Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

[Bamse81]

It is with great sadness we are informed that Elitserien is taking a break until Christmas day.. The players will rest, be with their families, eat a nice christmas ham and have some "glögg" (swedish x-mas booze) and hopefully come back to the rink rested and eager to play some hockey.. In this thread I will try to write everything thats happened worth mentioning. I started betting on hockey only this season but I grew up in a part of this country that is mad about hockey. The ones that follow this thread have been with me from the start and followed my ups and downs (and have maybe earned an honest buck).. This is my way of saying "thanks" to meatman, rangers66, Prince, Tulenos, rugbylad, Mixer, davidmphill, Paul Ross and all you others that have followed this thread and contributed to it. The idea with this is that reading the info of the season so far gives you enough to stand on to be able to discuss Elitserien with just about anyone. The idea is also, of course, to get an even more lively discussion here after x-mas. I know that its virtually impossible to get good info on any other hockey that NHL in English. Well, now youll have it.. If anyone else wants to write a re-cap on whats happened in some other Euro League, please borrow this thread! Were all here to supply good info, right? I will start writing on this when I feel i have gathered enough info. All the best. Bamse.:ok

[Tulenos]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far.. Looks good - don't forget though there is also a majot international cup just before Xmas AND a U20 championsphip @ Xmas time this year (if things are the same as each and every season - so enough action to get excited about (although the U20 champs provide terrible odds, especially early into the tourney, and not many books teand to cover them)

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

Looks good - don't forget though there is also a majot international cup just before Xmas AND a U20 championsphip @ Xmas time this year (if things are the same as each and every season - so enough action to get excited about (although the U20 champs provide terrible odds' date=' especially early into the tourney, and not many books teand to cover them)[/quote'] Thanks for the reminder. I thought I was going to leave the bookies alone for three weeks. Guess not... That Cup youre talking about is Rosno Cup, no? If so it starts on december 15th. I tried to post some on the Karjala cup but there wasnt much interest I seem to remember. Hope itll be better this time around. This is a link to the when and where of the games in question: http://www.swehockey.se/files/%7B23B761C2-703A-4C32-9A25-A823C0245EAD%7D.pdf Havent got much knowledge on U20 champs but I would love if someone would provide some posts on it when it starts. In the meantime Ill write on this... :ok

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far.. I will start this by writing some on the series last placed team and work my way up to no. 1.

12

Leksands IF

30

4

9

17

50 : 80

23

2

1

This team is maybe the most beloved team in Sweden since they have genuine hockey culture. Leksand is a town of just 8000 or so people and it shouldnt even be possible to have team in Elitserien there but year after year they have proved us wrong. Because it is so loved and because many cant picture elitserien without this team it was a shock when they were relegated last year. This year it was supposed to be the great comeback of this team. They played very well during the fore-season but couldnt live up to this early in the season. After many games and but one point many voices called for the resignation of their coach. Angry columnists boasted that you cant build an elite team on players of division 2 calibre. Eventhough Leksand Stars were without stars this year they kept on fighting like every game but soon they had to face the inevitable and fire theit coach Pirro Alexandersson. The one who stepped in for Alexandersson was one of the legends of this club, Anders Karlsson. After this, things started happening. They won their first victory at home against MoDo and are playing better and better eventhough theyre still stuck at that last place in the table. Its my opinion that if they keep on fighting they wont have to worry about playing in Allsvenskan next year. In short you can say that other teams have played alot worse in the last 10 games than these guys have. One of these teams will be adressed in the next post. Players to watch: Oscar Steen, Calle Steen, Jiri Bicek and Johan Backlund (goalie).

