Instead, teams seem to behave like Tour de France cyclists; 'I don't want to lead the pack - someone else take over'. Yesterday was another of many minor or major upsets during the season; Växjö Lakers lost away to Almtuna. Maybe the result itself is not a major upset looking at it from the outside, but seeing that Växjö is the in-form team, and Almtuna has not done many things right lately you would at least have expected a tight game. The Lakers didn't even score. 4-0.

That's the story of the season so far. Last week  Malmö Redhawks lost against relegation candidates Troja/Ljungby - at home and Sundsvall beat AIK. Leksand are scraping by by winning games with the odd goal or at least taking it to extra time. That seems to be enough at the moment. But a reality check for all teams involved; Playing like this you'd all be fucked when Kvalserien starts. Any team from Hockeyallsvenskan would be undeserving of even getting a point in the qualification league the way things look now.

Salo dropped it!

The next coach has fallen victim of the cut-throat life in Hoackeyallsvenskan. This time around it is Tommy Salo, yes - the goalkeeper from the Sweden v Belarus game. For those of you who has forgotten, he was actually a fantastic keeper apart from that  infamous non-save.

'We can still turn it around. Just flip it in from the half-way line.'

He leaves the hot seat at Oskarshamn, who - not surprisingly - finds themselves at the bottom of the pile. The Director of Sport, Dag Larsson, also leaves his position. I hope Salo continues as I have a sneaky feeling he might just become a very good coach. Or then again, he might not. Note how I covered both posts in one go - just a Salo himself used to do in the day...

Nordic Trophy, or how to do sports the Loob way

The little fat guy is at it again. Sticking his dirty little fingers where they don't belong. Now, Håkan Loob has appeared in Umeå, the home of Björklöven, to investigate the possibility of them joining him and his clan of retards in the 'Nordic Trophy' investigation. This is supposedly a future league with teams from Sweden and Finland, a kind of permanent extension of the current Nordic Trophy, possibly [read 'most likely'] as a nordic conference of KHL - oh yes, we must not forget the token teams from Norway and Denmark.

So what has this got to do with the struggling Swedish second tier outfit from Umeå?

Well, apparently they might be thinking about building a new stadium - or 'events facility' as the man from the council proudly said. 

Ok, but surely a new arena does not mean you qualify for this league. There are more than 20 teams in Sweden who are better at the moment.

Ok, here's where the Loob-logic comes in; they want a team from northern Sweden in this league.  

Fine, but surely Skellefteå, MoDo, Timrå or Luleå would be the more obvious contenders - they are at least in the top league in Sweden.  

Yeah, you would think so, but according to the Loob-logic, this is irrelevant. It's all depending on the size of the town, its infrastructure and the fact that Umeå has a 'different economic climate' than the rest of the region.  

Aha...

That's hockey the Loob way; it doesn't fucking matter what goes on on the ice, all that matters is that they can have fat prawn sandwiches with beluga caviare and a 1972 Chateau Lafite Rothschild to swallow it all down with in the board room. And, of course, an infrastructured heli-pad so they can get home in time for CSI.

Good game!

Are people really so blind that can't see what this man and his cronies are up to? Personally, I am shitting myself.

Don't take me wrong, I am not against some kind of Nordic Trophy. Sweden and Finland has a long standing rivalry in sports and this could be an idea. However, when Loob claims the TV money will be around SEK 60.000.000 (compared to 29.000.000 currently in Elitserien and a meagre 1.500.000 in Allsvenskan), he has clearly not understood the market. Sweden is by far the biggest market for hockey out of the four nations considered. In Norway and Denmark, hockey is a marginal sport at the best. Finland has a market, but economically it is much smaller than it's western neighbour. To double the money I think is a very optimistic calculation - at least if he gets his wish through for a closed league without relegation etc.

But that won't matter for most of us. We either won't have the 'economic climate' or 'infrastructure' to be part of the chosen ones. No one has informed us that putting the puck in the back of the net no longer matters. Maybe I'm just a bit conservative, but I say we continue with this old way of doing sports for the time being.

In the case of my beloved Leksand, I don't think we have the 'economic climate' suitable for the new league. The infrastructure is most certainly below the worthiness of the big shots, not to mention the size of the town (has anyone told Loob size doesn't matter - it is what you do with it that counts...He, if anyone, should  know that...). And it seems we're not the only ones with these problems - apparently any team outside a big city is not qualified for having a decent ice hockey team. But in Europe we have this weird tradition, a team belongs where it is, not that franchise crap that NHL has established. Now, can't we all stand up and hold hands and sing... We Shall Not Be Moved.

But seriously, can someone please stop this man before he causes any permanent damage?

