# Nationella Damhockeyligan

Nationella Damhockeyligan (lit. 'National Women's Hockey League') or NDHL is the second-highest women's ice hockey league in Sweden. It was previously known as the Damettan or Damettan i ishockey during 2015 to 2021, and Division 1 during 2007 to 2015. The league engages in active promotion and relegation with the top-tier Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) and the third-tier Damtvåan.
Beginning with the first official women's ice hockey Swedish Championship in 1988, the Division 1 served as the premier league for women's ice hockey and the winner of its playoffs was named Swedish Champion. During the 2007–08 season, the best Division 1 teams qualified for a newly created premier league, the Riksserien (renamed SDHL in 2016), at which point Division 1 was reconfigured as the second-tier league.
Bodychecking was allowed for the 2022–2023 season.

## League
### Season structure

The current NDHL season structure was first implemented in the 2021–22 season and minor modifications have subsequently been made. Unlike the SDHL, which is governed entirely by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association (SIF), or the Damtvåan, which is governed entirely by regional ice hockey associations, the governance of the NDHL is split between regional associations and the SIF. Regional associations oversee their respective the NDHL DamEttan divisions until teams have been selected for the regional qualifier. The SIF oversees the Dam HockeyAllsvenskan, the regional qualifier, the Dam HockeyAllsvenskan playoffs, and the Kvalserie till SDHL.

#### NDHL DamEttan

The season begins with four regional series, collectively called the Damettan (lit. 'Women's First'). Teams are sorted into one of four geographical divisions: NDHL Damettan Norra (North), NDHL Damettan Östra (East), NDHL Damettan Södra (South), and NDHL Damettan Västra (West). Each Damettan division is administered locally by a regional sub-organ of the SIF, which results in some structural and regulatory differences between divisions, for example, the number of games played and the manner in which teams are selected for the regional qualifier.

#### Dam HockeyAllsvenskan

The two top-ranking teams from each Damettan division qualify for the Damhockeyallsvenskan (lit. 'Women's Hockey All-Sweden'), which is administered directly by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association and is generally played during February. Damettan divisions are partially merged for the Damhockeyallsvenskan to form two groups of four teams: Norr/Väst (lit. 'North/West'), called Damhockeyallsvenskan Norra, and Syd/Öst (lit. 'South/East'), called Damhockeyallsvenskan Södra. Each group is played as a double round-robin; the top-three teams progress to the NDHL playoffs, while the teams placing fourth qualify for the next NDHL Damettan season.

#### Regional qualifier

In mid-February, the top teams from the NDHL Damettan Östra, Södra, and Västra compete for the remaining playoff berths in a regional qualifier (Swedish: regionalt förkval). Each division used a different method for determining its top team The series is played as a single round-robin; the top two teams earn positions in the NDHL playoffs and the third-place team qualifies for the next NDHL Damettan season.

#### Playoffs

The NDHL playoffs feature the top-three teams from the two divisions of the Dam HockeyAllsvenskan and the top-two teams from the regional qualifier. The divisions from the Dam HockeyAllsvenskan – Norra and Södra – remain in place and one team from the regional qualifier is added to each of the divisions. Each round is played using a best-of-three format.

#### Kvalserie till SDHL

The Dam HockeyAllsvenskan playoff champions earn the opportunity to compete in the Kvalserie till SDHL ('qualification series for the SDHL'), in which they play against the two bottom ranked teams from the SDHL regular season. The teams ranking first and second in the kvalserie earn placement in the SDHL for the following season, meaning one or both NDHL teams can gain promotion to the SDHL and one or both of the SDHL teams can be relegated to the NDHL DamEttan.

## Teams
### 2023–24 NDHL DamEttan teams
#### NDHL DamEttan Norra

| Team | Location | Home venue | Head coach | Captain |
| IF Björklöven | Umeå | Winpos Arena | Ulf Johansson | Selina Aho |
| Luleå HF 2 | Luleå | Lulebohallen | Saga Maria Henriksson | Sigrid Sundin |
| MoDo Hockey 2 | Örnsköldsvik | Hägglunds Arena | Aneta Tejralová | Filippa Lindgren |
| Skellefteå AIK | Skellefteå | Skellefteå Kraft Arena | Tuomos Liitola | Ellen Lövgren |
| Timrå IK | Timrå | Lill-strimma Hallen | Shannon Douglas | Sofie Lindström |
Source:

#### NDHL DamEttan Östra

| Team | Location | Home venue | Head coach | Captain |
| AIK 2 | Solna | Ulriksdals IP | Christian Yngve | Madeleine Al-Hammami |
| Hammarby IF | Stockholm | Zinkensdamms IP | Jan Viklund | Frida Peterson |
| Haninge Anchors HC | Haninge | Torvalla Ishall | Magnus Berg | Anna Löfstedt |
| SDE HF 2 | Stocksund | Enebybergs Ishall | Hanna Blomqvist | Julia Cansund-Lundin |
| SHK Hockey | Skärplinge | PEK-Hallen | Jan Lundvall | Elin Lindvall |
| Södertälje SK | Södertälje | Scaniarinken | Robert Johansson | Hunter Mosher |
| Team Uppsala HC | Uppsala | Gränby Ishall | Olle Öhrqvist | Leontine Almén |
Source:

#### NDHL DamEttan Södra

| Team | Location | Home venue(s) | Head coach | Captain |
| Hvidovre IK | Hvidovre | Frihedens Idrætscenter | Henrik Knudsen | Simone Hammer Mørch |
| Karlskrona HK | Karlskrona | NKT Arena Karlskrona | Mickael Areklätt | Vera Olsson |
| Linköping HC 2 | Linköping | Stångebro Ishall & Saab Arena | Björn Nord | Tindra Åkelid |
| IF Malmö Redhawks | Malmö | Malmö Isstadion | Henrik Palm | Hilda Törner |
| Rögle BK | Ängelholm | Catena Arena | Julius Falkenbäck Bergkvist | Wilma Hjelm |
| Rödovre SoIK | Rödovre | Rödovre Centrum Arena | Hasse Hintze | Nicoline Jensen |
| IF Troja-Ljungby | Ljungby | Ljungby Arena | Martin Lindh | Ida Eklind |
Source:

#### NDHL DamEttan Västra

| Team | Location | Home venue(s) | Head coach | Captain |
| Brynäs IF 2 | Gävle | Monitor ERP Arena | Andreas Östlund | Jolina Edling Karlsson |
| Falu IF | Falun | Lugnets Ishall | Jimmy Stenvall | Margot Huot-Marchand |
| Färjestad BK | Karlstad | Löfbergs Arena | Silje Holös | Julia Pettersson |
| Hedesunda IF | Hedesunda | Hedesunda Ishall | Eric Friberg | Wilma Lööf |
| Leksands IF 2 | Leksand | Clas Ohlson Foundation Arena | Anna Borgqvist | Moa Lagh |
| Mora IK/Hällefors IK | Mora | Smidjegrav Arena | Viktor Amnér | Josefine Berlin |
| Västerås IK | Västerås | Mimerhallen | Evelina Husar | Meredith Malloy |
| Örebro HK | Örebro | Behrn Arena | Daniel Norrlund | Alva Karlsson |
Source: