EHC Red Bull München's CHL opponent Färjestad Karlstad in portrait

Tuesday, 27. June 2023 | EHC Red Bull München's CHL opponent Färjestad Karlstad in portrait

Preliminary round conclusion in the sun city: Färjestad Karlstad in the portraitWinkler's special moment in Sweden// CHL - PORTRAITFor the Red Bulls, it's Sweden calling in the upcoming Champions League season, Karlstad to be precise. We took a closer look at the top team Färjestad and the city.

In the middle of the province of Värmland the city with the most hours of sunshine in Sweden is located: Karlstad. It's not without reason that the 66,000 inhabitants are considered to be extremely open and cordial. Fittingly, Karlstad is also located directly on Lake Vänern, the largest lake in the country.

In general, the city is very green and spacious. Art and culture, many shopping opportunities and nice little cafés round off the cityscape worth seeing. Coffee has also been produced in Karlstad for more than a hundred years. The "Löfbergs" roasting plant also gives its name to the 8,250-seat "Löfbergs Arena," where Färjestad plays its home games.

Early playoff exit for the defending champions

The club Färjestad BK (FBK) was founded as early as 1932, initially without an ice hockey department. The BK stands for Bollklubb, by the way, because the ball and team sport of bandy (the forerunner of today's ice hockey) was initially the club's main sport. Ice hockey was then included in the program for the first time in 1941, but six years later it was dropped again due to insufficient interest. The real starting signal for one of Sweden's most successful ice hockey teams came in 1956, when ice hockey was again integrated into the club, and only ten years later the club was playing in the highest division. Meanwhile, FBK has already won ten national championships and is the only team that has played all games since the foundation of the Svenska Hockey League (SHL | between 1975 and 2013 Elitserien).

Färjestad was last crowned SHL champion in 2022. As defending champions, the past season was rather mixed. The main round was very good with third place, and the team was almost unstoppable, especially in foreign halls. The team collected 45 points away from home, half of the total. No one scored more points on opposing ice.

While the offense worked well - 154 goals were the third-best score - the defense was shaky, conceding 139 goals. Only three of ten playoff teams conceded more. In the quarterfinals, FBK was defeated 4-3 in a thrilling best-of-seven series against CHL record winner Frölunda HC. Game 7 was lost 1:3 in their own living room.

Söderholm's analysis

However, third place after the preliminary round was still enough to qualify for the Champions League for the sixth time. In 2019/20 and 2022/23, Färjestad made it to the round of 16. In the last round, the group stage included a clash with the Straubing Tigers. The Tigers won 6:1 at home and 5:2 in Lower Bavaria.

The team has won 22 and lost twelve of its 34 CHL games so far. They have scored 101 goals and conceded 75. Munich coach Toni Söderholm's analysis for our last CHL preliminary round opponent is clearly formulated: "Färjestad Karlstad has practically always played an important role in its national league in recent years. They play at a high tempo and have extremely technically adept players in their ranks."

The Swedish card

Since February 2022, the Swede Tomas Mitell (42) has been on the board of the Green-Whites. The former defenseman previously worked for three years as an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL. Carl Lindbom also wants to join the best league in the world. The 20-year-old is considered one of Sweden's greatest goalkeeping talents. The Las Vegas Golden Knights have already signed the youngster to a contract. In the coming season, however, Lindbom will still be in the box on loan for Färjestad.

And also the defense is currently completely Swedish. The best defender Theodor Lennström moved to Genève-Servette in the Swiss NLA with the recommendation of 32 scorer points, but key players such as Mikael Wikstrand and Joel Nyström have remained. New in the team is Magnus Nygren, who returned to his home club after six years with HC Davos. Jonathan Anderson came from Lulea HF, Carl Dahlström with the experience of 67 NHL games from North America (last Toronto Marlies).

Top scorer Joakim Nygård (19 goals, 23 assists) already played two years in his career together with Leon Draisaitl for the Edmonton Oilers. Marcus Nilsson (32 assists) and Michael Lindqvist (15 goals) are also among the top performers. Patrik Lundh already played for the Schwenninger Wild Wings in the PENNY DEL. Czech newcomer David Tomášek brings 39 points from Sparta Prague and is currently the only legionnaire in the squad.

Winkler as backup goalie, Blum as scorer against Red Bulls

Already in the 2019/20 season, Red Bull München and Färjestad Karlstad faced each other in the group stage of the top division. Unforgettable: Due to a short-term absence, our sporting director Christian Winkler had to sit on the bench as a substitute goalkeeper. What happened? Our number 2 goalkeeper at the time, Daniel Fießinger, had dropped out at short notice.

Unvergessen! Von der Tribüne aufs Eis - Christian Winkler als Ersatztorhüter

// CHL - HIGHLIGHTS

In order to start the game with two goalies in accordance with CHL regulations, Winkler, who played for SC Riessersee among others in his playing days, was re-licensed.

Winkler did not play, the Swedes won their home game 3:1 - also thanks to Jonathon Blum. Our current number 24 was still playing for Färjestad at the time and scored to give us a 2-1 lead in the interim. The match in Sweden was only of statistical value for us, however, as Munich had already been confirmed as group winners before this last preliminary round match.

Färjestad Karlstad

Year founded: 1932

Club colors: green, white

League: SHL

Venue: Löfbergs Arena

Capacity: 8,250

Head coach: Tomas Mitell

Successes: 10 times Swedish champion (1981, 1986, 1988, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2022), 2 times CHL round of 16 (2020, 2022)