# 2023–24 SDHL season

The 2023–24 SDHL season was the seventeenth ice hockey season of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL). The regular season began on 24 September 2023 and concluded on 20 February 2024. The playoffs began on 23 February and concluded on 19 March, with Luleå HF/MSSK claiming their seventh Swedish Championship title after a three-game sweep of MoDo Hockey in the finals.

## Teams

No SDHL teams were relegated at the end of the 2022–23 SDHL season due to Göteborg HC's mid-season withdrawal from the league in November 2022. The nine teams that completed the 2022–23 season returned for the 2023–24 season and were joined by Frölunda HC, the Nationella Damhockeyligan (NDHL) champions of the 2023 Kvalserie till SDHL. The promotion of Frölunda HC brought the number of teams participating in the league back to ten.
The season marks the first time in league history that fewer than sixty percent of active players are of Swedish nationality. Import players hail from fifteen different countries, with the largest contingents coming from Canada (20 players), Czechia (19 players), and Finland (19 players).
In contrast to the rising number of import players, the number of Swedish captains increased from two in the 2022–23 season to five at the start of the 2023–24 season – with AIK, Brynäs IF, Frölunda HC, Linköping HC, and MoDo Hockey all sporting Swedish captains. The remaining five captaincies were filled by two Canadians (Djurgårdens IF and Leksands IF), two Finns (HV71 and Luleå HF/MSSK), and one Netherlander (SDE HF).
Alternate captain Michelle Karvinen stepped into the Frölunda HC captaincy on an interim basis after captain Hanna Olsson sustained a season-ending hamstring injury caused by a blindsided open-ice hit from Luleå forward Petra Nieminen on 13 October 2023. HV71's captain, Sanni Hakala, ended her ice hockey career on 30 November 2023 due to injuries sustained in a match earlier in the month; HV71 alternate captain Elin Svensson was named captain shortly thereafter.
| Team | City | Arena | Head coach | Captain |
| AIK | Solna | Ritorps Ishall | Olle Öhrqvist | Vilma Nilsson |
| Brynäs IF | Gävle | Monitor ERP Arena | Filip Eriksson | Maja Nylén Persson |
| Djurgårdens IF | Stockholm | Hovet | Rickard Hårdstam | Brette Pettet |
| Frölunda HC | Gothenburg | Frölundaborg | Erika Holst | Michelle Karvinen Hanna Olsson |
| HV71 | Jönköping | Husqvarna Garden | Ulf Hall | Elin Svensson Sanni Hakala |
| Leksands IF | Leksand | Tegera Arena | Jordan Colliton | Anna Purschke |
| Linköping HC | Linköping | Stångebro Ishall | Jan Bylesjö | Sara Hjalmarsson |
| Luleå HF/MSSK | Luleå | Coop Norrbotten Arena | Jens Själin | Jenni Hiirikoski |
| MoDo Hockey | Örnsköldsvik | Hägglunds Arena | Jared Cipparone | Ebba Berglund |
| SDE Hockey | Danderyd | Enebybergs Ishall | Nicklas Stensson | Julie Zwarthoed |
Sources:

## Regular season

The 2023–24 SDHL season began on 24 September 2023 and ended on 20 February 2024. The schedule comprised 36 games per team, in which each team played every opponent four times – twice at home and twice away.

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Luleå HF | 36 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 173 | 62 | +111 | 96 |
| 2 | MoDo Hockey | 36 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 119 | 68 | +51 | 73 |
| 3 | Brynäs IF | 36 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 126 | 73 | +53 | 69 |
| 4 | Frölunda HC | 36 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 12 | 97 | 86 | +11 | 64 |
| 5 | Djurgårdens IF | 36 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 82 | 75 | +7 | 59 |
| 6 | Linköping HC | 36 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 104 | 90 | +14 | 57 |
| 7 | SDE HF | 36 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 98 | 111 | −13 | 41 |
| 8 | Leksands IF | 36 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 76 | 95 | −19 | 40 |
| 9 | HV71 | 36 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 20 | 82 | 139 | −57 | 34 |
| 10 | AIK | 36 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 39 | 197 | −158 | 7 |

