2025–26 SHL season
| 2025–26 SHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Swedish Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration |
|
| Regular season | |
| First place | Skellefteå AIK[1] |
| Top scorer | Oscar Lindberg (Skellefteå AIK) |
| Playoffs | |
The 2025–26 SHL season is the 51st season of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). The regular season began on 13 September 2025, and concluded on 14 March 2026, where it is followed by the playoffs and the relegation playoffs.[2]
Skellefteå AIK finished top of the regular season standings for the first time in a decade,[3] finishing with 108 points and a 7-point margin over runners-up Frölunda HC, helped in part by top points scorer Oscar Lindberg, and an SHL record 10 shutouts for goaltender Strauss Mann.[4]
Teams
The league consists of 14 teams; Djurgårdens IF returned to the SHL after three seasons in the HockeyAllsvenskan, where they won the 2024–25 title.[5]
Modo Hockey were relegated to the HockeyAllsvenskan at the end of the previous season, after two seasons in the SHL.[6]
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brynäs IF | Gävle | Monitor ERP Arena | 7,909 |
| Djurgårdens IF | Stockholm | Hovet | 8,094 |
| Färjestad BK | Karlstad | Löfbergs Arena | 8,647 |
| Frölunda HC | Gothenburg | Scandinavium | 12,044 |
| HV71 | Jönköping | Husqvarna Garden | 7,000 |
| Leksands IF | Leksand | Tegera Arena | 7,650 |
| Linköping HC | Linköping | Saab Arena | 8,500 |
| Luleå HF | Luleå | Coop Norrbotten Arena | 6,300 |
| Malmö Redhawks | Malmö | Malmö Arena | 13,000 |
| Örebro HK | Örebro | Behrn Arena | 5,150 |
| Rögle BK | Ängelholm | Catena Arena | 5,150 |
| Skellefteå AIK | Skellefteå | Skellefteå Kraft Arena | 6,001 |
| Timrå IK | Timrå | SCA Arena | 6,000 |
| Växjö Lakers | Växjö | Vida Arena | 5,700 |
Regular season
Each team played 52 games, playing each of the other thirteen teams four times: twice on home ice, and twice away from home. Points were awarded for each game, where three points were awarded for winning in regulation time, two points for winning in overtime or shootout, one point for losing in overtime or shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finished with the most points was crowned the league champion.
Along with the playoff winners, the two highest-ranked teams in the regular season qualify for the 2026–27 Champions Hockey League.
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skellefteå AIK | 52 | 30 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 182 | 121 | +61 | 108 | Qualification to Quarter-finals and Champions Hockey League[a] |
| 2 | Frölunda HC | 52 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 161 | 106 | +55 | 101 | |
| 3 | Växjö Lakers | 52 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 150 | 136 | +14 | 94 | |
| 4 | Rögle BK | 52 | 25 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 155 | 123 | +32 | 93 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 5 | Färjestad BK | 52 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 145 | 131 | +14 | 80 | |
| 6 | Brynäs IF | 52 | 19 | 8 | 5 | 20 | 154 | 143 | +11 | 78 | |
| 7 | Luleå HF | 52 | 21 | 5 | 4 | 22 | 139 | 134 | +5 | 77 | Qualification to Eighth-finals |
| 8 | Malmö Redhawks | 52 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 23 | 143 | 154 | −11 | 77 | |
| 9 | Djurgårdens IF | 52 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 24 | 136 | 164 | −28 | 73 | |
| 10 | Örebro HK | 52 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 139 | 158 | −19 | 66 | |
| 11 | Linköping HC | 52 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 26 | 119 | 148 | −29 | 64 | |
| 12 | Timrå IK | 52 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 27 | 127 | 148 | −21 | 63 | |
| 13 | HV71 | 52 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 27 | 136 | 172 | −36 | 59 | Qualification to Play Out |
| 14 | Leksands IF | 52 | 16 | 2 | 7 | 27 | 112 | 160 | −48 | 59 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
Notes:
- ^ Frölunda HC qualified for the 2026–27 Champions Hockey League as the 2025–26 winners.
