Yellow and the green
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- Dec 26, 2020
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I agree he was already being quite weak in his last season with Kärpät. What were the expectations from Brynäs before the season?
SHL/Allsvenskan 2022-2023
- Thread starter Eye of Ra
- Start date
Yozhik v tumane
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- Jan 2, 2019
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Media was cautiously optimistic, from my memory and after looking at two articles from August of 2022. Manner was popular due to his humble and sympathetic demeanor, but he hadn’t proven much yet so yeah, there was some caution applied to him as a coach, but again, I think people were optimistic mainly because they enjoyed his personality, but also because he came from “the Finnish school of coaching” and were hoped to finally bring some structure and order to the mess/carousel of coaches who’d defined Brynäs since Thomas Berglund left. Goalies and defensemen were praised, but at least the two Aftonbladet articles (different authors) didn’t project them beyond finishing 9th and 10th respectively: Brynäs were expected to improve and contend for playoffs. I, for one, thought for sure they would be better, as I thought their system showed some promise under Manner last season and that they made some really good roster adds.
I’m friends with a few diehard fans and their hopes were definitely up after a few bad years.
I can’t say anything about Björninen’s season or that he’s made any kind of impression on me personally, but my friends loved that addition: I think maybe because he striked them as “a winner”since he is an Olympic and World champion, and thus should be a Finnish sisu type of player, who’d be key to Manner’s plan of bringing structure to the team. Same with Friman: another Finnish winner. Looking at the roster now, I forgot Johannes Kinnvall played for them this year. I think he was among the leaders in points among SHL defensemen his last season before going to North America. Disappointing season from him. Johan Larsson also looked like a huge add for them, and he’s been good, but hasn’t tipped the scales for them… Sklenicka is great though, and Samuel Johannesson a hugely positive surprise. On the other hand, Anton Rödin and Greg Scott whose streaky scoring has carried Brynäs in their lowly recent years, must have been extremely disappointing for them during a season when they were thought to finally have decent support.
From my perspective, Manner probably isn’t the great coach they needed. I remember one game I saw when Brynäs played — and indeed beat my Luleå — playing the most blatant 1-3-1 I’ve seen in probably a decade. You know that famous Youtube video where Chris Pronger on the Flyers mockingly sits back with the puck in his own zone, with Martin St Louis on the Lightning standing just past the offensive blue line doing nothing, while the fans boo the teams? That’s how Brynäs played. It worked that game, I think they scored two or three goals on the PP and basically never entered the offensive zone with more than one player for the rest of the match. I thought to myself, this works against the worst offense in the league, but changes to refereeing and the way teams have learned to counter the trap has made this so much more risky and difficult to pull off in modern hockey, and against better teams they will struggle. And they did, they were severely punished.
Manner did seem to adjust that dogmatic trap, they seemed to give their better players more freedom on the attack, but I guess he couldn’t get everything together with some consistency.
I think there has to be some immense flaws to his system, at any rate. Prior to the season, their fans boasted about having the best goalie tandem in the league with Vehviläinen, who was great last year, and Anders Lindbäck, who was one of the biggest signings of the preseason. Lindbäck got most of the starts and Vehviläinen split ways with the team, but Lindbäck’s numbers have been among the worst in the league. Something tells me it’s not due to him actually playing badly (and my friends who watch more of their games don’t seem to think he has either), but I do rather think his numbers are a reflection of Manner’s system, that isn’t working.
But another, final point I’d like to have out there: for all the expectations and letdowns with the new adds, I can’t help but wonder if perhaps Manner isn’t helped in his role by some of the old parts of the team. It wouldn’t surprise me if there’s a massive rift in the locker room. Specifically, Anton Rödin just strikes me as the worst captain in the league. He’s a very skilled player, has put up a lot of points and carried the team through tough situations before, and I don’t doubt his dedication to the game or that he works hard, but I don’t see him as a good captain or as someone who I think will help Manner in his efforts to lift the team. Rödin strikes me as a moody, sulking, egotistical diva, and a guy who may turn into a coach’s nightmare if he doesn’t like the direction of his team. Of course, I’m just inferring shit, but my Brynäs friends as well have turned on him sharply during this season. It’s perhaps hard to do your job well as a coach when your supposed star forward who you rely on for important scoring doesn’t get with the program.
