European League Hockey discussion

[BlackCats101]

The equivalent for the NHL discussion thread...

kidhander-I did not realise that Metallurg Magnitogorsk were any good!
Russian league table
A bit one sided, hey?

[Systemfel]

Wow, 69 goals against!

[joehelmer]

Here is the Swedish league table.

Djurgarden must start to play better now!

Edit: Okay, I can give up the playoff for Djurgarden. They have to win the three games that's left and Brynas must lose them.

[flea]

Well, since the spanish league is one of the worst leagues in Europe I prefer to comment my hometown league: the Swiss NLA Hockey League!!!
I think one of the best leagues in Europe.

My team is ZSC Zürich Lions....probably Iam fan of them because I was born in Zürich and its the team I most watched live in my life.

Here is the table for the NLA....I couldnt find a direct link, but just click on "Tabelle" to see the standings


Swiss hockey page...click on Tabelle

[Tasku]

Finnish SM-Liiga is getting close to the playoffs. My Espoo Blues has played 50 of 56 games, and they're fighting for a spot in top 6. Places 7-10 play a "pitty playoff" as it is generally called in Finland, out of where two teams will make it to the top 8.

Jokerit, Helsinki is the biggest and richest team in the league and funny enough they're 11th.

Last season they were in the finals, this season they're fighting to get in the pitty playoffs. Fans of every other team find that extremely funny.

As for Blues, there's always hope, but according to past season's experince I'm not getting my hopes up, but I expect to atleast make it in the top-8, maybe even Bronze Medal Game! \o/

Anythings possible...

SM-Liiga

[Alessandro]

Best website about russian leagues is
www.metallurg.ru

I know it's in russian but it has EVERYTHING

[Alessandro]

A bit one sided, hey?

Well when you have Malkin as center, Varlamov in defense, Chistov and Taratukhin as wings, Scott between the pipes, King on the bench, it's easy to be first

[eme]

Yeah, it's getting allmost time for play-offs in SM-Liiga, and HIFK is doing great, since we're second at the league. At the start of the season no one believed we could do this good, since we lost allmost all of our key players from last seasons roster. But Doug Shedden (the headcoach) has done marvelous job. Think Kärpät will win the regular season, but im guessing HIFK will finish second.

As for play-offs, i believe we even have a chance to win the whole thing. And yea, jokerit's situation is hilarious!

[BlackCats101]

German Cup
German Cup winners

[flea]

Best website about russian leagues is
www.metallurg.ru

I know it's in russian but it has EVERYTHING

Локомотив.....I think this is Lokomotiv Moscow...

...ЦСКА....this I think its CSKA....

....Динамо.....and this looks like Dynamo Moscow, right??...as for the rest....NO CLUE

Just sad that there isnt an option for switching between english and russian.....

[Systemfel]

Goaltender Karol Krizan of MoDo in the SEL just scored an empty-netter.

[Fortune]

Actual standings:
Team GP Score pts
1 Nitra 52 154:117 93
2 Košice 52 152:109 91
3 Trenčín 52 109:92 83
4 Zvolen 52 149:152 82
5 Poprad 52 125:113 80
6 Žilina 52 132:117 77
7 Slovan 52 135:137 75
8 Skalica 52 122:129 67
9 Mikuláš 52 100:167 43
10 Martin 52 114:159 42

2 games left, we have still chance to finish first

[archibalduk]

Come on Kosice!!! I see that there's three teams battling for 3rd, 4th and 5th. That's gonna be a heck of a final two games. Keep us posted on the developments

[Systemfel]

So I'm gonna post this here instead...

That was our retro yerseys.

Ah, my team in the SEL (Frölunda) has also been playing in such jerseys with that diagonal text.

Last year played in Kosice Jirko Bicek (he won Stanley Cup in 2002-03 with New Jersey Devils)

And now he's in Leksand in Sweden. Dives a whole lot, I must say...

[Fortune]

So we losed 3-4 with Zvolen a Nitra win 3-1 against Poprad so we definitely lose chance to be first in regular season

[Systemfel]

The SEL quarter-finals have been set

1st-seeded HV71 selected 7th-seeded Mora. My prediction: 4-0
2nd-seeded Frölunda selected 8th-seeded Brynäs. My prediction: 4-1
3rd-seeded Linköping selected 5th-seeded Luleå. My prediction: 4-2
4th-seeded Färjestad "selected" 6th-seeded MoDo. My prediction: 3-4

Game 1 in the series will be played on Friday March 10th.

The series between Färjestad and MoDo will probably be the closest. Karol Krizan, the best goalie in the league, is in net for MoDo...

[BlackCats101]

I see that HIFK won 6-3 against Illves...

[eme]

Yes, HIFK indeed won 6-3 against Ilves. And because of that, we're still seond in the league, when only 5 games is left to play. And when i look the schedule HIFK has, we should be able to keep that position, since only two of the matches will be tough, vs Tappara and SaiPa. But we'll see.

Oh and Systemfel, what team do you support in SEL?

[Systemfel]

Oh and Systemfel, what team do you support in SEL?

I'm a die-hard Frölunda fan.

No HIFK'ers currently on the roster (just TPS'ers and Jokeriters), but a few years ago we had Janne Lundell in goal. Oh, boy, did this guy suck. Plain out terrible. I was quite shocked to see him in net for HIFK in the play-offs last year.

I'd like to more about that Salmelainen incident where some-one got hurt...?

[eme]

Hehe, Actually this year Jan Lundell has been among the best goalies of the league, and last year he even outplayed tomas vokoun in our play-offs run. His problem used to be that one game he played great and on the next he sucked. Seems as if he fixed this problem. Which is ofcourse a good thing, since he's playing for us .

Kinda weird tho that there are only few swedish players playing in the league, either all the good ones are playing in nhl or such, or then they just dont want to come here, or we dont want to hire them, dont know.

About Salmelainen, he got widdled off at a 2min penalty, and talked his way out of the game after that. On his way out he slammed this big garbage can that accidentaly hit HIFK's bus driver and broke his nose. Salmelainen got a 2 game ban, of which he has already suffered one. He'll be back on the roster on thursday i guess.

[Tasku]

The reason why we don't have that many Swedes in the league as compared to the amount of Finns in Sweden, is the foreign player rule. In Sweden a player is concidered "foreign" if he's non-EU resident, where as in Finland all non-Finnish players are "foreigners", so having a Swede in Finnish team (like Blues has Joakim Eriksson) would cost them a foreign spot. So he's gotta be good, or there's no point taking him, where as Swedish teams might as well take Finns just as regulars, because Finns are not concidered "foreign" in Sweden.

Right?

[Systemfel]

That's correct, Tasku.

Also, the SEL salary average is at about €100.000, while it's at €65.000 in Finland.

[Tasku]

Also, the SEL salary average is at about €100.000, while it's at €65.000 in Finland.

It's all about the money, da-da-dam-di-da-da-dam! I don't think it's funny... [/Allison Morrisette]

[Tasku]

Ofcourse having more foreigners would automatically raise the salary average. They are known to require more pay for their services than domestic regulars. Afterall they have to leave their own country and friends and families behind.

It's a two edged sword me thinks. Better players - maybe, but it also raises the player budget and leaves fewer roster spots to the country's own talent.

See Germany and Switzerland for example.

What do you think, Systemfel, and other Swedes? Do you have too many foreigners or is it fine as it is?

I personnally like our 5 foreigner cap, cause it leaves alot of room to develope our own players on league level, while at the same time you can have up to five foreigners to bring something different to the team.

[Alessandro]

I think there should be less foreigners in the teams. I like russia's 3 foreigners limit