The ice hockey club Frölunda HC’s women’s team has started with a bang in Sweden. The women of the Gothenburg club debuted in the 2022–2023 season in Sweden’s second tier and at the end of the season moved up to the main league SDHL.
Frölunda opened its main season with a five-game winning streak, which Luulaja broke in mid-October. In the same match, the team lost its captain by Hanna Olssonwho had to Petra Nieminen to tackle and is on the sidelines for the rest of the season. Frölunda has now lost four consecutive matches and is sixth in the SDHL after nine matches played. Team GM Kim Martin Hasson, 37, says that the team’s success does not depend on resources. The men’s team is one of Sweden’s major clubs.
– We have two million euros for three years. Most of it goes to the players, but also to the work we do every day, Martin Hasson tells Urheilu.
The women’s team employs a lot of staff, such as full-time doctors, physiotherapists, skill coaches and assistant goalkeeper coaches.
– It’s a really good environment for the players. Hopefully one day they’ll realize that we’ve come a long way since I stopped playing eight years ago.
There are three Finnish forwards in the team: Michelle Karvinen, Emilia Vesa and Matilda Nilsson.
Nilsson is Frölunda’s most recent signing, which was reported after the interview with Martin Hasson.
Last season, the team’s star player, Karvinen, scored a whopping 71+59=130 in 26 matches. Vesa, who moved to Frölunda from HIFK for this season, has scored 3+6=9 in nine matches.
– Karvinen was very important to us last year. Vesa is fast and you can see that he is fit and ready to play at this level. He wants to improve every day, the GM describes Finnish players.
Sweden ahead, Finland behind
Martin Hasson is satisfied with the current level of the Swedish women’s major league, which has taken strides forward in recent years.
– The league is very competitive. Most teams develop their players very well. It is very organized. Everyone gets good ice time. There are on-ice tests and fitness tests.
The women play in Sweden this season mainly on Fridays and Sundays, so the matches do not overlap with the men’s matches, which are mainly played on Thursdays and Saturdays.
In addition, Frölunda also invests in social media, where the women’s team gets visibility like the men’s. The same is done, for example, in Lulea, known for its Finnish players.
– We work hard in the office. Supporters and other people are interested in us. Our product still needs to be improved: the players need to improve, the team needs to become more competitive and the bar needs to be raised.
For now, the Finnish Women’s League can only dream about the budgets of its western neighbor and a professional environment where the players would get paid. One development step was Henni Laaksonen appointment as the series’ first manager in August.
– The Finnish Ice Hockey Federation has begun to realize that they need to do more for the Women’s League, says Martin Hasson.
Quite a few women’s matches have been televised in Finland. In the Swedish league, every match is televised with interviews and studios. Visibility, environment and salaries attract top Europeans to Sweden instead of Finland.
– It is difficult for the Women’s League to catch up, but if they work one step at a time, they will get closer and maybe overtake us.
Debunks the coin myth
In addition to Sweden, Martin Hasson played as a goalkeeper in e.g. in the American university league and was one of the core players of the women’s national team. The female lions were familiar to him and a tough opponent.
– We had several really tight matches against Finland. Nowadays, Finland and Sweden don’t seem to meet that often anymore. We played a few times a year and it was always special.
According to the goalkeeper, he was the most difficult Finnish opponent Riikka Sallinenwho ended his career in 2003, but ten years later returned successfully to the rinks.
– He was just as impressive when he came back. He always shot a lot and was difficult to stop in the run-throughs. He had a great influence on Finnish hockey.
Martin Hassonin, who was one of the best goalkeepers of his time, remembers with special warmth the bronze match of the Salt Lake City Olympics from 2002. Sweden defeated Finland 2–1 and celebrated their first Olympic medal in women’s ice hockey.
The story goes that Sweden chose their goalkeeper for the match by tossing a coin. According to Martin Hasson, this is not true. The coach asked the junior goalkeeper what would happen if he failed.
– He wanted me to think about it a bit in my room. I came back and asked what if I succeed. After that and after talking to others, we decided that I would play in goal.