Latest news with #MoDo
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
SDHL's All-Time Scoring Leader Emma Nordin Calls It A Career
Emma Nordin announced her retirement this week stepping away from the game as the SDHL's all-time leading scorer. "There is only one Emma Nordin," her club Lulea wrote in a translated social media post. "You have inspired and paved the way for future generations of ice hockey players with your skill, your courage and above all your big heart. We will miss you on the ice. Thank you for everything." The 34-year-old spent the first half of her career with MoDo, but has played for Lulea since 2015-2016. In 475 career games in Sweden's top league, Nordin recorded 580 points. Her best season was her first with Lulea scoring 31 goals and 62 points in 31 games. Nordin won seven SDHL titles and was twice named the league's Best Forward, and was also named Swedish Player of the Year twice in her career. Internationally, Nordin represented Sweden at four Olympic Games and six World Championships, as well as two U-18 World Championships. At the 2019 World Championships, Nordin served as Sweden's captain. This season, her last, Nordin recorded 17 goals and 29 points in 34 games.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Report: Robert Hägg Will Probably Return Home Next Season
There's a very good chance that Swedish defenseman Robert Hägg will be returning home to play for MoDo Örnsköldsvik, according to reporter Mattias Persson. 'As I understand it, moving home is very much in play,' Persson said in the latest episode of his podcast MP & Hanson. 'It's down to either MoDo or re-signing with Vegas Golden Knights.' Hägg, the second-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2013, was an NHL regular from 2017 to 2023, mostly for Philadelphia but he also had stints with the Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers and Detroit Red Wings. However, he's only played seven NHL games over the past two seasons combined, leading to renewed speculation that the 30-year-old's days in North America are drawing to a close. Hägg signed a one-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks in the summer of 2023 but, after having what he felt was a strong training camp, he was sent to the minors, beginning a year-long ordeal that he described in an interview with Upsala Nya Tidning last summer. 'Why did you even sign me at all?,' he reportedly asked at one point when he was returned to the minors after a five-game mid-season stint with the Ducks. 'I'm not a junior anymore, I've been playing here for 10 years. You had this in mind when you signed me, so why couldn't you be honest from the start? They had no answer, so it was just a matter of biting the bullet and soldiering on.' Robert Hägg to Anaheim: 'Why did you even sign me at all?' Last month, while he was still considering his options for the 2024-25 season, Robert Hägg gave an interview with a Swedish reporter for where he expressed some of his disappointment with how things worked out in Anaheim. Reportedly, MoDo made a big push to sign Hägg last summer, but he decided to give the NHL another chance, signing a one-year, two-way deal with Vegas this past summer. 'It was on the table whether we should move home or how we should do it, but we have definitely decided that we want to stay abroad for a few more years,' Hägg said at the time. However, after another season spent primarily in the AHL, Hägg and his family are perhaps beginning to reconsider. He has only played two NHL games with the Knights, both in late November, and has otherwise played for the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights, where he has 16 points and 22 penalty minutes in 40 games through the end of January. Hägg spent three seasons in the MoDo organization from age 16 to 19, recording seven points in 80 SHL games. 'I've known Hinken (MoDo sports director Henrik Gradin) since my time in junior, when he coached both MoDo's U18 and U20 teams when I played there,' said Hägg. 'So we've been in touch over the years and I know about the interest.' Which league MoDo plays in next season might play a role in whether Hägg returns or not. The team currently sits 13th in the 14-team league – two points up on last-place HV71 and two behind 13th-place Linköping with seven games remaining in the regular season. The last two teams in the standings face each other in a play-out series, with the winner remaining in the SHL and the loser being relegated to the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. If Hägg's NHL career is indeed over, he finishes with 63 points and 308 penalty minutes in 345 regular-season games spread out over nine seasons. Mattias Norlinder returns to Sweden; donations raised to pay contract Swedish defenseman Mattias Norlinder, 24, has signed a two-year contract with MoDo Hockey, the SHL club announced on Wednesday. Norlinder previously played with the club from 2016 to 2020 at the U16 and U18 levels and also played 55 games in the second-tier professional HockeyAllsvenskan, where he recorded 34 points.
