PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Färjestad is highlighted as a huge favorite ahead of the SHL season.
– We have put together a good team, but I think the favoritism is greatly exaggerated, says Färjestad’s coach Tomas Mitell.
It was at the SHL’s annual kick-off meeting in Stockholm on Tuesday that the media’s tips were in focus.
Favorite in the SHL
There, Färjestad is the overwhelming favorite with almost half of the votes (46.8 percent). Runner-up and reigning champions Skellefteå received 14.89 percent of the vote.
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Färjestad won the regular season last season, but flopped in the playoffs and was swept by Rögle in the quarterfinals in four straight games.
– We need to be better when things tighten up. I saw a statistic in the playoffs that we had a 42 percent chance of winning our games and Skellefteå 44 percent. They went all the way. We’ve tried twisting and turning and screwing things up, says Tomas Mitell.
New season
Malmö (35.22 percent) and Örebro (31.81 percent) are in a class of their own when it comes to relegation candidates.
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Vasse the forward Patrick Karlkvist went out with Oskarshamn last season and is the star acquisition in Örebro.
– It rarely turns out what the media thinks and thinks. It’s great to go in with an underdog stamp and have it as a starter, says Karlkvist, who is eager for revenge:
– Really. Above all after my own season which was affected by injuries and not at the level I think I should be at.
Karlkvist scored just seven goals and 22 points last year compared to 23 goals and 61 points the season before.
The premier round in the SHL is now played on Saturday.
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