Eye of Ra
Grandmaster General of the International boards
Sad to see such a classic club like Brynäs getting relegated. Yes, make no misstake, Malmö is gonna slay them. Malmö is in great shape and is very physical team made for playoffs.
Lots of good players in Brynäs that others teams gonna want.
Olkinuora
Lindbäck
Bertilsson
Friman
Kinnvall
Johannesson
Sklenicka
Björninen
Eklind
Timashov
Larsson
Rödin
Ölund
Then there is good prospects like Nordh, Kvist, Lindstein, Strömgren, Ljungkrantz. But they will probaly stay since they will get more ice-time in Allsvenskan.
Yes its not in alphabetical order, im too tired for that.
Lots of good players in Brynäs that others teams gonna want.
Olkinuora
Lindbäck
Bertilsson
Friman
Kinnvall
Johannesson
Sklenicka
Björninen
Eklind
Timashov
Larsson
Rödin
Ölund
Then there is good prospects like Nordh, Kvist, Lindstein, Strömgren, Ljungkrantz. But they will probaly stay since they will get more ice-time in Allsvenskan.
Yes its not in alphabetical order, im too tired for that.
Yozhik v tumane
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I expect Brynäs, like Djurgården and HV71, will manage to keep some big name veterans with strong ties to the club/long successful careers abroad if they are relegated. I wouldn’t be surprised if at least Larsson, Bertilsson and Lindbäck stay. Even Rödin, actually, but in all honesty I wonder if he’s not part of the problem for them and that they would be better off without him.
I like Bertilsson, Timashov and Ölund, but I’m not sure if they’re available or even would fit on Luleå next year. We’re surrounded by a lot of interesting rumors, the roster may already be close to completion. At the moment, replacing Engsund would be my our main priority, if it was up to me. Timashov definitely feels like a perfect Bulan forward however, perhaps a bit like Hållander? Hard working, dynamic, good skill.
Part of me thinks that we shouldn’t go signing more forwards, if all the rumors prove true. If Tyrväinen leaves, we should perhaps try to replace him with a similar player, but at the same time it seems we should leave a couple of spots open for current J20 players. Luleå’s junior teams have been doing really well in the last couple of years and while the standout seems to be Dans Locmelis, who will go play college hockey and thus hasn’t been available for the pro team, it seems like we should leave a path open for the upcoming youths.
Yozhik v tumane
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Playoff predictions?
Preliminary round matchups:
Oskarshamn (7) - Luleå (10)
Leksand (8) - Rögle (9)
Quarterfinals:
Växjö (1) - Leksand/Rögle/Luleå
Skellefteå (2) - Oskarshamn/Rögle/Luleå
Färjestad (3) - Frölunda (6)
Örebro (4) - Timrå (5)
Preliminary round matchups:
Oskarshamn (7) - Luleå (10)
Leksand (8) - Rögle (9)
Quarterfinals:
Växjö (1) - Leksand/Rögle/Luleå
Skellefteå (2) - Oskarshamn/Rögle/Luleå
Färjestad (3) - Frölunda (6)
Örebro (4) - Timrå (5)
Yozhik v tumane
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We’ve had a rough, rough time against Oskarshamn this season so we’re pretty much facing the worst possible opponent based on the regular season.
Nevertheless, I feel like we do have a chance. Oskarshamn has all of a sudden been limping for the last stretch of the season, and their mighty offense has had a relative cold streak. Have they been figured out?
Luleå’s season has been abysmal but I still think we’re in many ways built for the playoffs. Not necessarily to go very deep — we simply don’t have the offense for it — but I think it’s telling that we’ve generally played our best games and kept close scores against top teams. Växjö has been troublesome for us, but every game against Skellefteå was decided in the shootout, and Färjestad were only minutes and a shootout from losing all four bouts against Luleå this season.
I think it’s safe to say no one wants to face Luleå in the playoffs, but Oskarshamn might be the exception. I trust Filander to get his team into playoff shape and don’t actually see us upsetting them, but if our defense saved their best until last, we get vintage playoff beast Tyrväinen and he alongside Komarov is able to get under the opponents’ skin, and Lassinantti per usual wins the start and is able to again prove himself in the playoffs against his doubters following a rougher stretch, then there’s a sliver of hope for us. But I don’t think we can get past Växjö save for a miracle.