Västerås in free-fall

Things go from bad to catastrophic at Västerås. In the last six games, the team has managed to add a paltry four points to their tally, putting them eleven points behind Bofors, who currently occupies the last play-off spot. The club has ambitions to at least make the play off, but the way things are going they might just have to watch their back. The loss of Niklas Olausson and Pär Arlbrandt to Luleå has proven to be very detrimental. In addition their goalkeepers are looking very shakey at the moment, Johan Thalberg who has been a consistent performer over the last few seasons, now seem to have caught a rare form of I'm-shitting-myself-everytime-I-get-on-the-ice-itis. Add to that a complete inability to create chances, convert them or to defend, you get the scope of the problems faced at VIK Hockey.

Yeti likes ice!

The only glimpse of light in the proverbial tunnel is that Christian Larrivée is injured. Correct, that is a positive! At least they have one player worth his pay - once he gets back they might stand an outside chance or grabbing a few well needed points. VIK recently signed Patrik Yetman, even though he is a very good player (too good for this level?), he has not been on the ice for eight months. Things are getting desperate indeed.

I told you so...

Following the home defeat against Troja. Björklöven has decided to make some changes in the back room - Kari Eloranta steps down to assistant coach, and his former assistant, Peter Andersson, has been told to operate the coffe machine and spread butter on the toast. Taking over as main coach is Jocke Fagerwall. Yes, it is the same man they sacked 377 days ago. Inspired move by the board room!

It's going to look different this time around, sir!

I am not questioning his appointment as he most certainly will scrape up more pints than his predecessor. However, it does seem our friends from Umeå are lacking vision and money. Is this not a prefect time to get someone in who can actually take the club forward - under Fagerwall, they struggled to qualify for the play-offs. Surely a club of Björklövens statue wants more than this.

Eloranta living on borrowed time?

The demise of the once famous Björklöven from Umeå has over the last few seasons become more cemented. Reported economical problems and unrest among the supporters who clams the board is running the club into the ground. However, noting has hit the classic club harder than the results on the ice this season. With only 18 points from their first 20 games, the club finds themselves at the foot of the table, with only IK Oskarshamn lower, two points behind. Leksand legend Kari Eloranta is at the helm and must be checking that his CV is in order - Björklöven is today hosting Troja/Ljungby, currently placed just above their opponents (on goal difference only). If Eloranta's men fail to win this game, I expect the Finn to be finding himself unemployed by tomorrow. 

Good tasch tho...

This wouldn't really surprise me - Eloranta's career as a coach has been anything but successful; after taking over at Mora IK in February 2008, they dropped from Elitserien to Hockeyallsvenskan. He's now finding himself at the hot seat in Björklöven at the beginning of what must be one of their worst starts to a season ever. I'd like to say 'Onnea' for this afternoon. Regardless of the result in this game, I'd eat my laptop (with all the accessories) if he's still at 'löven at the end of the season. Let's make it a bet. Any takers?

UPDATE: Troja/Ljungby won 3-2 after penalties.

What the fuck is going on???

So the latest news regarding the Russian take-over of Swedish/European ice hockey has now broken: Malmö and Leksand has been approached by KHL as well - not a concrete offer to join as such, but looking into fan-base, arenas and other infrastructure. Bertil Daniels, chairman of Leksand, is leaving his options open. 'We'll follow what happens and take it from there'.

Don't let them cross the Dnepr!

This stinks of KHL's desperation to broaden it's catchment area. And it also shows that the Swedish hockey association has failed completely over the last few years. They have let themselves been controlled by the 'big' teams, led by Färjestad and Hakan Loob who has had no other interests at heart but their own. In essence the top league has all but been closed for promotion/relegation, money is not filtered down through the system and top clubs can freely 'steal' any promising youngsters from teams below without having to pay any/much compensation.

Had the system been working in Sweden, the KHL would not be an option (and should really still not be), but it seems frustration with the current set up is luring clubs to look elsewhere. Hopefully this can act as a wake-up call for the association to get their thumb out of their arse and do something about the situation.

Legend retires

As many people had feared, veteran defender Janne Huokko, 35, has been forced to retire due to ongoing knee problems. As a modern legend in Leksand, having played no less than 522 games in Elitserien, 151 in Allsvenskan as well as international games, he will be thoroughly missed by hockey-lovers. With a solid CV (including a WC bronze in 1999), he still holds the all time Elitserien records of goals in a season for a defender (21) as well as most goals scored in a game by a defender (4) .

Thanks for everything and hope to see you around in Ejendals Arena.

AIK goes KHL?

