Växjö and Skellefteå

Despite the closeness in most of the standings, two teams have emerged on top, seperated from all the rest. Both Skellefteå and Växjö have had extremely impressive season so far and after this weeks action both teams are tied in points with 76 each, a full nine points ahead of third placed Frölunda. To put that into perspective, Frölunda sits nine points ahead of 8th placed Leksand at the moment. So the same amount of points that seperate second and third also seperate third and eigth.

The success of both top teams so far this season has been incredibly impressive, Skellefteå tied the record for the SHL win streak with 16 straight wins earlier this year and Växjö has the leagues lowest goals against average so far.

Despite the Lakers success, Skellefteå has been the better team, on paper, so far this season. They currently sit with a +44 in the goals for/against category. They lead the league with 131 goals, and they have one less game played compared to Växjö. Skellefteå also has two of the top six point scorers in the league as Jonathan Pudas (36 Pts) and Oscar Möller (34Pts) sit 4th and 6th respectively in that category. Oscar Möller is also second in goals scored with 20. Their goaltender Linus Söderström also leads the league with an impressive 1.44 GAA and .939 SV%. He has also posted six shutouts so far.

On the other side the Lakers Robert Rosén has had an impressive season so far as well with 33 points (16G + 17A) and Emil Larmi between the pipes has a 1.93 GAA, .925 SV% and three shutouts.

All in all both these teams have had an incredibly impressive season so far and with just over a dozen games left in the regular season, it's going to come right down to the wire to determine who will come out on top when the final buzzer sounds.

Off Ice News

Ikonen

Finnish forward Jasse Ikonen has made a lateral move this week going from Linköping to Färjestad. The 32 year old is in his first season of Swedish hockey after starting the season with TPS in Liiga. Other than a single season in Italy, he had spent his entire career in Finland until this year when he joined Linköping about halfway through the season. He originally signed a seven week contract with LHC, who decided not to extend the contract, allowing him to move to Färjestad for the remainder of the season.

• He is very all-round and has played both winger and center, which we think is a good fit to strengthen the team, says general manager Rickard Wallin .

Timrå

Timrå was also involved in a lateral move this week that saw them recruit Simon Forsmark from Örebro. The young defender has split his time this season between Örebros J20 team, the big club and AIK in HockeyAllsvenskan.

• Simon is a young and promising defender who I think can develop a lot here in Timrå. He already has a lot of SHL experience despite his young age and we have a lot of faith in him over the coming seasons, says general manager Kimmo Kapanen.

Forsmark was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes, who selected him 101st overall in last summers NHL entry draft.

Ikonen was not the only player to be recruited this week by Timrå, as the club also brought in some talent from outside the borders of Sweden. 34 year Old Olli Palola will be returning to the SHL for his third season in the league. He previously played with Rögle in the 2020/21 season and with Växjö in 2016/17.

• Olli is a very experienced forward with, above all, a good shot that he can use from several different positions. He is a hard-working player who will fit well into our game system and with the routine and the style of play he has, he can play in many different roles where both power play and penalty kills come into play, says Kappanen.

Palola has also played four season in the KHL. The contract is valid until the end of the season.