# 2022–23 SDHL season

The 2022–23 SDHL season was the sixteenth ice hockey season of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL). The season began on 16 September 2022 and concluded on 26 February 2023. Göteborg HC withdrew from the league on 2 November 2022, reducing the number of teams to nine for the remainder of the regular season.
The playoffs began on 1 March and concluded on 20 March 2023. Luleå HF/MSSK swept Brynäs IF Dam in the playoff finals to claim the club's sixth Swedish Championship title.

## Teams

All ten teams from the 2021–22 SDHL season returned for the 2022–23 season. The increasing number of import players was reflected in the nationalities of team captains: AIK, Brynäs IF, HV71, and Luleå HF/MSSK had Finnish captains; Göteborg HC, Leksands IF, and SDE HF had Canadian captains; Linköping had a Norwegian captain; and Djurgårdens and MoDo had Swedish captains.
On 2 November 2022, Göteborg HC announced its withdrawal from the league. The club opted to withdraw in an effort to avoid declaring bankruptcy, which would have also required the cessation of all of the club’s minor, junior, and para ice hockey activities. In addition to the club’s financial problems, the team had also failed to attract enough Swedish players to meet SDHL requirements.
| Team | City | Arena | Head coach | Captain |
| AIK | Solna | Ritorps Ishall | Carl Wendt | Sara Säkkinen |
| Brynäs IF | Gävle | Monitor ERP Arena | Filip Eriksson | Rosa Lindstedt |
| Djurgårdens IF | Stockholm | Hovet | Rickard Hårdstam | Josefine Holmgren |
| Göteborg HC | Gothenburg | Angered Arena [sv] | Snorri Sigurbergsson | Alexa McMillan |
| HV71 | Jönköping | Husqvarna Garden | Peter Hammarström | Sanni Hakala |
| Leksands IF | Leksand | Tegera Arena | Jordan Colliton | Abby Thiessen |
| Linköping HC | Linköping | Stångebro Ishall | Simon Hedefalk | Madelen Haug Hansen |
| Luleå HF/MSSK | Luleå | Coop Norrbotten Arena | Jens Själin, Mikael Forsberg | Jenni Hiirikoski |
| MoDo Hockey | Örnsköldsvik | Hägglunds Arena | Jared Cipparone | Olivia Carlsson |
| SDE Hockey | Danderyd | Enebybergs Ishall | Jan Bylesjö | Kelly Murray |
Sources:

## Regular season

The 2022–23 SDHL season schedule originally comprised 36 games per team, in which each team would play every other team four times – twice at home and twice away.

### Standings

When Göteborg HC withdrew from the league in early November, they had earned four points in thirteen games and was ranked last in the league. Their record included one win, one overtime loss, and eleven regulation losses, with a goal difference of –52 (8 goals for, 60 goals against).
In order to maintain an equal number of games played between the remaining nine teams, the SDHL selected to remove the games played by Göteborg HC from the official standings, reducing the number of games played by each team to 32 for the season. All statistics from games played against Göteborg HC were stricken from the record.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Luleå HF/MSSK | 32 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 140 | 39 | +101 | 87 |
| 2 | Brynäs IF | 32 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 136 | 66 | +70 | 79 |
| 3 | Djurgårdens IF | 32 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 83 | 69 | +14 | 57 |
| 4 | MoDo Hockey | 32 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 91 | 74 | +17 | 56 |
| 5 | SDE Hockey | 32 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 74 | 88 | −14 | 41 |
| 6 | Leksands IF | 32 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 60 | 89 | −29 | 37 |
| 7 | Linköping HC | 32 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 17 | 69 | 97 | −28 | 34 |
| 8 | HV71 | 32 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 21 | 67 | 115 | −48 | 24 |
| 9 | AIK IF | 32 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 44 | 127 | −83 | 17 |
| 10 | Göteborg HC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Luleå HF/MSSK were champions of the regular season after amassing a combined total of thirty wins and two losses.

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

The following players lead the league in regular season points at the completion of the season on 26 February 2023.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
| Lara Stalder | Brynäs | 32 | 18 | 43 | 61 | +38 | 16 |
| Noora Tulus | Luleå/MSSK | 32 | 22 | 34 | 56 | +43 | 6 |
| Petra Nieminen | Luleå/MSSK | 32 | 30 | 23 | 53 | +38 | 20 |
| Anna Meixner | Brynäs | 30 | 26 | 27 | 53 | +39 | 12 |
| Maja Nylén Persson | Brynäs | 32 | 16 | 32 | 48 | +43 | 8 |
| Viivi Vainikka | Luleå/MSSK | 32 | 23 | 18 | 41 | +38 | 6 |
| Jennifer Wakefield | MoDo | 28 | 23 | 14 | 37 | +22 | 26 |
| Jenni Hiirikoski | Luleå/MSSK | 31 | 5 | 32 | 37 | +43 | 15 |
| Emma Nordin | Luleå/MSSK | 30 | 17 | 19 | 36 | +22 | 2 |
| Ronja Savolainen | Luleå/MSSK | 30 | 7 | 25 | 32 | +51 | 14 |
| Nara Elia | Linköping | 30 | 17 | 13 | 30 | +1 | 4 |
| Lina Ljungblom | MoDo | 32 | 17 | 13 | 30 | +12 | 8 |
| Hanna Thuvik | Brynäs | 28 | 15 | 14 | 29 | +26 | 31 |
| Michelle Löwenhielm | SDE | 31 | 11 | 18 | 29 | +10 | 14 |
| Josefine Jakobsen | Djurgården | 30 | 9 | 20 | 29 | +9 | 22 |
| Jaycee Magwood | MoDo | 32 | 5 | 24 | 29 | +13 | 18 |
| Matilda Nilsson | Brynäs | 27 | 16 | 12 | 28 | +16 | 8 |
| Elin Svensson | HV71 | 32 | 13 | 14 | 27 | –13 | 26 |
| Lisa Johansson | Luleå/MSSK | 31 | 12 | 15 | 27 | +23 | 6 |
| Haruka Toko | Linköping | 29 | 9 | 18 | 27 | +1 | 6 |

#### Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in save percentage at the conclusion of the regular season on 26 February 2023, while playing at least one third of their team’s minutes in net.
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| Frida Axell | Luleå/MSSK | 14 | 842:41 | 13 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 94.42 | 1.00 |
| Lindsey Post | SDE | 21 | 1204:50 | 11 | 10 | 37 | 6 | 93.76 | 1.84 |
| Sara Grahn | Luleå/MSSK | 18 | 1086:24 | 17 | 1 | 25 | 3 | 92.80 | 1.38 |
| Lauren Bench | MoDo | 26 | 1521:17 | 14 | 12 | 58 | 3 | 91.88 | 2.29 |
| Felicia Frank | Brynäs | 13 | 713:22 | 11 | 1 | 22 | 3 | 91.57 | 1.85 |
| Anni Keisala | HV71 | 26 | 1481:12 | 8 | 16 | 72 | 3 | 91.49 | 2.92 |
| Loryn Pearson Porter | Göteborg/ Brynäs | 21 | 1119:00 | 8 | 11 | 63 | 2 | 90.70 | 3.38 |
| Emma Polusny | Leksand | 27 | 1620:07 | 11 | 16 | 65 | 4 | 90.57 | 2.41 |
| Ida Boman | Djurgården | 25 | 1475:59 | 14 | 11 | 51 | 3 | 90.56 | 2.07 |
| Ebba Svensson Träff | Linköping | 23 | 1306:27 | 8 | 15 | 60 | 2 | 90.48 | 2.76 |

## Playoffs
### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Luleå HF/MSSK | 2 | | | | | |
| 8 | HV71 | 0 | | | | | |
| 8 | HV71 | 0 | 1 | Luleå HF/MSSK | 3 | | |
| | | | 4 | MoDo Hockey | 0 | | |
| 4 | MoDo Hockey | 2 | 4 | MoDo Hockey | 0 | | |
| 5 | SDE HF | 0 | | | | | |
| 5 | SDE HF | 0 | | | | Luleå HF/MSSK | 3 |
| | | | | | | Brynäs IF | 0 |
| 2 | Brynäs IF | 2 | | | | | | Brynäs IF | 0 |
| 7 | Linköping | 0 | | | | | |
| 7 | Linköping | 0 | 2 | Brynäs IF | 3 | | |
| | | | 3 | Djurgårdens IF | 0 | | |
| 3 | Djurgårdens IF | 2 | 3 | Djurgårdens IF | 0 | | |
| 6 | Leksands IF | 1 | | | | | |

## Awards and honors

Austrian forward Anna Meixner of Brynäs IF received the Guldhjälmen for the 2022–23 SDHL season. First awarded in the 2019–20 SDHL season, Guldhjälmen recognizes the SDHL MVP, as voted by the league’s players. Meixner is the third Brynäs player to receive the award, after Lara Stalder in 2019–20 and Kateřina Mrázová in 2020–21.

### Player of the Month

The SDHL player of the month (Swedish: månadens spelare) was selected by a jury comprising SDHL sports director Oscar Alsenfelt, Svenska Spel sponsorship manager Mats Einarsson, SVT sports commentator Chris Härenstam [sv], C More ice hockey commentator Pernilla Winberg, and Damkronorna head coach Ulf "Uffe" Lundberg; every jury member was not required vote each month. Each winner selected a project to receive 10,000kr towards promoting Swedish ice hockey. Winners are listed with their selected programs in parentheses.
* September/October 2022: Noora Tulus, Luleå/MSSK (Luleå Hockey girls' program)
* November 2022: Emma Nordin, Luleå/MSSK (Luleå Hockey girls' ice skating disco)
* December 2022: Maja Nylén Persson, Brynäs (Brynäs girls' ice hockey program)
* January 2023: Anna Meixner, Brynäs (Brynäs girls' ice hockey program)
* February 2023: Petra Nieminen, Luleå/MSSK (Luleå Hockey girls' program)

### Delivery of the Month

The SDHL assist of the month award was dubbed the "delivery of the month" (Swedish: "månadens leverans") due to its sponsorship by the shipping company DHL. Each winner earned 5000kr for a non-profit of their choice. Winners are listed with their selected non-profit in parentheses.
* October 2022: Nara Elia, Linköping (unspecified organization promoting girls ice hockey in Sweden)
* November 2022: Lova Blom, Djurgårdens (Nyköping Hockey girls junior-C team and hockey school)
* January 2023: Lara Stalder, Brynäs (Brynäs/Sandvikens NDHL team)
* February 2023: Lara Stalder, Brynäs (Brynäs/Sandvikens NDHL team)

### Weekly Awards

Goal of the Week The SDHL goal of the week (Swedish: Veckans mål) was selected by fan vote from five nominees via the league’s website and social media accounts. Percentage of votes cast for the winner is in parentheses, when available.
* ↑ Haruka Toko of Linköping received a total of 38% of votes in Week 42. She had two goals nominated, which received 28% and 10% of the vote, respectively.
Save of the Week The SDHL save of the week (Swedish: Veckans räddning) was selected from five options by fan vote via the league’s website and social media accounts. Percentage of votes cast for the winner is in parentheses, when available.