New York Times
12-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Sweden's minor hockey model offers an alternative to high-stress development: ‘Have fun'
MONTREAL — Imagine life as Connor McDavid growing up in the greater Toronto area, progressing under the following blueprint: • Starting his under-6 adventure with a Toronto Maple Leafs minor hockey program. • Playing junior for the Leafs. • Pulling on the blue and white as an 18-year-old NHLer. Fiction for McDavid was reality for Victor Hedman. Advertisement Hedman is from Örnsköldsvik. He started playing organized hockey when he was 5 years old. He played his first pro season when he was 17. Hedman, the No. 2 pick in 2009, did all this while playing for one club: MoDo, the former team of fellow Örnsköldsvik natives Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund, Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin. In comparison, consider the path of Noah Hanifin, the No. 5 pick in 2015. The Team USA defenseman, who is from Norwood, Mass., started youth hockey with the South Shore Kings. He also played for Boston Advantage and Junior Valley Warriors, similar club teams as the Kings. In eighth, ninth and 10th grades, Hanifin played varsity hockey at St. Sebastian's School. He went to the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich. He arrived at Boston College as a 17-year-old freshman. Hanifin played for six teams in the time Hedman played for one. 'When I grew up, I didn't dream about the NHL. I dreamt about playing for MoDo,' Hedman says. 'To go from age 5 to when I was 18 with the same organization was … yeah. People over here don't really believe that. But that's how it's been back home.' The teammates Hedman grew up playing with are friends for life. Others on Sweden's 4 Nations roster had the same experience. Friendships cannot help but tighten when players progress through minor, junior and professional tiers without ever changing addresses. 'I'm not saying better or worse or right or wrong. Just culturally different,' Team Sweden coach Sam Hallam said of his federation's approach. 'Victor Hedman grew up playing for a youth team that also was the professional team in his town. I think he still sees himself as a MoDo player. I think you build a lot of passion and heart and soul for that.' The way it works in Sweden, most players join their hometown club. They are free to stay there throughout their minor hockey careers. Some progress to junior and pro hockey with the same club. Others move to bigger programs. Advertisement At early ages, Swedish players are not as familiar with structure as their North American counterparts. They are encouraged to learn the game through trial and error, sometimes against bigger and stronger players. Families are not required to purchase equipment for new players. Take Elias Lindholm, for example. Lindholm was born in 1994 and raised in Boden, which does not have as many players as other towns. Lindholm regularly played up, with and against 1992- and 1993-born players. The Boston Bruins center had no choice but to think the game at a higher level against bigger, stronger and more experienced players. 'We played a lot of games growing up,' Lindholm says. 'For me, that was a good thing. You develop well during games. Sometimes you play three, four games during the weekend.' It was not uncommon for Lindholm to play 100 games per season. In his mind, it all blends together — actual games and informal fresh-air gatherings with his friends. 'Every time you had an opportunity to go outdoors, we had those times where there was no games — you just play with your buddies,' Lindholm says. 'Nobody had a practice. You just go out there and have fun.' Comfort is one reason the one-club model can promote steady development. Players become familiar with each other. There is little peer pressure, especially among parents, to chase greener grass elsewhere. 'You don't have to leave your town,' said the Bruins' Hampus Lindholm. 'You travel a little bit when you get older. But it's not like here where you have to be in travel teams. You have to switch a lot of teams. You don't have to necessarily worry that much about switching teams and having new teammates all the time. You can be more comfortable being around the same guys. There's both good and bad with that. But I learned the most when I was young.' Advertisement Sweden's youth emphasis is on recreation. Skill, structure and development follow. The way Mattias Ekholm remembers it, earning a living in hockey was never front of mind when he first stepped onto the ice for IFK Ore. Ekholm pulled on skates to play a game and enjoy the company of his friends. They were among the happiest times of Ekholm's life, to say nothing of his career. 'Up until I was 15, it was all about having fun,' Ekholm recalls. 'The biggest memories is you go on these weekend tournaments with your friends. You stay away, play games and hang out with your friends. Those are probably some of the better, if not the best, moments of the hockey part so far. The NHL is great. I'm not saying that. But the level of fun you had growing up and just playing, it's a different kind of fun.' Having a good time does not rule out hard work. When he was 16 years old, David Pastrnak decided to move from Czechia to play juniors for Södertälje. It was nothing like his Czech experience. 'The skill level as a kid and young players was pretty much the same. It was mostly everything off the ice,' Pastrnak recalls. 'It was the work ethic. The way they were working out, preparing for the games, eating. Work ethic off the ice.' Ekholm has heard the stories of players bouncing between AAA clubs, schools, summer camps and showcase tournaments of North American minor hockey. He doesn't like them. Ekholm believes stress at young ages can produce burnout. 'We have to focus more on having fun early on,' Ekholm says. 'Maybe we're doing all these camps, selections, select teams and all this stuff too early. For some, it works. But I think for the whole mass, it's not to lose players but also fans at an early age. So if you have a bad experience, it's like, 'I'm not going to be a fan later on in life.'' Advertisement Sweden offers multiple divisions of competition within the same organization. There is not as much on the line in terms of chasing goals such as being drafted by a CHL team, making the U.S. NTDP or earning a college scholarship. Former NHLer Fabian Brunnstrom, for example, played low-level Division 2 for Helsingborgs, his hometown club. He was a late bloomer. Brunnstrom progressed through Division 1 and the Elitserien. The undrafted Brunnstrom signed with the Dallas Stars in 2008 after widespread NHL interest. 'There's so much pressure for a kid going to college and paying for school,' Hampus Lindholm says. 'I feel like the pressure on you being successful, from the parents' side of things, isn't as big as over here.' It is not easy for Sweden's top players to transition to North American hockey. The ice is smaller. There is more pounding within the tightness of 85 feet. Life away from the rink is different. Family is an ocean away. But the 23 Swedes participating in the 4 Nations Face-Off have found instant familiarity in Montreal. It is not just that they are speaking the same language on the ice. When a player like Hedman has played with the same friends for more than a dozen years, there is nowhere he'd rather be than at the rink. 'Everyone loved the game so much,' Elias Lindholm says. 'Every opportunity you had to step on the ice, even if it was outdoors or wherever, everyone had fun doing it.' GO DEEPER 'I'd take his …': Team Sweden players on one skill they'd steal from a 4 Nations teammate
Chicago Tribune
11-02-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Sweden is blazing a trail in women's hockey by allowing body checking — and finding health benefits along the way
ÖRNSKÖLDSVIK, Sweden — Lauren Bellefontaine came off the ice after a game in Sweden's top women's hockey league and detailed the toll her body had just taken. 'I got a stick to the collarbone tonight and also a hit to the head. Definitely some bumps and bruises,' she said with a smile. 'But I'm feeling fine.' Growing up in Canada, Bellefontaine kept hearing people ask why there was no hitting in women's hockey. It has taken a move to northern Sweden for her to discover the more physical side of the sport. In 2022, Sweden became the first country to introduce body checking to its premier women's league, bringing its rule book closer to men's hockey even though hockey's world governing body does not formally allow the practice because of safety concerns. It has opened up a new world for women's players, who say they feel more empowered playing the game the way it was intended. Swedish hockey officials say the results have been overwhelmingly positive: The women's game has become faster and more entertaining while concussions, which have been a scourge for the sport, have decreased. Other countries are now looking to follow suit, with the PWHL — the professional women's league in North America with some of the world's top players — putting checking in the rules for its inaugural season last year. 'It has given us the opportunity to prove we're physical, we're strong and we can play just like the men's players,' Bellefontaine said. 'It allows us to show we can — and we will.' Bellefontaine joined MoDo for the start of the 2023-24 season. It's a title-contending team from Örnsköldsvik, a sleepy coastal town some 530 kilometers (330 miles) north of Stockholm — and not far from the Arctic Circle — whose population of 30,000 lives and breathes hockey and whose most famous alumni include NHL greats Peter Forsberg, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, and Markus Naslund. Initially it was something of a culture shock to her. 'I had no prior experience of hitting at all,' the 25-year-old Bellefontaine said, 'and we went right into the season so it took me a while to get into it … it was tough but now it's just fun.' Safer, too. Benefits of body checking Statistics supplied by the Swedish women's league show the number of concussions sustained by players has dropped since 2018, when its 'Project Zero Vision' was launched. There were 35 reported concussions in the 2018-19 regular season, 10 in 2022-23 and 15 in 2023-24. By Jan. 8 this year, which was approaching the end of the regular season, there had been six. Preventing concussions was the main driver behind the introduction of checking, as counterintuitive as that may seem. It has forced players to skate with their heads up, increasing their ice awareness. There have been other benefits of bringing back checking, which was part of the game in women's hockey in Europe and North America until the mid-1980s but isn't in the International Ice Hockey Federation's current rule book. Coaches, league officials and fans say the speed of the Swedish game has gotten quicker, as players make smarter and faster decisions. For many, it restores the balance between skill and physicality that is important in making the sport an entertaining watch. 'It creates some tension in the game that you otherwise don't get,' said Luc de Keijzer, a 27-year-old student who is a regular at MoDo games. One big hope is that increased physical play makes Sweden more competitive at the international level against traditional hockey powers like the United States, Canada and Finland. Sweden's women's team regularly goes deep in world championships and Olympic Games but hasn't won the gold medal at either tournament. Closing the equality gap For some female players, the biggest effect has been to make them feel more empowered. That's because they are essentially following the same rules as the men, except for one key difference: hits on open ice — when players are skating freely away from the boards — are forbidden in women's hockey. 