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

11

Södertälje

30

6

6

18

59-95

-36

24

Bedore the season there must have been a great feeling in the team considering the success in 04/05. This team is perhaps the oppostie of Leksand, packed with stars or at least class players. Players such as Skröder, offensively strong Bemström, able goalie Stana and the two prodigies Umicevic and Kopitar. This team started out OK but in the last ten they are the worst team of all. This is the most inconsistent team in the series and might I add that there are a number of teams competing for that title. They have mixed propaganda hockey with really lousy hockey. An example of the propaganda hockey would be the 7-1 victory against Frölunda which was well deserved and the examples of the lousy hockey theyve performed are almost too many to be mentioned here. A few of their biggest stars spent some time of the season in the stands because of injury. This lead us to believe that these guys were going to come back and save this team but we were all deceived. I myself was waiting for them to do a surprise win at good odds but I gave up my hopes and bet against them in the last couple of games. I think that many of the experts expected these guys to be placed around 5-8 or so and many still believe that they will climb considerably. Eventhough they still claim to have full confidence in their coach something has to be done quick if they lose one or two more games.

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

10

Djurgården

30

6

10

14

68-89

-21

33

Because of the many NHL-players they had last year, Djurgården made a great last season. The case this year is almost as it is with Leksand, very few stars. They have a decent goalie in Teemu Lassila. The forward Fredrik Bremberg was also the one to watch early in the season but hasnt been in from as of late. It feels like its hard to write something interesting about this teams because they simply arent that interesting. What has been characteristic about the team so far is the inefficiency! They shoot and shoot and shoot but have a hard time scoring which must have been very frustrating for them. The team feels similar to Södertälje since these guys also have played some great hockey during the season with a nice 5-1 win against Frölunda, a 5-2 win away against Linköping (!) and an impressive 1-0 victory in the away game against Luleå in the latest round. Although Im not impressived with this team these wins show us that there is potential in these guys. Therefore, they are on my "inconsistent team list" and when they play it might be very wise to keep stakes down a bit since you never know what they can be up to.

[meatman]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far.. this is just class Bamse - superb :clap :clap :clap :clap

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far.. Thanks meaty! The next team is:

9

Timrå

30

9

5

16

57-77

-20

33

Timrå relied heavily on their NHL-stars last season with Henrik Zetterberg as just one of their stars. Therefore many didnt think that they would do so well this year. Up to date they have been an average team and I think they deserve to be where they are right now in the table. They lack a "sniper", a player that can step up and score that winning goal. None of their scorers make to the top 20-list in Elitserien and that says quite a bit. Not much can be said about their home/away stats either. Their ninth when it comes to both as they are in the total standings aswell. Players to keep an extra eye out for is their goalies Asplund and Oksa, Oksa having saved them many times this season. The third player would then be Kent Manderville who stayed in the club after last years NHL lockout and means alot to this team and is very important. The last few weeks they didnt do too well eventhough they certainly werent bad. Before the last game against HV71 (1-4) another important player, Valeri Krykov packed his bags and moved back to Finland to be with his family. There was no dispute between him and Timrå. This will have effects later on in Elitserien and although they seldom lose very big and always put up a fight I fear that theyll lose more frequently in the future.

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

8

Brynäs

30

7

10

13

64-81

-17

33

Wow.. havent realised until now how close the last three teams are in the standings, all at 33 points each. I dont think that the expert thought very high of this team before the season started but they surprised everybody. Three wins and one draw in the first four games showed us that this was going to be a tough one to crack this season. Their coach Leif Boork is well respected and have good merits whereas he has trained the national team of Sweden and many teams in Elitserien aswell. The problem seem to be that he always has to be the center of attention and he often end up on the headlines. When things started going bad for them this year he went out and blamed it on two players Tommy Miettinen and Mikael Wahlberg. Wahlberg is has been faithful to this team since he was just a kid and is very liked in Brynäs home town (Gävle) so you can imagine that this had to take some balls to tell them to sitt in the stands when they others are playing. This didnt work though and after some games the guys were back on the squad, given a second chance. They lost again. Now the patience had ran out and they were both fired. Now I even heared that they changed to code to the locker room because it contained digits from Wahlbergs year of birth(!). They simply wnted to erase every trace of this "incident" and move on. It seems to have worked to some extent. In the last 5 games they have wins against Leksand and Södertälje, draws against Mora and Timrå and also a close defeat in OT against Djurgården. This is yet another one of those teams that fight like angry wasps and maybe it is beacuse they have been so tested this season? The problem might just have given them more team spirit, which is also something they claim have happened. We will see them get more points after christmas but not in the same extent as they did in the very beginning of the season. Fact remains that Miettinen and Wahlberg were very talented players eventhough they and coach had trouble with eachother. Important players to watch this season is Andreas Dackell and goalie Johan Holmqvist, both with NHL merits. Another player worth mentioning is Johan Bäckström born 1987 who is developing into a class hockey player.

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

7

Mora

30

10

6

14

66-79

-13

37

The biggest surprise of them all so far! Mora is a team that is fairly new to Elitserien and it must have been fantastic last year when NHL players invaded this little town. Last season was also great because of all the new players, this lead many to believe that they were going to be among the last or perhaps the last team in the standings but 7th place is very impressive for this team. Their key to success is to never give up it seems.. It doesnt matter if theyre down 5 to nil, they still keep on fighting for eachother. This morale will win them many points in the future and this is one of the most interesting teams in Elitserien right now. My guess is that the bookmakers will underestimate them because they arent one of the "classic" teams in the series and so it might be profitable to bet on them when a good opportunity opens up. Players to watch: Well as I said, not many stars here if any. This team is really the text book examply of that there is no 'i' in 'team'. One interesting player is Ross Lupaschuk who is among the highest scoring defenders in the league and also the most penalized players(!).

[Valiant23]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far.. :eek Wow bamse, this is an excellent write up mate. I just thought I'd have a quick look as I see you've been having a lot of success. Having just read these I can see now why. This is really good, but be warned! Once I start to get an interest in something the first thing I do is start to ask stupid questions.:$ I hope you're a patient man.;) :hope

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

:eek Wow bamse, this is an excellent write up mate. I just thought I'd have a quick look as I see you've been having a lot of success. Having just read these I can see now why. This is really good, but be warned! Once I start to get an interest in something the first thing I do is start to ask stupid questions.:$ I hope you're a patient man.;) :hope

Hi Valiant! Thanks for the kind words! I try to inform people here at PL on what I know best, namely hockey. The thought behind these write-ups is to get even more discussion in the Euro Hockey thread, so youre more than welcome. This is also a way for me to keep myself updated and get a reminder on whats happened so far. For the most part this season has been good for me and the rest of the punters here and I certainly hope you will join us. I am a patient man! And... there are no stupid questions, just stupid answers. Take care mate. :ok

[rugbylad]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far.. Hej Bamse :ok As always, great posts :clap I love your passion and desire for the sport is clear for all to see! Keep them coming mate!!! Rugbylad