The news has today revealed that AIK has been approached by KHL to join the league. AIK with a very precarious economic situation is of course interested. So what does KHL want with a team from the second Swedish division? Well the answer is very simple; KHL is desperate to expand its borders and AIK is a well supported team from the Swedish capital (even though they are supposed to be a Solna club, they are actually playing in Stockholm). Sporting-wise they should obviously look towards HV71 and Färjestad - even though I am not excluding these teams from potentially joining (I rather expect it following the faux invstigation currently spear-headed by Färjestad's Håkan Loob regarding the future of Swedish ice hockey - kindly sponsored by KHL), I imagine Medvedev is hoping for the big cities in order to up the profile of the league in the rest of Europe. I imagine Malmö has already been approached.

АИК?

What I do not understand is why people expect their teams to somehow gain both sporting and economical profits from this move. Let's start with the budgets. Before the 2008/09 season, Dinamo Riga published the budgets for the KHL teams on their website. These were the figures;

1. AK Bars Kazan - $55 mill.
2. Salvat Ulaev Ufa, SKA St. Petersburg, Avangard Omsk - $50 mill.
5. Metallurg Magnitogorsk - $45 mill.
6. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl - $40 mill.
7. Atlant Moscow - $35 mill.
8. Dinamo Maskava, Sibir Novosibirsk - $25 mill.
10. CSKA Moscow - $22 mill.
11. HK MVD Balashikha, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod - $20 mill.
13. Spartak Moscow - $18 mill.
14. Amur Khabarovsk - $17 mill.
15. Dinamo Minsk - $16 mill.
16. Severstal Cherepovets, Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk- $15 mill.
18. Metallurg Novokuznetsk, Vityaz Chekhov - $13 mill.
20. Lada Togliatti - $12 mill.
21. Dinamo Rīga, Traktor Chelyabinsk - $11 mill.
23. Barys Astana, Khimik Voskresensk - $10 mill.
source: http://www.dinamoriga.eu/en/news/view/season-budgets-of-khl-clubs-revealed

Looking at Swedish teams we have a slightly different situation. The top Swedish teams would be in the bottom half of this table.

So how are these figures supported by income. Again we'll look at some figures.

The average attendance in KHL and Sweden (as comparison) has over the last few years been as follows;

             KHL       Sweden (Elitserien)
2009     5.142         6.260
2008     5.325         6.288
2007     4.815         6.315
Source: http://www.hockeyarenas.net/

Of course there are major disparities between teams, but it still works well as an income indicator. In the NHL,  roughly half of the income is through ticket sales. This is obviously impossible in the case of KHL looking at the figures above. Or are we expected to pay more than our monthly wages to see AIK v Dinamo Riga? On top of this of course you have merchandising, TV money etc. I have not been able to find figures for any of this in regards to KHL, but suffice to say I very much doubt the income in any of the clubs even remotely equals the costs. I doubt it would even cover the players' salaries. Of course there is the Gazprom money. But to throw yourself into any venture that is unsustainable on its own feet is an obvious recipe for disaster. Something AIK is no stranger to. But in essence, KHL is not a viable business - with or without teams from Sweden. And what happens when the oligarchs get fed up with their expensive toy?

LOOBotomized?

Even if a Swedish team does decide to join in the Russian fun,  what can you expect? Well, for starters, income tax is 13% in Russia. That's right. In Sweden you'd really have to double the wages they pay in Russia to cover taxes, social fees etc. Sweating yet Loob? So this is the simplest reason we will not see Zetterberg returning home earning as much or more that he would in the NHL. I can't really see the teams being able to afford different players than they can today. KHL is not the gold-mine some people seem to imagine. There is talk of Gazprom injecting 5 million Euro into any Swedish team that joins. As if that will help. Actually, it would help AIK - they need to get their hands on 1.8 million Euro or they will hit the wall.

Then what?

It's not like they'd actually survive for long in the Russian winter anyway. Just ask the last guy from Stockholm who tried...

Yeah, they're still shitting on you!

Not convinced by Strömberg

Leksand are continuing to struggle well. Another loss following a full time draw, this time against lowly Troja Ljungby, sees them drop to fourth in the table.

New coach Leif Strömberg was supposedly the 'signing of the season' for Leksand as far as some journalists were concerned. I was unsure, and I still am. Strömberg has a proven track record with guiding Södertälje through the qualification league to the top division, Kvalserien, something that Leksand, despite total domination, has failed to do the last few seasons. Strömberg was brought in to ensure Leksand can do it when it counts. They should have the players capable of taking the team up and now with a coach knowing what is demanded for the last step, surely this should be a walk in the park? No, not really - it is ice-hockey after all. In fact, even though the team finds themselves in the fourth position they have only really played to their potential twice this season, at home against Växjö Lakers and against Malmö Redhawks (both are now above them in the table). The rest of the games played have always left something to wish for. For a team with promotion ambitions, the away form is less than impressive (only two wins of seven possible). Following the loss against Toja, Strömberg was quoted saying 'Our problem is not scoring, it would be different if we didn't play well.'. The man needs to have his eyes checked! Troja recorded 41 shots on goal, Leksand 27. There are similar figures in most games. Goaltender Joacim Eriksson is usually the reason Leksand avoids losing in full time.