'We're trying to close the gap between men's and women's hockey, so this is one way we are doing it — to have similar rules as they do,' said Alexie Guay, another Canadian playing for MoDo. 'It's not as intense and there are different rules still — I don't know if there will be fighting in women's hockey in the future — but we're definitely closing the gap and I think it's a cool thing.' According to research by Lund University in Sweden, 88% of the 159 players from the league who responded to a questionnaire said they were in favor of checking. Jared Cipparone, the coach of MoDo's women's team, said he hasn't encountered any resistance from his players about checking. 'Everyone was excited about it,' said Cipparone, who is also from Canada. 'The first year was trial and fire for many, but last year and this year you see the significance it's made in the game and I've only heard good things about it.' At MoDo's home game against HV71 at Hagglunds Arena in early January, a MoDo player was almost knocked off her skates by a full-body hit. Many others were smashed into the boards but went on with the game. There were no roughing penalties and certainly no brawling. The 5-foot-7 Bellefontaine, who describes herself as 'pretty small,' has had to adapt her game. She said she trains harder, watches what she eats to 'bulk up a little bit' and is making use of the sauna in her apartment for post-match recovery. 'I'm definitely squeezing my core a little more,' she said. 'Before, I wouldn't even expect to be hit so now it's head on a swivel, always looking, always watching, and just being ready to take a hit. You have to make sure you're not in a position to jeopardize yourself. 'It's definitely changed the way we play and made us better players.' In Sweden, they start early USA Hockey and Hockey Canada do not allow checking in girls and women's hockey. In Sweden, body checking is part of the rules for boys and girls starting at the age of 12. League officials say being educated so early prepares players for when they are older. MoDo fan Marie Johansson said her 18-year-old daughter, Amanda, started with checking from age 12, initially while playing with boys. 'All parents are worried about their children getting injured,' Johansson said, 'but when they learn to do the checking, they train a lot, they learn how to hold their heads up high, and she learnt how to avoid injuries. I don't think because she's a girl I've been more worried than if she'd been a boy.' Morgan Johansson, an official who helped to launch the Zero Vision project, said he has shared information with the IIHF and the PWHL about the effects the rule change has had on the Swedish league. Norwegian and Danish leagues have also contacted him. Last year, the IIHF had PWHL officials in North America outline the league's rules on checking and officiating in a potential first step to modify its rulebook and provide a new standard at international competitions, league vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said. Contacted by the AP, the IIHF said its rulebook 'does not prohibit competitive body contact between players' but noted its staff was working with its membership 'to clarify the interpretation of this part in women's hockey.' As for the Swedes, they are happy to have made the bold step that others are starting to follow. 'We are kind of a trailblazer when it comes to women's hockey in challenging the old structures that said, 'Women can't,'' said Angelica Lindeberg, operations manager for the Swedish league. 'Now we say, of course they can. We are very proud of that.'
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sweden blazes trail in women's hockey by allowing body checking and finds health, quality benefits
ÖRNSKÖLDSVIK, Sweden (AP) — Lauren Bellefontaine came off the ice after a game in Sweden's top women's hockey league and detailed the toll her body had just taken. 'I got a stick to the collarbone tonight and also a hit to the head. Definitely some bumps and bruises,' she said with a smile. 'But I'm feeling fine.' Growing up in Canada, Bellefontaine kept hearing people ask why there was no hitting in women's hockey. It has taken a move to northern Sweden for her to discover the more physical side of the sport. In 2022, Sweden became the first country to introduce body checking to its premier women's league, bringing its rule book closer to men's hockey even though hockey's world governing body does not formally allow the practice because of safety concerns. It has opened up a new world for women's players, who say they feel more empowered playing the game the way it was intended. Swedish hockey officials say the results have been overwhelmingly positive: The women's game has become faster and more entertaining while concussions, which have been a scourge for the sport, have decreased. Other countries are now looking to follow suit, with the PWHL — the professional women's league in North America with some of the world's top players — putting checking in the rules for its inaugural season last year. 'It has given us the opportunity to prove we're physical, we're strong and we can play just like the men's players,' Bellefontaine said. 'It allows us to show we can — and we will.' Bellefontaine joined MoDo for the start of the 2023-24 season. It's a title-contending team from Örnsköldsvik, a sleepy coastal town some 530 kilometers (330 miles) north of Stockholm — and not far from the Arctic Circle — whose population of 30,000 lives and breathes hockey and whose most famous alumni include NHL greats Peter Forsberg, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, and Markus Naslund. Initially it was something of a culture shock to her. 