Aahlstroem
På Legenders Axlar
Färjestad will beat us, is my prediction.
theslatcher
Registered User
Eye of Ra
Grandmaster General of the International boards
Yozhik v tumane
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Maybe Fabian Ledin can take a grinder role, the son of Per Ledin?
He leads the team in PIMs, so it seems the apple didn’t fall far from the tree
Tomas Holmström’s kid is also on Luleå J20: seems we’re all set for the future.
Hockeyfrilla
Swe prospect fanatic
It's not unlikely, but Malmö has not looked very good against Brynäs in the regular season. With that said, Brynäs has been terrible lately.
And replaced by Ove Molin for the qualifiers. The boy's club carousel keeps spinning.
Eye of Ra
Grandmaster General of the International boards
hansomreiste
Registered User
Hi guys, I've always wanted to watch SHL but dem pesky Swedes try their best to prevent foreigners from being able to do so. Although I proved stronger this time around. The thing is I don't know much about the league now. Teams, players, strengths, weaknesses, expectations etc... Are there any news sites I can go to for previews about teams or games? Swedish is fine, I reckon I can't find anything in other languages anyway. I'm particularly interested in Lulea but I'd be happier to read pretty much anything about any team in the playoffs. All in all I just want to get more immersion and get an idea about storylines.
(not asking for rules, standings etc. tho i am familiar with that part)
(not asking for rules, standings etc. tho i am familiar with that part)
Hockeyfrilla
Swe prospect fanatic
News:
SHL startsida | SHL
På SHL startsida kan du se nyheter om SHL, tabell, dagens matcher och resultat, video och mycket annat.
Hockeysverige
Nyheter och reportage från all världens hockey – SHL, Hockeyallsvenskan, NHL, SDHL och Landslag. Du hittar även tabeller, spelschema och tv-tider.
hockeysverige.se
Stats:
stats.swehockey.se
Yozhik v tumane
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How come you’re interested in Luleå? I’m a fan so I can try to tell you if there’s something specific you would like to know.
We’re playing IK Oskarshamn tonight in a deciding game to claim a spot in the quarterfinals. Previous two games were very entertaining so if you can find a stream it’s a recommended watch.
Had zero expectations prior to the series, we’ve had a terrible season and our record vs Oskarshamn was abysmal. However, I think we’ve been the stronger team overall in the two playoff games, so I hope that carries into tonight’s game and that we’ll get to see the quarterfinals, where Växjö should be able to beat us handily.
Yozhik v tumane
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Had to work tonight so I missed the game, but we’re through to the quarterfinals!
Växjö, like Oskarshamn, won every game against us this season and are of course better… but if we get Gustafsson back to 100% (he did play 20+ minutes tonight, so it’s hopefully soon) and Sellgren, with the forwards continuing to play with the same tenacity I saw in the first two games against Oskarshamn, then I feel we’ve got a very slim chance of upsetting them.
Växjö, like Oskarshamn, won every game against us this season and are of course better… but if we get Gustafsson back to 100% (he did play 20+ minutes tonight, so it’s hopefully soon) and Sellgren, with the forwards continuing to play with the same tenacity I saw in the first two games against Oskarshamn, then I feel we’ve got a very slim chance of upsetting them.
hansomreiste
Registered User
I wasn't able to catch the last game but I watched the first one in Oskarshamn. In general my questions about Lulea would be: do they have a shot at making it past quarterfinals this year? In the near future, say, next 2-3 years, is there room for optimism about how the club is run, players, prospects etc? Specifically about Lulea, I would be happy to find out what fans expect from the team this year and in the near future just to get an idea.
I don't have any particular reason to follow Lulea honestly - I love SHL very much because it's an organization with a lot of history, great fan culture, decent parity, bigger rinks etc... Over the years, despite not being able to watch it due to strict regulations making it extremely difficult to find streams of good quality (CMore doesn't even let you buy a subscription from abroad, I wouldn't be able to afford anyway) I always look at standings regularly and try to keep tabs on what is going on in playoffs. I'm an introverted guy who has a thing for far-away places with cold winters, so Lulea seemed to be a nice place in that regard hahaha.
Surprisingly, in last few weeks I'm somehow able to watch the SHL... Yet my fate is in the hands of a pirate guy it seems. I'll keep my fingers crossed and try to catch playoff games this time around because to be fair, solely based on stats and the few games I've been able to see towards the end of the season (and G2 against Oskarshamn) I don't think we have a lot of playoff to watch this year.