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following shows the top ten players who led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season.[7] If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oscar Lindberg | Skellefteå AIK | 52 | 30 | 37 | 67 | +17 | 52 |
| Rickard Hugg | Skellefteå AIK | 52 | 20 | 36 | 56 | +13 | 12 |
| Jonathan Dahlén | Timrå IK | 50 | 30 | 25 | 55 | +9 | 16 |
| Patrik Karlkvist | Örebro HK | 52 | 15 | 35 | 50 | 0 | 14 |
| Lucas Elvenes | Växjö Lakers | 51 | 12 | 38 | 50 | +3 | 14 |
| Robin Kovacs | Linköping HC | 50 | 23 | 24 | 47 | +2 | 49 |
| Jonathan Pudas | Skellefteå AIK | 48 | 16 | 31 | 47 | +11 | 36 |
| Jonathan Ang | HV71 | 52 | 21 | 25 | 46 | –10 | 38 |
| Emil Pettersson | Timrå IK | 51 | 15 | 31 | 46 | +8 | 22 |
| Viktor Lodin | Färjestad BK | 49 | 12 | 34 | 46 | –1 | 44 |
Leading goaltenders
The following shows the top ten goaltenders who led the league in goals against average, provided that they had played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.[8]
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tobias Normann | Frölunda HC | 24 | 1425:53 | 14 | 10 | 40 | 3 | 92.34 | 1.68 |
| Strauss Mann | Skellefteå AIK | 42 | 2483:18 | 31 | 10 | 80 | 10 | 91.35 | 1.93 |
| Lars Johansson | Frölunda HC | 28 | 1693:56 | 20 | 8 | 60 | 1 | 90.84 | 2.13 |
| Adam Åhman | Växjö Lakers | 32 | 1896:40 | 22 | 10 | 69 | 3 | 90.71 | 2.18 |
| Emil Larmi | Färjestad BK | 37 | 1997:19 | 17 | 17 | 77 | 2 | 89.92 | 2.31 |
| Arvid Holm | Rögle BK | 35 | 2055:47 | 19 | 15 | 80 | 4 | 89.16 | 2.33 |
| Matteus Ward | Luleå HF | 33 | 1934:19 | 20 | 12 | 76 | 2 | 89.28 | 2.36 |
| Damian Clara | Brynäs IF | 33 | 1929:28 | 17 | 15 | 81 | 2 | 88.73 | 2.52 |
| Jacob Johansson | Timrå IK | 33 | 1881:20 | 14 | 16 | 80 | 3 | 89.06 | 2.55 |
| Jhonas Enroth | Örebro HK | 31 | 1833:51 | 13 | 17 | 81 | 2 | 89.05 | 2.65 |
Playoffs
Ten teams qualify for the playoffs: the top six teams in the regular season have a bye to the quarterfinals, while teams ranked seventh to tenth meet each other (7 versus 10, 8 versus 9) in a preliminary playoff round.[9]
Format
In the first round, the 7th-ranked team meets the 10th-ranked team and the 8th-ranked team meets the 9th-ranked team for a place in the second round. In the second round, the top-ranked team will meet the lowest-ranked winner of the first round, the second-ranked team will face the other winner of the first round, the third-ranked team will face the sixth-ranked team, and the fourth-ranked team will face the fifth-ranked team. In the third round, the highest remaining seed is matched against the lowest remaining seed. In each round the higher-seeded team is awarded home advantage. The meetings are in the first round played as best-of-three series, and in the later rounds as best-of-seven series. In the eighth-finals, the higher-seeded teams play at home for game 2 (plus 3 if necessary) while the lower-seeded teams play at home for game 1. In the later rounds, the higher-seeded teams are at home for games 1 and 3 (plus 5 and 7 if necessary) while the lower-seeded teams are at home for games 2 and 4 (plus 6 if necessary).[9]
Playoff bracket
| Eighth-finals Swedish: Åttondelsfinal | Quarter-finals Swedish: Kvartsfinal | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Skellefteå AIK | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Luleå HF | 2 | 8 | Malmö Redhawks | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 10 | Örebro HK | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Frölunda HC | 0 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Luleå HF | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Växjö Lakers | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Malmö Redhawks | 2 | 6 | Brynäs IF | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | Djurgårdens IF | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Rögle BK | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Färjestad BK | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Eighth-finals
(7) Luleå HF vs. (10) Örebro HK
| 17 March | Örebro HK | 2–6 | Luleå HF | Behrn Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
|
Second period |
| ||||||
| No scoring | Third period |
| ||||||
| Jhonas Enroth (30 shots / 25 saves) | Goalie stats | Matteus Ward (34 shots / 32 saves) | ||||||
| 19 March | Luleå HF | 1–3 | Örebro HK | Coop Norrbotten Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 15:58 – Kalle Kossila (2; PPG) | ||||||
| Anton Levtchi (2) – 1:57 | Third period |
| ||||||
