Elisa Holopainen scores a pair of goals for Frolunda in the team's first ever win over Lulea. A quarter of the way through the 2024-25 SDHL season, here are some notes and takeaways from Brynäs, Djurgården, and Frölunda's start: BRYNÄS Last season, Brynäs boasted the league’s second most potent offense, scoring an average of 3.5 goals per game. This season, in contrast, the squad has struggled to produce, and is averaging only 1.78 goals per match. Part of the solution will be to rebuild confidence in the power play, which currently boasts only a 6.9% success rate, good for ninth place out of ten teams in the league. As former power play quarterback Maja Nylén Persson has departed the team for New York, the system needs to be rejigged, and made more dynamic. Since last season, Brynäs has lost a handful of players to the PWHL, namely Nylén Persson, Noemi Neubauerová and Anna Meixner, while burgeoning talent Sini Karjalainen left for Skellefteå. All of the departed players were both dependable producers and steady leaders. Remaining stars Hanna Thuvik, Jenniina Nylund and Sára Čajanová were expected to pick up the slack, and have yet to rise to the challenge. Thuvik caught a tough break when she was handed a two-game suspension in Week 2, and has looked out of sorts since. Still only 22 years old, Thuvik needs offensive support, and should be able to expect it from players like 2023-24 point-per-game forward Jenniina Nylund and surprise Minnesota Frost training camp invitee Kaitlyn O’Donohoe [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/three-minnesota-frost-camp-invites-to-watch], who have yet to find their scoring form. This season’s Brynäs is, nonetheless, stacked with talent, though much of it very young: teens Tilde Sundnäs Grillfors, Anna Brenkle and Sanni Vanhanen are being relied on to play big minutes, and need to be allowed the time to learn and grow. The team showed much improved intensity and determination in their recent shutout victory over Djurgården, an indication that things could be headed in the right direction. 2023-24 Final League Ranking: 3rd Current League Ranking: 6th DJURGÅRDENS IF Djurgården struggled to start the season, dropping six straight games before finally beating (and shutting out) fellow bottom-dwellers Leksand on October 5th. What is interesting, and gives DIF more than a glimmer of hope, is that six of their seven losses this season have been by only one goal. Goaltender Ida Boman, who has carried the lion’s share of the team’s playing time this season, has been brilliant, posting a 93,3 save percentage, 1.65 goals against average and three shutouts in nine starts. Captain Brette Pettet overcame a slow start, and has posted seven points in her last 5 games, with support from burgeoning star Isabelle Leijonhielm, who had great numbers for Sweden’s U18 national team last season. DIF’s handful of Czech players have begun to click, particularly young Tereza Plosová, who has the size and speed to become a horse for Djurgården before she departs for the University of Minnesota next season. Defender Emma Forsgren is on track to record career-best numbers in both points and plus/minus. 2025 University of Minnesota-Duluth commit (and owner of a top class hockey name) Linnea Natt och Dag has also been steady on the back end — she is unlikely to score much, but provides a steadying presence and is a menace in the corners. With so many reasons to be positive, expect Djurgården to eke out some more wins against higher-ranking opponents in the coming weeks. 2023-24 Final League Ranking: 5th Current League Ranking: 9th FRÖLUNDA Since dropping their first game of the season 2-1 against MoDo, Frölunda has been unbeatable. They are now winners of eight straight, and look for all the world like potential champions. General Manager Kim Martin-Hasson has built an offensive juggernaut: adding current league-leading scorer Elisa Holopainen from Finland’s KalPa in the off season to compliment veteran star Michelle Karvinen, speedster Emilia Vesa, and potential-laden Sofie Lundin. Hanna Olsson, arguably the league’s best shooter, has returned from a long-term injury, and has 11 points in 9 games. The franchise’s third best scorer of all-time, Andrea Dalen, looks poised to contribute both points and leadership after a couple of seasons that were interrupted by health issues. Dalen has been relatively quiet so far this season, but had an incredible no-look assist to Michelle Karvinen on the game-winning goal against SDE on Sunday, which bodes well for the team and her performance in the weeks ahead. On the defensive side, new acquisitions Nathalie Lidman and Sanni Rantala have fit right in. Rantala has the potential to be a point-per-game player on the back end, and Lidman has matched her career-best plus/minus at plus 10. The team’s goaltending duo of Stephanie Neatby and young Maja Helge has been outstanding. Neatby ranks second in the league with a spectacular .950 save percentage and five wins in six starts. Helge, though used sparingly so far, has won twice in as many outings, while posting a 1.00 GAA. Frölunda’s challenge going forward will be maintaining consistency. The team is so stacked with talent, experience, and flash that it should be able to dominate opponents for sixty minutes, night in and night out. An upcoming rematch against MoDo, the only team to defeat Frölunda this season, will be a litmus test of the team’s resolve. 2023-24 Final League Ranking: 4th Current League Ranking: 2nd