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

6

MODO

30

13

5

12

71-62

+9

44

We have now reached my favourite team but of course i will do the write up from a objective stand point. MODO is a team that has been made famous because of all the talents they have produced and that it is a team that has dared to play with many young, unexperienced players and done this very well. MODO comes from a town called Örnsköldsvik and has produced such talents as Peter Forsberg (the worlds best hockey player), Markus Näslund (one of the best players in the world) and also Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Niklas Sundström, Per Svartvadet, Mattias Weinhandl and more... Last season Peter Forsberg, Markus Näslund and Tommy Salo decided to come home and play for them. Of course the newspapers in Sweden now named them "Real MODO". Too bad that virtually all of the other teams had NHL players on the squad aswell and MODO simply couldnt live up to the high expectations that the fans had. Now it seems that MODO are back on track and play more and more of that hockey the fans have come to love them for. A couple of weeks before the season things really didnt look good and many experts said that they didnt have the squad to become a top team. However, just before the first round they acquired some new players and the most important one of these have come to be Karol Krizan from Slovakia. Before the first game the players in MODO said that he was wortless and that he couldnt stop a basketball. What happened then was that their first goalie Mikael Zajkowski got injured and they had no other option but to put Krizan in the goal. In that game, in the very first round, MODO beat top contender Frölunda 3-1 at home and Krizan became the hero of the day. Since then he has been their first choice and this far he saves as many pucks as Henrik Lundqvist did last year in Frölunda and he is now a big success in NY Rangers. The other player the acquired, Miloslav Horava, is also and important player and is highly effective in his offensive game! MODO is another team on my inconsistency list. They mix bad efforts against the worse teams in the series (Leksand for example) with top efforts against the very best teams (for example 3-1 and 6-2 against Frölunda and 1-0 away at HV71). I seem to sense that they have become a little less inconsistent in the last rounds with nice wins against Luleå, Södertälje and Frölunda and I think that this is a team that will climb one or two places in the future and no doubt reach the play-offs this year. Heres another team that I like bet-wise since the bookies often have a high price on them although they have the capacity to beat anyone on a good day. Important players: Karol Krizan, Miloslav Horava, Per Svartvadet and Andreas Salomonsson.

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far.. Thanks rugbylad! All I hope is that people will read this novel im writing here :ok

5

Luleå

30

15

3

12

84-71

+13

50

One of the favorite teams of this thread. Started the season in a pretty bad way with some humiliating losses (for example 2-8 against Frölunda) eventhough they have Mikael Renberg (formerly Toronto Maple Leafs) on the team. Also they were very weak at home which is something that is very uncommon when it comes to this team. Generally, I can say that the teams from the northern part of Sweden (Luleå, MODO, Timrå and Brynäs) are traditionally strong at home mainly because they dont have to travel to the numerous teams from the bigger cities and because they have fanatic supporters. So, they started out bad, something was definetly wrong in this team. The decision they made now was to hire Vladimir Orszagh and to make him the highest paid player in the series. In the first game he played he was no success and people started mocking them for their "catch". But Orszagh, Nordquist and Renberg would show to be a great line and after that they won 8 games in a row whereof many were away games. After this their great form was slowed down by MODO who beat them at home 1-0. But their form is still mainly intact after victories over Södertälje away and also Färjestad away. Actually, without me saying to much this team is better away than at home this year! They play a tight defensive game. Have a goalie that mostly play great but can be somewhat inconsistent at times. They also have this great line I mentioned but they also have many other players in addition to this who have stepped up when Renberg & co had a tough day at work. For the future I can see this team going to the semi-finals or even the finals if they can maintain the great form theyve had (and possibly play a little better at home).

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

4

Färjestad

30

15

5

10

75-62

+13

51

This team is one of the "big four" in Swedish hockey alon with Frölunda, HV71 and Linköping. They have not lived up to the big expectations people have on them. With players such as Jörgen Jönsson, Rickard Wallin, Per Bäcker and many more they are always a contender for the title. It maybe harsh to say that their 4th place is a disappointment but the hockey they played (especially in the beginning of the season) hasnt been what we have grown accustomed to see. It is hard to put a finger on what is wrong but as long as theyre keep themselves above 6th place or so they wont be firing any coaches or so. I spoke with people who saw them play Timrå away and they said that they were completely worthless and that Timrå should have won with more than 3-1. It seems like they perform much better when they play the top teams and that theyre having a hard time focusing against the other teams. What I will keep in mind here is that they are still one of the "big" teams which means the bookies will no doubt overestimate them for the rest of season (which means good odds on the ones theyre facing) no matter how they play.