| Matteus Ward (26 shots / 23 saves) | Goalie stats | Jhonas Enroth (18 shots / 17 saves) | ||||||
| 21 March | Luleå HF | 4–2 | Örebro HK | Coop Norrbotten Arena | Recap | |||
|
First period |
| ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ben Tardif (2) – 3:58 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Matteus Ward (26 shots / 24 saves) | Goalie stats | Jhonas Enroth (25 shots / 21 saves) | ||||||
| Luleå HF win series 2–1 | |
(8) Malmö Redhawks vs. (9) Djurgårdens IF
| 17 March | Djurgårdens IF | 3–2 | OT | Malmö Redhawks | Hovet | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 18:37 – Joona Ikonen (1) | ||||||
| Colby Sissons (1; PPG) – 6:21 | Second period | 16:26 – Carl Persson (1; PPG) | ||||||
| Viggo Björck (1) – 0:52 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Anton Frondell (1; PPG) – 9:08 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Daniel Marmenlind (32 shots / 30 saves) | Goalie stats | Oskar Blomgren (33 shots / 30 saves) | ||||||
| 19 March | Malmö Redhawks | 2–1 | Djurgårdens IF | Malmö Arena | Recap | |||
| Filip Björkman (1) – 2:28 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| William von Barnekow (1) – 15:20 | Third period | 9:01 – Jacob Josefson (1) | ||||||
| Oskar Blomgren (18 shots / 17 saves) | Goalie stats | Magnus Hellberg (26 shots / 24 saves) | ||||||
| 21 March | Malmö Redhawks | 3–1 | Djurgårdens IF | Malmö Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| William von Barnekow (2) – 7:55 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Third period | 19:49 – Ludvig Rensfeldt (1; EA) | |||||||
| Oskar Blomgren (18 shots / 17 saves) | Goalie stats | Magnus Hellberg (26 shots / 24 saves) | ||||||
| Malmö Redhawks win series 2–1 | |
Quarter-finals
(1) Skellefteå AIK vs. (8) Malmö Redhawks
| 23 March | Skellefteå AIK | 19:00 | Malmö Redhawks | Skellefteå Kraft Arena | ||||
| 25 March | Skellefteå AIK | 19:00 | Malmö Redhawks | Skellefteå Kraft Arena | ||||
| 27 March | Malmö Redhawks | 19:00 | Skellefteå AIK | Malmö Arena | ||||
| 29 March | Malmö Redhawks | 15:00 | Skellefteå AIK | Malmö Arena | ||||
| Series begins 23 March | |
(2) Frölunda HC vs. (7) Luleå HF
| 23 March | Frölunda HC | 19:00 | Luleå HF | Scandinavium | ||||
| 25 March | Frölunda HC | 19:00 | Luleå HF | Scandinavium | ||||
| 27 March | Luleå HF | 19:00 | Frölunda HC | Coop Norrbotten Arena | ||||
| 29 March | Luleå HF | 15:00 | Frölunda HC | Coop Norrbotten Arena | ||||
| Series begins 23 March | |
(3) Växjö Lakers vs. (6) Brynäs IF
| 24 March | Växjö Lakers | 19:00 | Brynäs IF | Vida Arena | ||||
| 26 March | Växjö Lakers | 19:00 | Brynäs IF | Vida Arena | ||||
| 28 March | Brynäs IF | 15:15 | Växjö Lakers | Monitor ERP Arena | ||||
| 30 March | Brynäs IF | 19:00 | Växjö Lakers | Monitor ERP Arena | ||||
| Series begins 24 March | |
(4) Rögle BK vs. (5) Färjestad BK
| 24 March | Rögle BK | 19:00 | Färjestad BK | Catena Arena | ||||
| 26 March | Rögle BK | 19:00 | Färjestad BK | Catena Arena | ||||
| 28 March | Färjestad BK | 15:15 | Rögle BK | Löfbergs Arena | ||||
| 30 March | Färjestad BK | 19:00 | Rögle BK | Löfbergs Arena | ||||
| Series begins 24 March | |
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of games played on 21 March 2026. If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.[10]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalle Kossila | Örebro HK | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Anton Levtchi | Luleå HF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | +4 | 2 |
| William von Barnekow | Malmö Redhawks | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | +4 | 0 |
| Pontus Andreasson | Luleå HF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +4 | 0 |
| Viggo Björck | Djurgårdens IF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Linus Omark | Luleå HF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Jesper Sellgren | Luleå HF | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +3 | 0 |
| Victor Eklund | Djurgårdens IF | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | –2 | 4 |
| Patrik Karlkvist | Örebro HK | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Oskari Laaksonen | Luleå HF | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +2 | 4 |
| David Quenneville | Örebro HK | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | –3 | 0 |
Leading goaltenders
The following shows the top goaltenders who led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of games played on 21 March 2026.[11]