Is that where the door is?

If Strömberg is so deluded he cannot see the problems in Leksand is not the inability to score, but the inability to defend and build play he is certainly not the man for the job. I am not completely discarding him, but I believe the style of hockey he represents are the opposite to what Leksand as a club has been representing and what the fans come to watch. Maybe it's a sign of the supposed loser mentality that has come to set in the brickwork at Ejendals Arena, but I'd rather watch them lose a game and see the team play flowing, attacking hockey than to win by trying bore the opposition to death. Strömberg represents the latter of the two, whereas LIF has always been advocating the former. If we are now combining the worst of the two worlds I think the weathered crowd will consider staying in rather than pay to watch a negative team lose. This would be a massive blow for the club that might have disastrous implications.

Boork hints at Västerås

In an internet fans-forum, Leif Boork has hinted he'd be interested in taking over as head-coach in Västerås IK. The former coach/tv-expert/knowitall has not had a job since the HockeyAllsvenska broadcasts from TV4 was taken over by Viasat at the end of last season. He says he's doubtful they'd contact him and I admit I'd also be very surprised if they did. He hasn't had a proper job in ice hockey for quite some time (TV work does not count in this respect, sorry) but according to what he said at the end of last season ago when Leksand was looking for someone to rescue their qualification the top tier after getting rid of Kempe/Jonsson, he said he was way too expensive for them. As VIK is know to have a much more restricive enconomy than LIF, it's hard to see how they could possibly afford him even if they did want him. However, I don't think he's the type for VIK, even though he might actually be the right man for the job. He's made his name as a fantastic team-builder with an old-school authoritarian management style. Not forgetting he's a bit of a live wire...

The Boork

VIK could do with someone to shape the team they currently have, and for Boork it is a club in a perfect situation; capable players that are currently getting the basics wrong on the ice. We've seen Boork come in to do rescue missions before (Brynäs IF was the last example), a bigger challenge would however be to in principle set up an entirely new team and work for a promotion rather than to come in as a fireman to rescue the situation. However, I don't think VIK will ask him as the board so far have seemed to prefer a younger 'new' style coach in the team. Although Boork could actually be more of the type they need. But then again, the TV sofa is more comfortable than the bench.

AIK - Cause for concerns?

The financial plight of AIK has been well documented with savings of SEK 18M needed to get the club back into a position where they can clear their debts. One of the debtors is Solna municipality where they have rented training rinks from the council. According to the municipality, they have not paid their rent for the last couple of years and they have now kicked AIK out. Sadly this 'only' affects their youth set up as the men's team is playing and training at Johanneshov in Stockholm.

No black's allowed

The club is keeping stumm about the economical situation and what is done to sort it out. However, if this is anything to go by, they seem pretty shafted. To let unpaid rents kill off their youth set-up is surely ensuring a slow death of the club as a whole. Let's hope they don't end up joining their local rivals Bajen Fans Hockey (ex Hammarby) who had to establish a new club following bankruptcy.

I wish them well, but this is not looking good from where I'm standing.

No trotters in Ejendals

The infamous Swedish tabloid, Aftonbladet, has successfully dug up another pulitzer-prize winning story; Leksand's ice hockey team has recieved flu-jabs.

That's right folks. That's a story and a half.

In all fairness it's apparently the fact that through the team doctor, they have managed to secure the flu jabs, whereas other people will have to queue up at the local GPs or hospital. Some people are outraged that they have been able to get these before pregnant women, the elderly and otherwise more vulnerable people. It might be worth adding that there is no shortage of the jabs whatsoever, and the team has as far as I can understand not received state-subsidised medication.

In the UK, you can just pop into your local supermarkets or pharmacies and get the bloody thing for under a tenner. It should hardly need to be more complicated than that. But don't let Aftonbladet know!

If I'm going to pay for anything being injected into me, it wouldn't be something as boring as that. I'm open to any suggestions...

Verdict: Half of the team will be bed ridden for a few days after taking the jabs, and the other half will get what Desiree Jennings got and start skating backwards. This will possibly be an improvement of the performace of the team of late.

Slap my stick!

Hello all you puckin' hockey lovers!

When you thought the web couldn't possibly take any more self-indulgent rubbish, another crap blog comes along. 'Great... That'll be a great addition to credit-crunches and taliban beheadings.' Maybe so.

Anyway, I'll be meandering about the state of Swedish ice hockey in particular, ice hockey in general - all served with a good sprinkle of generic rubbish. Sounds good? Nah, I didn't think so either... But sod it. I'm taking a shot from centre-ice!