Leksands IF facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Leksands IF |
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| City | Leksand, Sweden |
| League | Swedish Hockey League |
| Founded | 13 August 1919 |
| Home arena | Tegera Arena |
| Colours | |
| General manager | Thomas Johansson |
| Head coach | Björn Hellkvist |
| Captain | Patrik Zackrisson |
| Affiliate(s) | Leksands IF Dam |
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Website leksandsif.se |
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| Franchise history | |
| Championship wins | 4 (1969, 1973, 1974, 1975) |
| Runners-up | 5 (1959, 1964, 1971, 1972, 1989) |
Leksands Idrottsförening, often called Leksands IF, is a professional ice hockey team from Leksand, Sweden. This team plays in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), which is the top hockey league in Sweden. They joined the SHL after winning their way through the qualifiers in 2019. The team's home is Tegera Arena, a large stadium that can hold 7,650 fans.
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The Story of Leksands IF
Leksands IF started on August 13, 1919. At first, they played other sports like bandy (a type of ice hockey) and skiing. In 1920, they also started playing football.
The club played its first hockey game in 1938, winning 11–0 against Mora IK. Now, ice hockey is the only sport the club plays. Even though Leksand is a small town with about 6,000 people, Leksands IF is one of Sweden's most popular teams. They often have over 4,000 fans at their home games.
Leksand played in Sweden's top hockey division from 1951 until 2001. They had a very successful period between 1969 and 1975, winning the Swedish championship four times. They were champions in 1969, 1973, 1974, and 1975. Before the current top league, the SHL, was formed in 1975, Leksand had also finished second four times.
Even though Leksand has never won the SHL championship, they did finish first in the regular season three times: in 1980, 1994, and 1997. They also finished second in the SHL in 1989. In 2001, Leksand had played the second-most number of seasons in a row in the top division.
Moving Between Leagues
After 2001, Leksand often moved between the top league (SHL) and the second league, HockeyAllsvenskan. In 2005–06, they moved down to the second league again and stayed there until the 2012–13 season.
In the 2007–08 season, Leksand signed Ed Belfour, a famous goalie from the NHL. They hoped he would help them get back to the top league. They won the second league easily but failed to get promoted in the final qualification stage called Kvalserien. Ed Belfour retired after that season.
Leksand won the second league again in 2008–09 and 2009–10, but they still couldn't win the Kvalserien to get promoted. They finally made it back to the SHL in 2013 after winning the regular season in HockeyAllsvenskan and then succeeding in the 2013 Kvalserien.
Recent Seasons
This table shows how Leksands IF has done in the last few seasons.
| Year | Level | Division | Record | Avg. home atnd. |
Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | W-OTW-OTL-L | ||||||
| 2018–19 | Tier 2 | HockeyAllsvenskan | 4th | 25–5–5–17 | 4,666 | ||
| HockeyAllsvenskan Playoffs | 1st | 3–2–0–0 | 4,954 | ||||
| Playoff to the SHL qualifiers | — | 2–0–0–0 | 7,650 | Won 2–0 in games vs AIK IF | |||
| SHL qualifiers | — | 3–1–0–1 | 7,650 | Won 4–1 in games vs Mora IK Promoted to the SHL |
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| 2019–20 | Tier 1 | SHL | 13th | 13–2–6–31 | 5,795 | ||
| 2020–21 | Tier 1 | SHL | 3rd | 25–7–5–15 | 22 | ||
| Swedish Championship playoffs | — | 0–0–1–3 | 16 | Lost in 1st round 0–4 in games vs Örebro HK | |||
| 2021–22 | Tier 1 | SHL | 8th | 20–4–7–21 | 5,270 | ||
| Eighth-finals | — | 1–0–0–2 | 6,154 | Lost 1–2 in games vs IK Oskarshamn | |||
| 2022–23 | Tier 1 | SHL | 8th | 22–5–1–24 | 6,065 | ||
| Eighth-finals | — | 0–1–0–2 | 5,508 | Lost 1–2 in games vs Rögle BK | |||
Team Players and Staff
Current Roster
| # | Nat | Player | Pos | S/G | Age | Acquired | Birthplace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 |  |
Mantas Armalis | G | L | 32 | 2022 | Plungė, Lithuania |
| 8 |  |
Matthew Caito | D | R | 32 | 2020 | Coto de Caza, California, United States |
| 34 |  |
Peter Cehlárik | LW | L | 30 | 2023 | Žilina, Slovakia |
| 24 |  |
Arvid Eljas | C | L | 22 | 2020 | Björbo, Sweden |
| 25 | |
Lucas Elvenes | LW | L | 26 | 2022 | Ängelholm, Sweden |
| 1 | |
Marcus Gidlöf | G | L | 19 | 2023 | Falun, Sweden |
| 36 | |
Hannes Hellberg | LW | L | 20 | 2024 | Täby, Sweden |
| – | |
Jakob Hellsten | G | L | 25 | 2024 | Ljusdal, Sweden |
| 27 | |
Marek Hrivík | C | L | 33 | 2022 | Čadca, Czechoslovakia |
| 10 | |
Anton Johansson | D | R | 21 | 2021 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 7 | |
Marcus Karlberg | LW | R | 25 | 2017 | Leksand, Sweden |
| 11 | |
Martin Karlsson | LW | L | 34 | 2015 | Falun, Sweden |
| 28 | |
Justin Kloos | C | R | 31 | 2021 | Lakeville, Minnesota, United States |
| 13 | |
Jon Knuts | LW | L | 34 | 2014 | Malung, Sweden |
| 4 | |
Lucas Lagerberg Hoen | D | L | 21 | 2024 | Mora, Sweden |
| 14 | |
Oskar Lang | LW | L | 28 | 2014 | Arvika, Sweden |
| 33 | |
Eddie Larsson | D | L | 34 | 2023 | Mariestad, Sweden |
| 6 | |
Alexander Lundqvist | D | L | 24 | 2021 | Skellefteå, Sweden |
| – |  |
Joonas Lyytinen | D | L | 30 | 2024 | Espoo, Finland |
| 3 | |
Fred Nilsson | D | R | 22 | 2023 | Bollnäs, Sweden |
| 26 | |
Patrik Norén (A) | D | L | 32 | 2020 | Säter, Sweden |
| 12 | |
Kalle Östman | C | L | 31 | 2022 | Borlänge, Sweden |
| – | |
Axel Rindell | D | R | 25 | 2024 | Espoo, Finland |
| 22 | |
Lukas Vejdemo | C | L | 29 | 2023 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 15 |  |
Max Véronneau | RW | R | 29 | 2023 | Sandy Hill, Ontario, Canada |
| 9 | |
Patrik Zackrisson (C) | C | R | 38 | 2019 | Ekerö, Sweden |
As of 16 August 2024
Retired Numbers
Some jersey numbers are retired to honor players who were very important to the team:
- 2 Åke Lassas
- 18 Jonas Bergqvist
Honored Numbers
Other numbers are honored, meaning they are special but can still be used by new players:
- 1 Christer Abrahamsson
- 2 Tomas Jonsson
- 3 Vilgot Larsson
- 6 Thommy Abrahamsson
- 8 Magnus Svensson
- 12 Mats Åhlberg
- 15 Dan Söderström
- 16 Niklas Eriksson
- 22 Nisse Nilsson
Honored Coaches
- Rune Mases
Hockey Hall of Famers
- Ed Belfour – He was added to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.
Images for kids
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Leksand players celebrating a victory against their rivals, Mora IK, in 2013.
See also
In Spanish: Leksands IF para niños
