Elander's Expectations Could Lead To Refreshed SDE Roster, Skelleftea Looking For Positives

Peter Elander, who recently re-signed as head coach of SDE is carrying high expectations into the 2025-26 season that could lead to a very different SDE roster. Meanwhile, Skellefteå should reap rewards of positive rumours.

Here's a look at what's happening with the two SDHL clubs this offseason.

SDE recently announced the re-signing of head coach Peter Elander. 65-year-old Elander, who replaced previous head coach Emelie O’Konor in November 2024, engineered a regular season turnaround and a shocking first round upset of MoDo before the team succumbed to Luleå in the semi finals.  Known for his unforgiving style that demands performance in both games and practice, Elander is rumoured to be on the market for a handful of new import players.  The 2024/25 roster already had an international flair, with players from Sweden, Hungary, Germany, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and the United States.  Now, as the SDHL prepares to reduce the number of import players per team to nine, SDE will need to be more picky about which players, foreign and domestic, are offered contracts.

Swedish star Lisa Johansson, the type of talented rat that every team covets, is locked up until 2026. Signed too is big Hungarian defender Lotti Odnoga, who saw an increase in ice time and responsibility as the season progressed. Talented if inconsistent German forward Emily Nix will return, and should produce more in her sophomore SDHL season.  Captain Mathea Fischer also has one year left on her current contract.  Despite playing only 10 games for the club this season due to injury, Fischer was a sight to behold in the playoffs: she battled every shift, created offense out of nothing, and relished playing in the roughest parts of the ice.  Though already 27-years-old, the hard-nosed Norwegian has yet to hit her ceiling and could become one of the league’s best power forwards in the coming year. 

There are also, however, a slew of SDE players without contracts: Americans Liliane Perrault and Madison Bizal may not return after a rather underwhelming season where they struggled to find their identities on the ice. Import defenders Emma Bergesen and Dominique Kremer are also currently in limbo and without contracts for the 2025-26 campaign.  It would seem prudent for the club to re-sign Swedish talent Michelle Löwenhielm: she is a non-import veteran with a ton of international experience, and though she had an off year (recording only 18 points in 30 games), she is still capable of being a point-per-game player, as she had been for her previous five SDHL seasons.   

Elander has the reach and network to pull some very good NCAA and international veterans over to Sweden if he so chooses.  Competition will be fierce, and SDE will doubtlessly favour players who are willing to outwork and out-compete anyone, in games and in practice.  While the roster is not yet set, one thing is certain: SDE will be a very challenging team to play against, and perhaps play for, next season.

Skellefteå had one job in the 2024/25 season: to stay up in the SDHL after winning promotion from the NDHL the previous Spring.  The team achieved their goal, even after being deducted points in the standings in January for fielding too many import players.  Expectations will be higher in 2025/26 as the squad’s young core has a year of experience under their belts, and any new additions will be required to produce.

SAIK is set in goal, as number one goalie Camryn Drever recently signed a two-year extension, and backup Miranda Dahlgren has a year remaining on her deal. The team’s situation on defense is a little bit more precarious. While captain Malou Berggren will return, top scoring defender Aino Karppinen (15 points and +9 in 30 games) has yet to reach an agreement with the club for the coming season. Fellow Finn Sini Karjalainen is signed for 2025/26, and will be expected to contribute more offensively: this is a player who captained the University of Vermont in her senior year while registering 27 points and a +25. She has played well in the SDHL, but has yet to score more than 11 points in a season since her debut two years ago.  

Two of the team’s top five scorers, Ida Kuoppala and Nicoline Söndergaard Jensen, are signed, while the other three, Mikayla Lantto, Karppinen, and Marah Wagner, remain in limbo. GM Ulrika Dahlgren took a great step towards securing the team’s future when she re-signed young Danish phenom Nikita Bergmann to a two year deal in 2024 — the lanky Dane has begun to build the muscle and confidence that could see her have a breakout year in 2025/26.  Dahlgren has some more work to do, of course, but she has one important thing on her side: widely shared rumours that players enjoy playing for Skellefteå. That’s the kind of advertising that money can’t buy.