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oskar Blomgren | Malmö Redhawks | 3 | 189:08 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 92.75 | 1.59 |
| Magnus Hellberg | Djurgårdens IF | 2 | 115:46 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 92.31 | 2.07 |
| Matteus Ward | Luleå HF | 3 | 176:45 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 91.86 | 2.38 |
| Jhonas Enroth | Örebro HK | 3 | 178:52 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 86.30 | 3.35 |
Play Out
The two bottom-placed teams from the regular season (HV71 and Leksands IF) play a best-of-seven series, with the winner remaining in the SHL and the loser relegated to the second tier, the HockeyAllsvenskan. The higher-seeded team holds home advantage over the series, playing at home for the first two games, games five and seven (if required), while the lower-seeded team is at home for games three, four and six (if required).[9]
| 18 March | HV71 | 2–1 | Leksands IF | Husqvarna Garden | Recap | |||
| Justin Kloos (1) – 19:45 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Martin Johnsen (1) – 14:31 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 0:37 – Michael Lindqvist (1; PPG) | ||||||
| Felix Sandström (23 shots / 22 saves) | Goalie stats | Filip Larsson (28 shots / 26 saves) | ||||||
| 20 March | HV71 | 3–2 | Leksands IF | Husqvarna Garden | Recap | |||
|
First period | 8:53 – Oskar Lang (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Andreas Borgman (1) – 2:31 | Third period | 15:07 – Lukas Vejdemo (1) | ||||||
| Felix Sandström (27 shots / 25 saves) | Goalie stats | Filip Larsson (24 shots / 21 saves) | ||||||
| 22 March | Leksands IF | 1–3 | HV71 | Tegera Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 18:48 – Jonathan Ang (1) | ||||||
| Lukas Vejdemo (2; PPG) – 16:35 | Third period |
| ||||||
| Filip Larsson (17 shots / 15 saves) | Goalie stats | Felix Sandström (33 shots / 32 saves) | ||||||
| 24 March | Leksands IF | 19:00 | HV71 | Tegera Arena | ||||
| 27 March | HV71 | 19:00 | Leksands IF | Husqvarna Garden | ||||
| 29 March | Leksands IF | 18:30 | HV71 | Tegera Arena | ||||
| 31 March | HV71 | 19:00 | Leksands IF | Husqvarna Garden | ||||
| HV71 lead series 3–0 | |
SHL awards
References
- ^ Alsalman, Ibraheem (12 March 2026). "Skellefteå seriesegrare efter drömperiod" [Skellefteå series winner after dream period]. Sveriges Television (in Swedish). Retrieved 14 March 2026.
- ^ "Här är spelschemat 2025/2026!" (in Swedish). Swedish Hockey League. 16 May 2025.
- ^ Fransson, Malin (13 March 2026). "SHL: Nära historisk milstolpe, ångestkval och kaxiga tonåringar" [SHL: Close to historic milestone, anguish and cocky teenagers]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Bonnier Group. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
[...] är i år för första gången på tio år som Skellefteå vinner SHL:s grundserie.
[[...] this year is the first time in ten years that Skellefteå has won the SHL regular season.] - ^ Sundström, Karl (26 February 2026). "Strauss Mann historisk när Skellefteå tog över serieledningen" [Strauss Mann made history when Skellefteå took over the league lead]. Sveriges Television (in Swedish). Retrieved 14 March 2026.
- ^ Larsson, Mac (25 April 2025). "Mesta mästarna Djurgården tillbaka i SHL" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ Johansson, Anton; Karlsson, Mattias (25 March 2025). "HV71 vann kvalet – Modo åker ur SHL" [HV71 won the qualifier - Modo relegated from the SHL]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ "Spelarstatistik - Statistik" [Player Statistics - Statistik]. Swedish Hockey League (in Swedish). SHL AB. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
- ^ "Målvakter - Statistik" [Goalkeeper - Statistics]. Swedish Hockey League (in Swedish). SHL AB. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
- ^ a b c "Seriebestämmelser Säsongen 2025/2026" [Series regulations: Season 2025/2026] (PDF). Swehockey (in Swedish). Swedish Ice Hockey Association. pp. 5–7. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ "Spelarstatistik - Statistik" [Player Statistics - Statistics]. Swedish Hockey League (in Swedish). SHL AB. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
- ^ "Målvakter - Statistik" [Goalkeepers - Statistics]. Swedish Hockey League (in Swedish). SHL AB. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
- ^ "Magnus Hellberg tilldelas Honken Trophy 2025/2026" [Magnus Hellberg awarded Honken Trophy 2025/2026] (in Swedish). Swedish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 13 March 2026.