IF Björklöven

IF Björklöven is a Swedish professional ice hockey club in Umeå, Västerbotten, in northern Sweden. The team is currently playing in the second highest league in Sweden, HockeyAllsvenskan. Björklöven has played 15 seasons in the top Swedish league Elitserien (1976–77, 1978–79 to 1988–89, 1993–94, 1998–99 and 2000–01).
==History==
IF Björklöven was formed in 1970 when the ice hockey sections of IFK Umeå and Sandåkerns SK were merged. The IFK Umeå team had already at times been referred to as "björklöven" (the Birch Leafs) as a tongue in cheek reference to Canadian hockey and Umeå being known as the "city of birch trees", and after the merger the nickname became the official team name.
The team was quite successful at the Elitserien level, the highest league in Sweden, during the 1980s and won the Swedish championship in 1987. They were however relegated only two years later, and has since then not been able to establish themselves permanently in the Elitserien again, but has mostly played in the second-tier league Allsvenskan, except for a few short stints in the 90s. Some notable players from Björklöven are Calle Johansson, Ulf Dahlén, Tore Öqvist and twins Patrik Sundström and Peter Sundström.
The team has recently had many promising young players, including Alexander Hellström, Alexander Sundström, Patrik Nevalainen, Daniel Rahimi and Kristoffer Berglund.
Due to lack of funds however, Björklöven lost all of these young players to other teams.
==Notable players==
===Retired numbers===
*9 Aleksandrs Beļavskis
*23 Roger Hägglund
*27 Tore Öqvist
==External links==
*IF Björklöven official website
*Green Devils supporter's club
*TCIM-The Club is Mine, independent fansite
Category:Swedish ice hockey teams
Category:Established in 1970