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

The following players were the regular season point leaders at the conclusion of the 2023–24 season on 20 February 2024.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/– |
| Noora Tulus | Luleä | 36 | 22 | 39 | 61 | 8 | +33 |
| Viivi Vainikka | Luleä | 36 | 23 | 29 | 52 | 0 | +40 |
| Lina Ljungblom | MoDo | 36 | 23 | 23 | 46 | 12 | +32 |
| Petra Nieminen | Luleä | 33 | 24 | 21 | 45 | 16 | +25 |
| Emma Nordin | Luleä | 35 | 19 | 24 | 43 | 2 | +32 |
| Haruka Toko | Linköping | 36 | 13 | 30 | 43 | 2 | +23 |
| Sara Hjalmarsson | Linköping | 36 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 20 | +14 |
| Michelle Karvinen | Frölunda | 36 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 24 | +7 |
| Jaycee Magwood | Luleä | 34 | 12 | 27 | 39 | 14 | +29 |
| Hanna Thuvik | Brynäs | 36 | 21 | 17 | 38 | 12 | +28 |
| Jenniina Nylund | Brynäs | 36 | 15 | 23 | 38 | 20 | +20 |
| Maja Nylén Persson | Brynäs | 36 | 11 | 27 | 38 | 8 | +20 |
| Justine Reyes | Linköping | 25 | 23 | 12 | 35 | 2 | +16 |
| Jenni Hiirikoski | Luleå | 36 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 4 | +39 |
| Mathea Fischer | SDE | 36 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 16 | –4 |
| Shae Demale | SDE | 36 | 21 | 10 | 31 | 18 | +1 |
| Anneke Linser | Djurgården | 36 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 32 | +29 |
| Elin Svensson | HV71 | 34 | 20 | 10 | 30 | 16 | +6 |
| Michelle Löwenhielm | SDE | 34 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 16 | ±0 |
| Adéla Šapovalivová | MoDo | 32 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 6 | +26 |

#### Goaltenders

The following goaltenders played at least one-third of their team's minutes in net during the 2023–24 regular season, sorted by save percentage.
| Player | Team | GPI | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| Ebba Svensson Träff | Linköping | 25 | 1,503:51 | 13 | 12 | 51 | 2 | 93.83 | 2.03 |
| Andrea Brändli | MoDo | 25 | 1,514:10 | 16 | 9 | 41 | 2 | 93.66 | 1.62 |
| Klára Peslarová | Brynäs | 20 | 1,228:57 | 14 | 6 | 36 | 3 | 93.50 | 1.76 |
| Stephanie Neatby | Frölunda | 26 | 1,565:43 | 15 | 11 | 62 | 4 | 93.22 | 2.38 |
| Ida Boman | Djurgården | 27 | 1,618:59 | 13 | 14 | 51 | 6 | 92.98 | 1.89 |
| Frida Axell | Luleå | 17 | 1,026:53 | 16 | 1 | 26 | 3 | 91.39 | 1.52 |
| Sara Grahn | Luleå | 19 | 1,151:11 | 17 | 2 | 34 | 4 | 90.84 | 1.77 |
| Ellen Jonsson | Leksands | 16 | 909:50 | 6 | 10 | 34 | 0 | 90.71 | 2.24 |
| Emma Polusny | Leksands | 22 | 1,251:20 | 5 | 15 | 55 | 3 | 90.30 | 2.64 |
| Viktorie Švejdová | SDE | 24 | 1,337:52 | 7 | 15 | 63 | 1 | 89.77 | 2.83 |
| Blanka Škodová | AIK | 17 | 953:46 | 2 | 13 | 79 | 0 | 89.70 | 4.97 |
| Lina Jansson | HV71 | 23 | 1,339:20 | 10 | 12 | 71 | 0 | 89.51 | 3.18 |
| Kate Stuart | SDE | 15 | 824:30 | 6 | 8 | 42 | 3 | 88.68 | 3.06 |
| Linnea Holterud Olsson | AIK | 14 | 839:35 | 0 | 14 | 80 | 0 | 86.35 | 5.72 |
| Anni Keisala | HV71 | 14 | 838:54 | 0 | 14 | 65 | 0 | 84.34 | 4.65 |

## Playoffs

The 2024 Swedish Championship playoffs (Swedish: SM-slutspel 2024) began on Friday, 23 February 2024. Entering the playoffs, Luleå HF/MSSK, reigning 2023 Swedish Champion and the 2023–24 regular season champion, was favored for the 2024 Swedish Championship title.

### Bracket

    As of 19 March 2024
| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Luleå/MSSK | 4 | 5 | 4 | – | – | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Leksand | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Leksand | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 0 | Luleå/MSSK | Luleå/MSSK | 1 | 4 | 6 | – | 3 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Frölunda | Frölunda | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | 0 | | | | | |
| 4 | Frölunda | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Frölunda | Frölunda | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | 0 | | | | | |
| 5 | Djurgården | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Djurgården | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | Luleå/MSSK | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MoDo | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | MoDo | 4 | 5 | 1 | – | – | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | MoDo | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | SDE | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | SDE | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 0 | MoDo | MoDo | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Brynäs | Brynäs | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | | | | | |
| 3 | Brynäs | 2 | 4 | 2 | – | – | 3 | Brynäs | Brynäs | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | | | | | |
| 6 | Linköping | 1 | 3 | 1 | – | – | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |

### Quarterfinals

The Swedish Championship quarterfinals (Swedish: SM-kvartsfinalen) began on Friday, 23 February and concluded on Friday, 1 March. Home game advantage was granted to the higher seeded team for the second, third, and fifth games of the series. All four higher-seeded teams won their series and progressed to the semifinals. The top-three ranked teams from the regular season – Luleå HF/MSSK, MoDo Hockey, and Brynäs IF – swept their quarterfinal series in three games. Fourth ranked Frölunda HC beat fifth seeded Djurgårdens IF in five games.

#### (1) Luleå vs. (8) Leksand

All times local, Central European Time (UTC+1)

#### (4) Frölunda vs. (5) Djurgården

All times local, Central European Time (UTC+1)

#### (2) MoDo vs. (7) SDE

All times local, Central European Time (UTC+1)

#### (3) Brynäs vs. (6) Linköping

All times local, Central European Time (UTC+1)

### Semifinals

The Swedish Championship semifinals will begin on Monday, 4 March and conclude no later than Tuesday, 12 March. Home game advantage was granted to the higher seeded team for the second and third games of the series.

#### Luleå vs. Frölunda

All times local, Central European Time (UTC+1)

#### MoDo vs. Brynäs

All times local, Central European Time (UTC+1)

### Finals

The Swedish Championship finals began on Friday, 15 March and Luleå HF/MSSK were named the 2024 SDHL champion on Tuesday, 19 March. Home game advantage was granted to Luleå HF, the higher seeded team, for the second and third games of the series.

#### Luleå vs. MoDo

All times local, Central European Time (UTC+1)

## Qualification

The final round of the SDHL qualification series (Kvalserie till SDHL) began on 6 March and concluded on 10 March. Prior to the finals, Dam HockeyAllsvenskan teams participated in quarterfinal and semifinal rounds to determine the two teams that would challenge the bottom ranked teams of the SDHL for league placement.

### Finals
#### AIK vs. Skellefteå AIK
## Awards and honors
### Monthly awards
#### Player of the Month

The SDHL player of the month (Swedish: månadens spelare) is selected by a jury comprising SDHL sports director Oscar Alsenfelt, Svenska Spel sponsorship manager Mats Einarsson, SVT sports commentator Chris Härenstam [sv], and Damkronorna head coach Ulf "Uffe" Lundberg; TV4 ice hockey commentator Apollonia Mälarberg voted as part of the jury for December, January, and February and Pernilla Winberg of TV4 voted as part of the jury for September/October. 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 2023: Haruka Toko, Linköping HC (Linköping HC girls' ice hockey program)
* November 2023: Klára Peslarová, Brynäs IF (En Bra Start)
* December 2023: Lina Ljungblom, MoDo Hockey (Skövde IK girls' ice hockey program)
* January 2024: Noora Tulus, Luleå HF/MSSK (Luleå Hockey girls' ice hockey program)
* February 2024: Stephanie Neatby, Frölunda HC (Frölunda HC girls' ice hockey program)

#### Delivery of the Month

The SDHL assist of the month award is called the "delivery of the month" (Swedish: "månadens leverans") due to its sponsorship by shipping company DHL. Each winner earns 5000kr for a project of their choice that promotes Swedish ice hockey. Winners are listed with their selected programs in parentheses.
* September 2023: Klára Seroiszková, HV71
* October 2023: unknown
* November 2023: Sara Hjalmarsson, Linköping HC (Linköping HC girls' ice hockey program)
* December 2023: Lina Ljungblom, MoDo (MoDo Hockey girls' ice hockey program)
* January 2024: Hanna Thuvik, Brynäs IF (Rönnängs IK girls' ice hockey program)

### Weekly Awards
#### Goal of the Week

The SDHL goal of the week (Swedish: Veckans mål) is selected by fan vote from five candidates via the league’s website and social media accounts. Percentage of votes cast for the winner is in parentheses, when available.

#### Save of the Week

The SDHL save of the week (Swedish: Veckans räddning) is selected from five candidates by fan vote via the league’s website and social media accounts. Percentage of votes cast for the winner is in parentheses, when available.