Yozhik v tumane
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It would be a HUGE upset, but it’s not impossible. Luleå made the playoffs as the 10th and very last seed, and will be up against Växjö in the quarterfinals who not only won the regular season, but also went undefeated through four games against them. It’s going to be tough. Unlike the NHL, major upsets are not common in the SHL playoffs. HV71 in 1995 is the only team to win the championship as an 8th seed. Färjestad won last season (game 7 against Luleå
() despite finishing 6th, which is unusually low, but I’d argue it wasn’t that big of an upset all things considered. Färjestad had the most expensive roster and were regarded among the contenders prior to the season, but stumbled out of the gate and fired their coach at some point. They got their stuff together during spring and were truly better than their place in the standings.For Luleå, this has been a super disappointing season following our awesome run last year. Omark, Andreasson and Lepistö were 1st, 2nd and 3rd in playoff points for us, and the front office failed to replace their scoring. The GMs seem to have placed their bets on acquiring firepower from the KHL following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the NLA expanded their quotas on foreign players which meant the coveted star players went to Switzerland instead.
I realize I’m able to get really long winded on the ins and outs of why this season’s been rough for Luleå, but to keep things somewhat short: we failed to replace our top offensive players from last year, but nevertheless kept the remaining core. Lepistö wasn’t retained — which in hindsight might have been a mistake — but most agreed Jesper Sellgren was a solid replacement, and that we’ll continue having one of the best defensive cores in the league (which we’ve had: Luleå finished behind only the dominant Växjö and Skellefteå in goals allowed). While Omark especially is incomparable, hopes were up that others would take a step forward in production in his absence, and that Luleå would have a consistent trickle of goals-by-committee (which we haven’t: Luleå finished dead-last in goals scored, with 14 less than second-worst Leksand).
Despite the season, I’ve still felt like we’re a team no one will want to have to face in the playoffs. There’s a ton of playoff routine, grind and grit on the roster. This is a very hard working team, and the players are well-versed in the system. Defensively, when everyone’s playing up to par, Luleå’s super stingy. Lassinantti hasn’t had his most consistent season in net, but he’s proven doubters before by stepping up in the playoffs.
Furthermore, some forwards have really stepped up their play as of late. Shinnimin’s been great (and stayed on his feet), and Komarek looks like he’s ended a two-year cold streak and is fighting for pucks and dishing out great passes like nobody’s business. And Honka’s a sublime two-way defenseman.
We need Erik Gustafsson back to 100%, and Sellgren back from whatever his injury, and Komarov would be really useful as well, but then I think Luleå should be able to make it awfully troublesome for Växjö to advance.
Yes! I think definitely so.
The GMs and especially Stefan “Skuggan” Nilsson, being part of Luleå’s “old boys’ club” and all, have been extremely harshly questioned by fans this season, which I feel is very much overstated. Not completely undeserved, perhaps: they failed to build on last year’s success, but from the longer perspective I argue it’s unfair to blame them for their continuous work. I think Luleå is tied or just behind Skellefteå for wins since Nilsson became GM, and they’ve been very consistent with their signings and trying to bring on players who works within coach Thomas “Bulan” Berglund’s system and preferably long-term. They’ve done far more rights than wrongs through their tenure.
“Bulan” is also one of the best coaches in the SHL, in my opinion. I think his system brings very entertaining hockey, despite being known as a defensive minded coach: Luleå’s system focuses on puck possession, and when it clicks (like it hasn’t done much this season, but for example has been against Oskarshamn in the play-in), then the team’s parked in the offensive zone for minutes at a time. “Bulan” has also proven able to adapt when his system’s been “figured out”, and made tweaks to get the team going again.
Based on the rumors, Luleå should make a push upwards in the standings next season, but there will be a lot of turnaround in the roster and new faces making it hard to predict. All of Omark, Andreasson and Lepistö has been rumored for a return. Omark and Lepistö are both getting up there in age, but at least Omark seems to age like fine wine and should help our offense tremendously.
Here’s my current projection for next year’s roster:
Omark* - Kempe - Andreasson*
Komarek? - Connolly - Shinnimin
Patrik Zdrahal* - David Lilja* - Nikola Pasic*
Nikupeteri - Berglund - Einar Emanuelsson
Olausson?
