IF Björklöven facts for kids
Quick facts for kids IF Björklöven |
|
---|---|
City | Umeå, Sweden |
League | HockeyAllsvenskan |
Founded | May 15, 1970 |
Home arena | Winpos Arena |
Colours | |
General manager | Per Kenttä |
Head coach | Daniel Rahimi |
Captain | Axel Ottosson |
Website | bjorkloven.com |
Franchise history | |
26 | Seasons in Sweden's highest division |
3 | Swedish Championship Finals appearances |
Le Mat Trophy | 1987 |
IF Björklöven, often called Löven, is a professional ice hockey team from Umeå, a city in northern Sweden. The team plays in HockeyAllsvenskan, which is the second-highest league in Sweden. Björklöven has played 15 seasons in Sweden's top league, Elitserien. They even won the Swedish championship in 1987!
Contents
Team History
IF Björklöven was created in 1970. This happened when two other ice hockey teams, IFK Umeå and Sandåkerns SK, joined together. The name 'björklöven' means 'the birch leaves' in Swedish. People sometimes called IFK Umeå this name because Umeå is known as the 'city of birch trees'. After the teams merged, 'Björklöven' became their official name.
The team was very successful in the 1980s. They played in the Elitserien, which is Sweden's top league. In 1987, they won the Swedish championship, which was a huge achievement! However, just two years later, they moved down to a lower league. Since then, they have mostly played in the second-tier league, HockeyAllsvenskan. They did have a few short times back in the top league during the 1990s.
Some famous players who played for Björklöven include Calle Johansson, Ulf Dahlén, Tore Öqvist, and the twin brothers Patrik Sundström and Peter Sundström.
From 2001 to 2010, Björklöven played in HockeyAllsvenskan. In 2010, the club faced big financial problems. They went bankrupt in April 2010, but managed to fix the issue a month later. Even with a lot of effort, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association did not allow them to play in HockeyAllsvenskan. So, the team moved down to Division 1, the third-tier league, for the 2010–11 season. Björklöven worked hard and was promoted back to HockeyAllsvenskan in the 2012–13 season.
The team has had many promising young players over the years. These include Alexander Hellström, Alexander Sundström, Patrik Nevalainen, Daniel Rahimi, and Kristofer Berglund. Because of money issues, Björklöven sometimes lost these players to other teams. However, Hellström, Sundström, and Nevalainen later returned to play for the team.
Björklöven Women's Team
Björklöven also has a women's ice hockey team. This team currently plays in Damettan, which is the second level of women's hockey in Sweden. In 2018, the club hosted a special tournament called Damcup Umeå. Teams like Luleå HF/MSSK, Modo Hockey, and the Japanese national team played in it. Luleå won the tournament by winning all their games.
Players and Team Members
Current Roster
Updated 10 October, 2019.
# | Nat | Player | Pos | S/G | Age | Acquired | Birthplace |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 | ![]() |
Fredric Andersson (C) | C | L | 36 | 2017 | Gnesta, Sweden |
96 | ![]() |
Pontus Andreasson | F | L | 26 | 2019 | Stockholm, Sweden |
35 | ![]() |
Joe Cannata | G | L | 35 | 2019 | Wakefield, Massachusetts, United States |
12 | ![]() |
Brian Cooper | D | L | 31 | 2019 | Anchorage, Alaska, United States |
8 | ![]() |
Alexander Deilert | D | R | 36 | 2019 | Stockholm, Sweden |
91 | ![]() |
Justin Crandall | RW | R | 33 | 2019 | Lakeville, Minnesota, United States |
53 | ![]() |
Lukas Eriksson | C/LW | L | 36 | 2017 | Karlstad, Sweden |
11 | ![]() |
William Eriksson | F | R | 27 | 2018 | Stockholm, Sweden |
90 | ![]() |
Alex Hutchings | C/RW | R | 34 | 2019 | Burlington, Ontario, Canada |
7 | ![]() |
Alexander Hellström | D | L | 38 | 2018 | Falun, Sweden |
5 | ![]() |
Hardy Häman Aktell | D | L | 27 | 2018 | Kåge, Sweden |
77 | ![]() |
David Lindquist | C/LW | L | 32 | 2018 | Piteå, Sweden |
26 | ![]() |
Oliver Larsen | D | R | 26 | 2019 | Aalborg, Denmark |
79 | ![]() |
Emil Lundberg | W | L | 31 | 2018 | Luleå, Sweden |
30 | ![]() |
Mattias Pettersson | G | L | 34 | 2018 | Halmstad, Sweden |
21 | ![]() |
Erik Rainersson | RW | R | 26 | 2017 | Umeå, Sweden |
40 | ![]() |
Sebastian Selin | RW | R | 33 | 2018 | Skellefteå, Sweden |
19 | ![]() |
Kristoffer Söder | C | L | 34 | 2018 | Skövde, Sweden |
24 | ![]() |
Ludwig Stenvall | D | R | 26 | 2019 | Skellefteå, Sweden |
52 | ![]() |
August Tornberg | D | R | 33 | 2018 | Pajala, Sweden |
15 | ![]() |
Tyler Vesel | C | R | 31 | 2019 | Duluth, Minnesota, United States |
28 | ![]() |
Alexander Viklund | W | L | 34 | 2018 | Piteå, Sweden |
39 | ![]() |
Filiph Åström | LW | L | 24 | 2016 | Umeå, Sweden |
Team Captains
- John Slettvoll, 1976–77
- Ulf Lundström, 1977–80
- Torbjörn Andersson, 1981–83
- Rolf Berglund, 1983–86
- Peter Andersson, 1986–89
- Ulf Andersson, 1989–90
- Peter Andersson, 1990–93
- Patrik Sundström, 1993–94
- Peter Andersson, 1994–95
- Jens Öhman, 1995–96
- Robert Ljunggren, 1996–97
- Peder Bejegård, 1997–98
- Jens Öhman, 1998–99
- Christian Lechtaler, 1999–01
- Göran Hermansson, 2001–02
- Jörgen Hermansson, 2002–05
- Mats Lavander, 2005–07
- Magnus Gästrin, 2007–09
- Fredrik Öberg, 2009–10
- Martin Johansson, 2010–11
- Johan Jarl, 2011–13
- Mats Lavander, 2013–14
- Stefan Öhman, 2014–17
- Fredric Andersson, 2017–present
Honored Members
Some players are so important to the team that their jersey numbers are "retired." This means no other player on the team will ever wear that number again. It's a special way to remember their amazing contributions.
No. | Player | Position | Career | No. retirement |
---|---|---|---|---|
9 | Aleksandrs Beļavskis | RW | 1991–2003 | – |
17 | Patrik Sundström | RW | 1978–1982, 1992–1994 | – |
23 | Roger Hägglund | D | 1977–1983, 1985–1992 | – |
27 | Tore Ökvist | F | 1974–1988 | – |
Notable Players
- Ric Jackman
- Greg Parks
- Andrew Raycroft
- Brian Watts
- François Rozenthal
- Maurice Rozenthal
- Peter Andersson
- Mikael Andersson
- Ulf Dahlén
- Calle Johansson
- Peter Sundström
- Brad DeFauw