With a 6–2 victory on Friday, Brynäs IF completed a 3–0 sweep to take the SDHL crown off the head of last year’s champions Frölunda HC, and cap off a dominant playoff run. Brynäs has been a perennial contender since before the start of the decade, and has seen numerous current PWHL players like Maja Nylén Persson, Kateřina Mrázová, Denisa Křížová, and Anna Meixner, among others, don their jersey in that timespan. They never broke through to win it all, though, until now. Here’s a brief look at the journey it took to get there.

Past Playoff Pain

From 2019–20 to 2022–23, Brynäs finished no lower than third in the SDHL. This run coincided with Swiss captain Lara Stalder joining the club after two outstanding seasons with Linköping HC, and she somehow outdid herself. She led the team in scoring in all four of her seasons in Gävle, including a league-record 89 points in 33 games in 21–22 to propel Brynäs to their first regularseason title in a decade.

However, that run coincided with Luleå HF’s six-year streak of titles, and they victimized Brynäs repeatedly along the way. They met in the semifinal in 2019–20 with Luleå coming out on top, followed by three consecutive finals appearances against one other, all ending in the same result: heartbreak for Brynäs.

2023–24 was the year that Stalder left Brynäs to help grow the game in her home, Switzerland, and while they continued contending without her, it was obvious her presence was sorely missed. Brynäs maintained a position in the top half of the table, but bowed out in the semifinals in back-to-back years, mercifully to non-Luleå opponents.

Anticipated Additions

Brynäs’ offseason built a ton of hype around them coming into this year, and for very good reason. They signed forward Elin Svensson, coming off a season where she led HV71 in scoring, and managed to pry Finnish Olympian Viivi Vainikka away from rival Luleå. From North America, Brynäs landed former New York Sirens forward Noora Tulus, also a longtime former member of Luleå, and also saw the return of goaltender Klára Peslarová.

The three skaters lived up to their billing as Brynäs was in the hunt for the top regular season seed until the very end, eventually finishing third. Vainikka and Tulus finished top five in league scoring, and while Svensson’s torrid pace to begin the season tailed off, she finished just outside the top ten in both goals and points. Peslarová, meanwhile, put up her lowest SDHL regular season save percentage since 2019–20, but her time to shine was yet to come.

Championship Cruise

With a late season injury to tandem partner Ena Nystrøm, the net belonged solely to Peslarová for the first time this year. She took it and ran. She let past just one goal in her three games of the quarterfinal against Skellefteå AIK, posting more shutouts in the series than she did the entire regular season. With Luleå on the horizon, she wasn’t done, either.

Peslarová stared down the highest scoring team in the regular season and allowed only three goals in as many games, finally lifting Brynäs over the Luleå hurdle in a surprising sweep. She then did the exact same thing to Frölunda in the final, ending the playoffs with a perfect 9–0 record, .965 SV%, and four shutouts. All other goaltenders to see action in the postseason only combined for three.

It wasn’t all goaltending, though. In fact, Peslarová didn’t even win Playoff MVP. That honour went to Vainikka, who not only tied countrywomen Tulus and three-year Brynäs veteran Jenniina Nylund for the team lead in scoring with 13 points, but scored the championship winner. Svensson and fellow Swede Hanna Thuvik weren’t far behind the trio’s production, while their top defence pair of Sára Čajanová and Mina Waxin was reliable as ever in front of Peslarová.

Looking Ahead

Can Brynäs run it back? It’s hard to say right now, with the PWHL Draft declaration status of numerous top players around the entire league still up in the air. However, regardless of whether players like Vainikka and Nylund make the trip to North America, Brynäs will maintain a solid foundation. They’ve already extended all of Svensson, Thuvik, Čajanová, and Nystrøm for next season, while Peslarová and Tulus’ contracts from last offseason both have another year on them. Like the past six seasons, they’ll certainly be in contention, and they’ll do it with a confidence that previously eluded them: that of defending champions.