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

3

Linköping

29

16

8

5

83-61

+22

58

Linköping is also one of the big teams in Sweden. In their very best moments they are perhaps the best team of them all, in their worst moments they lose against the lower ranked teams. If there is one thing that slows them down its loss of those important three points against these teams. How important is it to dominate a game against HV71 or Frölunda when you lose big against lowly Djurgården at home? This is as far as I´m conserned their sole weakness. Theyre a tough team to face, hard hitting and have one of the absolute best goalies in Elitserien. No doubt one of my favorites for the title in the end. Important players: Fredrik Norrena (goalie), Andreas Pihl (big mean defender), Ulf Söderström (scores many points).

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

2

Frölunda

31

19

5

7

109-77

+32

64

Frölunda are the reigning champions and had alot of help from Henrik Lundqvist and Daniel Alfredsson last year. Now they have replaced Lundqvist with Tommy Salo that used to play in Edmonton Oilers. They are probably the biggest favorite of taking home the title this year. In the first round MODO beat them surprisingly 3-1 and everyone started wondering how good this guys really are. But in the following rounds it was obvious that they really were good, both home and away. Actually I think they collected more points away in the beginning. Later on it was also clear that they have had some difficulty with MODO as they lost again to them away 2-6 and draw at home 4-4. During this season so far they have had put three goalies between the pipes, Tommy Salo (1st), Sandberg (2nd) and 18 year old Joel Gistedt. So far they have all been good especially Gistedt has impressed everyone in the last two rounds after Salo and Sandberg got injured. It can be important to know that Salo can be pretty inconsistent at times which also goes for the rest of the squad. After the strong first 10 rounds or so their form has been puzzeling to us. Theyre still strong at home but in the away games they are now not what they were earlier on. Also, their reluctance to play a more defensive hockey, even in the away games, are slowing them down. This is a team I well can see my self betting against in the future since they are a big name in hockey and the odds on the opponent, no matter who they might be, are always good. Important players: Salo (when he is good), Niklas Andersson, Tommi Kallio, Magnus Kahnberg (all good offensively).

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far.. We have now come to place no 1.

1

HV71

30

20

8

2

103-55

+48

71

Last year HV71 was the big disappointment. Their reluctance to recruit players from NHL was their biggest mistake, they simpley thought they would be fine without them. Many in Sweden were almost surprised over how good the "original" players of Elitserien stood up to the guys from NHL (or perhaps that they really werent as good as you thought they would be) but it wasnt enough to claim a top position for this guys. Most teams have had their stronger and their weaker periods so far this season but HV71 have been, as far as I´m concerned, strong all the way. They are also, like Luleå, stronger on their travels than they are at home. In the standings of the strongest home teams we find them in third spot, 5 points behind Frölunda and 2 points behind Linköping, so theyre still really good at home.

1	Frölunda HC	16	12	3	1	59 : 31	40
2	Linköpings HC	15	11	3	1	50 : 24	37
3	HV 71	15	10	4	1	48 : 26	35

In the standings of the best away teams they are of course in first place, a massive 12 points in front of Frölunda whos form have been doubtful as of late.

1	HV 71	15	10	4	1	55 : 29	36
2	Frölunda HC	15	7	2	6	50 : 46	24

Among their players we notice Stefan Liv who has played many games for Tre Kronor, Swedens national team. He has, like MODO´s Karol Krizan a percentage that matches that of NY Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Andreas Karlsson, is the top scorer in Elitserien so far so also he is a great asset for them. In 5th place in the same list we find Mika Hannula and in 9th place Stefan Petterson so they are really good offensively aswell. Add to this that HV71 concedes the least amount of goals in the series, only 55 so far, and you have a winning concept. Elitserien is as always very tough but this is a team that might go all the way this year. At this stage they have really earned their first place in the standings.