'I had no prior experience of hitting at all,' the 25-year-old Bellefontaine said, 'and we went right into the season so it took me a while to get into it … it was tough but now it's just fun.' Safer, too. Benefits of body checking Statistics supplied by the Swedish women's league show the number of concussions sustained by players has dropped since 2018, when its 'Project Zero Vision' was launched. There were 35 reported concussions in the 2018-19 regular season, 10 in 2022-23 and 15 in 2023-24. By Jan. 8 this year, which was approaching the end of the regular season, there had been six. Preventing concussions was the main driver behind the introduction of checking, as counterintuitive as that may seem. It has forced players to skate with their heads up, increasing their ice awareness. There have been other benefits of bringing back checking, which was part of the game in women's hockey in Europe and North America until the mid-1980s but isn't in the International Ice Hockey Federation's current rule book. Coaches, league officials and fans say the speed of the Swedish game has gotten quicker, as players make smarter and faster decisions. For many, it restores the balance between skill and physicality that is important in making the sport an entertaining watch. 'It creates some tension in the game that you otherwise don't get,' said Luc de Keijzer, a 27-year-old student who is a regular at MoDo games. One big hope is that increased physical play makes Sweden more competitive at the international level against traditional hockey powers like the United States, Canada and Finland. Sweden's women's team regularly goes deep in world championships and Olympic Games but hasn't won the gold medal at either tournament. Closing the equality gap For some female players, the biggest effect has been to make them feel more empowered. That's because they are essentially following the same rules as the men, except for one key difference: hits on open ice — when players are skating freely away from the boards — are forbidden in women's hockey. 'We're trying to close the gap between men's and women's hockey, so this is one way we are doing it — to have similar rules as they do,' said Alexie Guay, another Canadian playing for MoDo. 'It's not as intense and there are different rules still — I don't know if there will be fighting in women's hockey in the future — but we're definitely closing the gap and I think it's a cool thing.' According to research by Lund University in Sweden, 88% of the 159 players from the league who responded to a questionnaire said they were in favor of checking. Jared Cipparone, the coach of MoDo's women's team, said he hasn't encountered any resistance from his players about checking. 'Everyone was excited about it,' said Cipparone, who is also from Canada. 'The first year was trial and fire for many, but last year and this year you see the significance it's made in the game and I've only heard good things about it.' At MoDo's home game against HV71 at Hagglunds Arena in early January, a MoDo player was almost knocked off her skates by a full-body hit. Many others were smashed into the boards but went on with the game. There were no roughing penalties and certainly no brawling. The 5-foot-7 Bellefontaine, who describes herself as 'pretty small,' has had to adapt her game. She said she trains harder, watches what she eats to 'bulk up a little bit' and is making use of the sauna in her apartment for post-match recovery. 'I'm definitely squeezing my core a little more,' she said. 'Before, I wouldn't even expect to be hit so now it's head on a swivel, always looking, always watching, and just being ready to take a hit. You have to make sure you're not in a position to jeopardize yourself. 'It's definitely changed the way we play and made us better players.' In Sweden, they start early USA Hockey and Hockey Canada do not allow checking in girls and women's hockey. In Sweden, body checking is part of the rules for boys and girls starting at the age of 12. League officials say being educated so early prepares players for when they are older. MoDo fan Marie Johansson said her 18-year-old daughter, Amanda, started with checking from age 12, initially while playing with boys. 'All parents are worried about their children getting injured,' Johansson said, 'but when they learn to do the checking, they train a lot, they learn how to hold their heads up high, and she learnt how to avoid injuries. I don't think because she's a girl I've been more worried than if she'd been a boy.' Morgan Johansson, an official who helped to launch the Zero Vision project, said he has shared information with the IIHF and the PWHL about the effects the rule change has had on the Swedish league. Norwegian and Danish leagues have also contacted him. Last year, the IIHF had PWHL officials in North America outline the league's rules on checking and officiating in a potential first step to modify its rulebook and provide a new standard at international competitions, league vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said. Contacted by the AP, the IIHF said its rulebook 'does not prohibit competitive body contact between players' but noted its staff was working with its membership "to clarify the interpretation of this part in women's hockey.' As for the Swedes, they are happy to have made the bold step that others are starting to follow. 'We are kind of a trailblazer when it comes to women's hockey in challenging the old structures that said, 'Women can't,'' said Angelica Lindeberg, operations manager for the Swedish league. 'Now we say, of course they can. We are very proud of that.' ___ AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed. ___ AP women's hockey: Steve Douglas, The Associated Press
