HockeyAllsvenskan facts for kids
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| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| No. of teams | 14 |
| Country |  Sweden |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Djurgårdens IF |
| TV partner(s) | C More |
| Promotion to | SHL |
| Relegation to | Hockeyettan |
| Official website | HockeyAllsvenskan.se |
HockeyAllsvenskan is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden. It is the second-highest league in Swedish ice hockey, right after the top league, SHL. Since the 2009–10 season, 14 teams compete in HockeyAllsvenskan.
Contents
A Look Back: Allsvenskan's History
The name "Allsvenskan" has been used for different hockey leagues in Sweden over many years. From 1948 to 1975, "Allsvenskan" was the unofficial name for the top league, which was officially called "Division 1".
Later, in 1982, the name "Allsvenskan" came back for a new league. This league started after the Christmas break. The best teams from the lower "Division 1" leagues would join Allsvenskan. The top teams in Allsvenskan would then play for a chance to move up to the highest league, Elitserien (now SHL).
In 1999, a new second-level league was created, split into "Allsvenskan Norra" (North) and "Allsvenskan Södra" (South). The best teams from these two groups would then play in a league called "SuperAllsvenskan".
Finally, for the 2005–06 season, the northern and southern sections were combined. This created the single league we know today, called HockeyAllsvenskan. The SuperAllsvenskan league was removed, and HockeyAllsvenskan became the main second-tier league for the whole season.
How HockeyAllsvenskan Works Today
HockeyAllsvenskan is played as a round-robin tournament. This means every team plays against every other team four times during the season. They play two games at home and two games away. Each team plays a total of 52 games in the regular season.
After all the regular games are finished, here's what happens:
- The teams that finish 1st and 2nd play in the HockeyAllsvenskan Final. This is a "best of five" series, meaning the first team to win three games wins the final.
- Teams that finish 3rd to 8th play in a special mini-tournament called the HockeyAllsvenskan Slutspelsserie. Teams 3, 4, and 5 get a few bonus points to start, giving them an advantage.
What happens next for the top teams?
- The winner of the HockeyAllsvenskan Final gets a chance to play against the 14th-placed team from the SHL. This is a "best of seven" series. The winner of this series gets to play in the SHL next season!
- The team that loses the HockeyAllsvenskan Final plays against the winner of the Slutspelsserie. This is a "best of three" series. The winner of this stage then gets to challenge the 13th-placed team from the SHL in another "best of seven" series for a spot in the top league.
What about the teams at the bottom?
- The two teams that finish last in HockeyAllsvenskan have to play in a special qualification series. They play against four teams from Hockeyettan (the league below HockeyAllsvenskan). This is to avoid being moved down to Hockeyettan.
In the 2009–10 season, the league changed from 16 teams to 14 teams. This meant that the last-placed team was directly moved down, and only one team from the qualification league could join HockeyAllsvenskan.
Teams in HockeyAllsvenskan
Here are the teams that participated in the 2023–24 HockeyAllsvenskan season:
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIK | Stockholm | Hovet | 8,094 |
| Almtuna IS | Uppsala | Upplands Bilforum Arena | 2,800 |
| IF Björklöven | Umeå | A3 Arena | 5,400 |
| Brynäs IF | Gävle | Monitor ERP Arena | 7,909 |
| BIK Karlskoga | Karlskoga | Nobelhallen | 6,300 |
| Djurgårdens IF | Stockholm | Hovet | 8,094 |
| Kalmar HC | Kalmar | Hatstore Arena | 2,500 |
| Mora IK | Mora | Smidjegrav Arena | 4,500 |
| Nybro Vikings | Nybro | Liljas Arena | 2,380 |
| Södertälje SK | Södertälje | Scaniarinken | 6,200 |
| Tingsryds AIF | Tingsryd | Nelson Garden Arena | 3,400 |
| Västerviks IK | Västervik | Plivit Arena | 2,500 |
| Västerås IK | Västerås | ABB Arena Nord | 4,902 |
| Östersunds IK | Östersund | Östersund Arena | 2,700 |
Fan Attendance at Games
HockeyAllsvenskan has become very popular, with more and more fans coming to watch the games. Since the first HockeyAllsvenskan season in 2005–06, the average number of spectators per game has grown a lot.
In the 2011–12 season, HockeyAllsvenskan had the highest average attendance of any second-tier league in Europe. About 2,606 people watched each game. The next season, 2012–13, was even bigger! The average attendance jumped to 3,227 fans per game. This was a huge increase, partly because some very popular teams like Djurgårdens IF joined the league.
Over seven years, from 2005–06 to 2012–13, the average attendance went up by over 60%! This shows how much people love watching HockeyAllsvenskan.
Average Attendance Over the Years
| Season | Spectators |
|---|---|
| 2005–06 |
1,996
|
| 2006–07 |
1,887
|
| 2007–08 |
2,007
|
| 2008–09 |
2,363
|
| 2009–10 |
2,362
|
| 2010–11 |
2,363
|
| 2011–12 |
2,610
|
| 2012–13 |
3,227
|
| 2013–14 |
3,016
|
| 2014–15 |
2,986
|
| 2015–16 |
2,514
|
| 2016–17 |
2,637
|
| 2017–18 |
2,705
|
| 2018–19 |
2,713
|
| 2019–20 |
2,606
|
| Season | Team | Attendance |
|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | IF Björklöven | 3,423 |
| 2006–07 | Leksands IF | 4,127 |
| 2007–08 | Leksands IF | 5,152 |
| 2008–09 | IF Malmö Redhawks | 5,916 |
| 2009–10 | IF Malmö Redhawks | 5,592 |
| 2010–11 | Leksands IF | 4,842 |
| 2011–12 | IF Malmö Redhawks | 6,114 |
| 2012–13 | Djurgårdens IF | 6,184 |
| 2013–14 | Djurgårdens IF | 6,142 |
| 2014–15 | IF Malmö Redhawks | 6,258 |
| 2015–16 | Leksands IF | 4,576 |
| 2016–17 | MODO Hockey | 4,031 |
| 2017–18 | Leksands IF | 5,140 |
| 2018–19 | AIK | 4,698 |
| 2019–20 | IF Björklöven | 4,754 |
Watching Games on TV
C More Entertainment has been showing HockeyAllsvenskan games since 2015. Some games are shown on TV, and others can be watched online. Before C More, Viasat had the rights to broadcast the games from 2009 to 2015.
More About HockeyAllsvenskan
See also
In Spanish: Hockeyallsvenskan para niños