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far.. That was my last post. Hope you will enjoy reading them! Of course any question is welcome :ok

[Valiant23]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far.. bamse, I wanted to wait til you'd finished, but I've got a fair bit of poker on right now, and have several questions. I'll either put them up late tonight or early tomorrow., if you don't mind. :clap :ok

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

bamse, I wanted to wait til you'd finished, but I've got a fair bit of poker on right now, and have several questions. I'll either put them up late tonight or early tomorrow., if you don't mind. :clap :ok

Dont mind at all. Bring it on. :ok

[meatman]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

That was my last post. Hope you will enjoy reading them! Of course any question is welcome :ok

top stuff Bamse - great effort and great info :ok :clap :clap :clap :clap

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

top stuff Bamse - great effort and great info :ok :clap :clap :clap :clap

Thanks mate! I´m pretty satisfied with the result. Feel free to ask me anything about this league! It is really hard to find good stats on European hockey, especially in English. However, two sites that do provide pretty good stats in English are http://www.eurohockey.net/ and http://stats.swehockey.se :ok

[Valiant23]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far.. My first question was how good is Swedish Ice Hockey....but being ranked #2 in the world tells me that,:clap so; 1-How popular is hockey in Sweden compared to football (which is a summer sport isn't it?). 2-Are the betting markets the same for hockey as they are for football (correct scores, HT/FT, handicap betting etc.)? 3-Do the NHL scouts miss a lot of swedish talent, meaning that your league is still competitive, or do your players have to leave if they are to get better? 4-When does the domestic season start and finish?

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far.. Hello mate! Will try to answer the best I can. 1-How popular is hockey in Sweden compared to football (which is a summer sport isn't it?). Well, I consider football and Ice Hockey to be the two big sports in Sweden although hockey is still a sport dominated by boys which is not the case when it comes to football. Tre kronor, the Swedish national team, is still considered the peoples favorite national team. We mostly have very good attendance to the games, especially in the rural areas or the smaller cities where theres is a more living hockey culture (Frölunda, from Gothenburg being the exception here). To sum it up, hockey is very big in Sweden but football even bigger (although they dont compete with eachother since one is summer sport and one winter sport). 2-Are the betting markets the same for hockey as they are for football (correct scores, HT/FT, handicap betting etc.)? Yes, theres correct score, handicap bets, over/under (usually the line is 5.5) and so on. The equivalent to HT/FT is that you have to guess three result since the games are played over three periods of 20 minutes each, one bet could then be X/X/1. If a team wins in regulation time (within 60 min) they get 3 pts. If the game is a draw after these three periods there is also an Over time period (this differs from league to league) and if someone scores here they take two points and the loser 1 pt. If the over time is without goals, then the both teams take one pt each. Some bookies offer both bets for regulation time and money line bets here. 3-Do the NHL scouts miss a lot of swedish talent, meaning that your league is still competitive, or do your players have to leave if they are to get better? I dont think that the scouts miss alot of talents. Still, the hockey league holds much class since the ones that go to NHL are the best of the best. Lots of players are very close to playing in the NHL and are just waiting for that one chance to go. We also have many players that have played in NHL but have decided to play in Elitserien anyway, like for example Färjestads Jörgen Jönsson. 4-When does the domestic season start and finish? This season started september 26 and finish march 6. After that there is also play offs, 1/4 finals, 1/2 finals and finals. All played in best out of seven. When the final is, I dare not say at this point. Hope I´ve answered your questions. Just get back to me if you have any more questions! :ok

[Valiant23]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far.. :clap :clap :clap Thanks Bamse this is much appreciated. I'm aware of the break, so I'll keep a look out for your thread when things start back up. I think the festive season will be dominated by NFL tbh, but look forward to your write ups after. When I have more questions, you can be sure I'll let you know. :ok

[Sir Puntalot]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far.. Superb posts Bamse, top class. :)

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

Superb posts Bamse' date=' top class. :)[/quote'] Thanks mate :clap

[Tulenos]

Re: Euro Hockey Thread 05/06-The Journey So Far..

Some bookies offer both bets for regulation time and money line bets here.

That's right, BAmse, but you always have to check the rules first - most Euro books (B365 for example) offer ML bets for Euro leagues, BUT the Euro moneylines are decided on the result in regulation, unlike the NHL ones:(