Skellefteå AIK facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Skellefteå AIK
City	Skellefteå, Sweden
League	Swedish Hockey League
Founded	1 July 1921
Home arena	Skellefteå Kraft Arena
Colors
General manager	Erik Forssell
Head coach	Robert Ohlsson
Captain	Jonathan Pudas
Website	skellefteaaik.se
Championships
Regular season titles	5 (1981, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2023)
Le Mat Trophy	4 (1978, 2013, 2014, 2024)

Skellefteå AIK is a professional ice hockey club from Skellefteå, Sweden. They play in the top Swedish league, the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Their home games are played at Skellefteå Kraft Arena, which can hold 6,001 fans. The team has won the Swedish Championship four times. These wins happened in 1978, 2013, 2014, and most recently in 2024. Skellefteå AIK reached the SHL championship finals for six years in a row, from 2011 to 2016. They won two of those finals.

Team History

How it Started

Skellefteå AIK was founded on July 1, 1921, at a place called Café Norden in Skellefteå. However, the club did not start playing ice hockey until 1943. In their first season, they only played practice games.

In the 1943–44 season, the team played in a local league called Skellefteserien. This league could not finish because the games were played outdoors, and the weather was not good for hockey.

Reaching the Top League

In 1955, Skellefteå AIK made it to the highest hockey league in Sweden. Around this time, the team had a famous line of players known as the "Mosquito Line." This line included Anders "Akka" Andersson, "Garvis" Määttä, and Kalle Hedlund.

In the 1957–58 season, they won the northern group of the Allsvenskan. They then finished second in the SM-serien, just one point behind the winners, Djurgårdens IF. Skellefteå AIK played in Division 1 North until 1967.

Joining Elitserien

When the Swedish Elite League, known as Elitserien, was created in 1975, Skellefteå AIK was one of the first teams to join.

In the 1977–78 season, Martin Karlsson was the top scorer in the league. Skellefteå AIK went on to win the playoffs that year. They became Swedish champions in 1978, thanks to strong play from Göran Lindblom. In 1981, Skellefteå also won the regular season.

In 1985, the hockey part of the club became its own team, called Skellefteå HC. They used this name until 1991, when they changed back to Skellefteå AIK.

Back to the Top

In 1990, Skellefteå AIK was moved down to a lower league. They played in the Swedish second league (Allsvenskan) for 16 seasons. But in 2006–07, they made it back to the top league, Elitserien (which is now called the SHL). They have played there ever since.

In their first year back in the top league, Skellefteå AIK was the best new team. They earned 73 points in 55 games. At one point in the 2007–08 season, Skellefteå even led the league for the first time in 30 years. They also made it to the playoffs for the first time since 1981.

In the 2008–09 season, Skellefteå AIK reached the playoffs again. They beat Linköpings HC in a tough series that went to seven games. They came back from being down 1–3 in the series to win 4–3. In the final game, Skellefteå won in overtime, thanks to a goal by Kimmo Koskenkorva. This game became the third longest playoff game in Elitserien history.

Joakim Lindström was a key player for Skellefteå AIK.

The next season, Skellefteå played Färjestad BK in the quarterfinals and won in seven games. They then played HV71, who won the series and became champions in 2010.

In the 2010–11 season, Skellefteå had the top three scoring players in the league: Joakim Lindström, Mikko Lehtonen, and David Rundblad. In the playoffs, Skellefteå reached the finals for the first time in 33 years. However, they lost to Färjestad.

In the 2011–12 season, Skellefteå AIK made it to the Swedish Championship Finals again. They lost to Brynäs IF in six games.

Championship Wins

In the 2012–13 season, the team won the regular season. In the playoffs, Skellefteå reached the Finals once more. They played against their northern rival, Luleå HF. Skellefteå won all four games (4–0) and became Swedish champions for the first time since 1978. They finished the playoffs with an amazing 12–1 record. They were the first team since 2003 to win the Finals by sweeping their opponent.

In the 2013–14 SHL season, Skellefteå AIK won the regular season again. They reached the Finals for the fourth year in a row, playing against Färjestad BK. Just like in 2013, Skellefteå won all four games (4–0). They became Swedish champions for the third time. They were also the first team since Djurgårdens IF (in 2000 and 2001) to win two championships in a row. Their 8–1 win in game three was the biggest goal difference in an SHL Finals game ever.

Thousands of fans celebrated Skellefteå AIK's first Swedish Championship in 35 years.

In the 2014–15 SHL season, Skellefteå won their third regular season trophy in a row. This was very impressive because they had lost 14 top players. Experts were amazed by how consistent the team was. They were big favorites to win the championship again.

In the quarterfinals, Skellefteå played against Brynäs IF, who they had faced in the 2012 finals. Skellefteå won all four games. Even though they swept the series, some people wondered if Skellefteå's winning streak was ending because the games were very close.

In the 2015 semifinals, Skellefteå played Linköpings HC for the third year in a row. Skellefteå won the series 4–1, proving many experts wrong who thought it would be a very tough series. They went into the finals as strong favorites.

The first game of the 2015 finals was on April 12, between Skellefteå AIK and Växjö Lakers. The Lakers surprised everyone by winning Skellefteå's home game 2–1. The second game was very important for Skellefteå. They improved their play around the net and won 3–0. After this win, Skellefteå AIK was again seen as the favorite to win the championship.

Skellefteå AIK won their fourth Swedish Championship in 2024, beating Rögle BK 4–1 in the finals.

Team Captains

Top Players and Records

Regular Season Records

• Most goals in one season: Magnus Wernblom, 37 (2005–06)
• Most assists in one season: Bud Holloway, 51 (2012–13)
• Most points in one season: Bud Holloway, 71 (2012–13)
• Most penalty minutes in one season: Joakim Lindström, 134 (2010–11)
• Most points in one season by a defenseman: Johan Åkerman, 61 (2005–06)
• Most shutouts (games where the goalie lets in no goals) in one season: Johan Backlund, 8 (2002–03)

All-Time Scoring Leaders

These are the top ten players who have scored the most points for Skellefteå AIK in the SHL/Elitserien.

Awards and Trophies

Team Trophies

Individual Player Awards

Many Skellefteå AIK players have won special awards for their great performance.