Gustafsson - Ludvig Jansson*
Sellgren - Lepistö**
Själin - Hardegård*
Lassinantti
Ward
* = Probable rumor
** = Questionable rumor
? = Possible extension
It’s known that Luleå wants to extend Julius Honka, but he’ll most likely leave. Tyrväinen is expected to leave as well.
I placed Ludvig Jansson, who’s only 19 atm, next to Erik Gustafsson because Luleå has paired junior defenseman (Sellgren, Lundkvist, Victor Berglund, Kim Johansson) next to him in a mentor capacity before, and will likely want to do it again.
You also asked about prospects. The U20 team is strong and we can hope some of them will get called up and do well with the pro team next year. The standout this year is Dans Locmelis, who we haven’t been able to see with the pro team due to him leaving to play college hockey next year, barring him from “going pro”.
Otherwise, I don’t know too much about our prospects. A few years down the road there’s hope that kids like Lowe Härenstam (goalie) and Jakob Ihs Wozniak (scoring forward) will turn out for us.
We hope Luleå will be a pain in the ass for Växjö and at least go out on a somewhat high note following a down year. I hope that Erik Gustafsson will finally captain the team to a championship next year, which is likely his last in Luleå. Too much player turnaround next season for me to be able to really set my expectations that high again, compared to the offseason prior to last year when Luleå added quality to an already promising roster. Tyrväinen, Brännström, Honka, and Engsund are losses that will sting. The goal is on gold, nevertheless.
Where are you from, and where do you live?
I’ve shared Cmore and Telia Play accounts with friends for the last years, but I used to resort to less legit sources prior, so I feel you.
Cmore used to produce streams of at least one game per round with English language commentary for foreign broadcasters, but I’m not sure that they do still. My brother said he watched a German language broadcast of one of the playoff games. I recall often watching games without commentary, which I think are available in some countries.
@hansomreiste Are you actually from/located in Turkey, per your profile?
Hockeyfrilla
Swe prospect fanatic
Ugh I hate classic clubs get demoted, is promotion/demotion hurting swedish hockey?
hansomreiste
Registered User
Thank you so much for the in-detail explanation, couldn't ask for better than that, wow! Glad to hear there is some positivity surrounding the team, would really love to see them in a better place with possibility of watching them of course as a bonus haha.
Yes, I'm from Turkey. In fact, the other day, the stream I had was from a German channel indeed. However, I remember watching from CMore a couple of weeks ago as well. Around a decade ago I had a friend from Gävle. Some games were free on the internet and we used to watch them together. It was great fun. I guess this is no longer the case. Despite it being prohibitively expensive by Turkish standards, I even tried to get subscription on CMore but nah, not available abroad. Years ago I had bought a single game when it was working but even for this I needed someone living in Sweden as they accepted payments only through cards issued by Swedish banks... Kinda feels like they are happy enough with the local audience and couldn't care less about international fans.
Yes, I'm from Turkey. In fact, the other day, the stream I had was from a German channel indeed. However, I remember watching from CMore a couple of weeks ago as well. Around a decade ago I had a friend from Gävle. Some games were free on the internet and we used to watch them together. It was great fun. I guess this is no longer the case. Despite it being prohibitively expensive by Turkish standards, I even tried to get subscription on CMore but nah, not available abroad. Years ago I had bought a single game when it was working but even for this I needed someone living in Sweden as they accepted payments only through cards issued by Swedish banks... Kinda feels like they are happy enough with the local audience and couldn't care less about international fans.
Hockeyfrilla
Swe prospect fanatic
Montén new coach for HV71
www.aftonbladet.se
Avslöjar: Montén klar för HV71
HV71 har hittat sin nya huvudtränare. Enligt uppgifter till Sportbladet har Juniorkronornas tidigare förbundskapten Tomas Montén, 45, skrivit på ett långtidskon
www.aftonbladet.se
Aahlstroem
På Legenders Axlar
No, it's a vital part of Swedish sports. Taking it away would kill a lot of interest. I'd argue more teams should be promoted and relegated each season, along with some redistribution of the TV-money to take away the fear of being relegated and breathe more life into the league system.
theslatcher
Registered User
HV in Allsvenskan 2024?Montén new coach for HV71
Avslöjar: Montén klar för HV71
HV71 har hittat sin nya huvudtränare. Enligt uppgifter till Sportbladet har Juniorkronornas tidigare förbundskapten Tomas Montén, 45, skrivit på ett långtidskon
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