Hockeyettan

Hockeyettan is the third tier of ice hockey in Sweden. As of the 2015–16 season, the league consists of 39 teams divided geographically into four groups. Hockeyettan operates a system of promotion and relegation with HockeyAllsvenskan and Division 2.

Hockeyettan
FormerlyDivision I (1944–2014)
Division 1 (1999–2014)
SportIce hockey
Founded1944
No. of teams39 in 4 groups
Country Sweden
Promotion toHockeyAllsvenskan
Relegation toHockeytvåan
Official websitehockeyettan.com

From 1944 to 1975, Division I was the highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system, but with the creation of Elitserien (now the SHL) in 1975, it became the second tier. Division I was further relegated to third-tier status in 1999 as HockeyAllsvenskan was spun off into a standalone league, but was frequently written as "Division 1" on the Internet, as it was pronounced "Division One". The league was renamed Hockeyettan for the 2014–15 season.

Hockeyettan is the lowest tier to be organized by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association; all men's tiers below Hockeyettan are organized regionally.

Format

As of the 2022–23 season, the league consists of 39 teams divided into four groups of 12 geographically. The clubs meet each other twice, home and away, after which the top four teams from each group form two new groups of eight. Each of these Allettan groups then plays an additional home-and-away series. Meanwhile, the remaining eight teams in each starting group play each other again in a continuation series.[1]

Post-season

The winner of each Allettan group qualifies directly for the 2023 HockeyAllsvenskan qualifiers. Teams 2–5 in the Allettan groups, along with teams 1–2 from the continuation groups, play a playoff to fill the remaining two spots in the HockeyAllsvenskan qualifiers. Teams 7–8 from the continuation groups are forced to requalify for Hockeyettan against teams from Division 2.[1]

Participating teams

Hockeyettan North Hockeyettan South Hockeyettan West Hockeyettan East
Bodens HF
Kalix HC
Kiruna AIF
Kiruna IF
Piteå HC
SK Lejon
Tegs SK Hockey
Vännäs HC
Örnsköldsvik HF
Östersunds IK
Borås HC
Halmstad Hammers HC
Hanhals IF
HC Dalen
IF Troja/Ljungby
Kallinge-Ronneby IF
Kalmar HC
Mörrums GoIS IK
Nybro Vikings IF
Tranås AIF
Tyringe SoSS
Vimmerby HC
Borlänge HF
Eskilstuna Linden Hockey
Forshaga IF
Grums IK
Kumla HC Black Bulls
Köping HC
Lindlövens IF
Malungs IF
Mariestad BoIS HC
Nyköpings SK
Skövde IK
Surahammars IF
Enköpings SK
Hammarby Hockey
Hanvikens SK
Huddinge IK
Hudiksvalls HC
IF Vallentuna BK
Segeltorps IF
Sollentuna HC
Strömsbro IF
Visby/Roma HK
Väsby IK
Wings HC Arlanda

History

Swedish Champions during the Division 1 era
SeasonWinnersRunners-up
1945Hammarby IFSödertälje SK
1946Hammarby IFSödertälje SK
1947Hammarby IFSödertälje SK
1948Södertälje SKHammarby IF
1949Hammarby IFGävle GIK
1950Södertälje SKHammarby IF
1951Djurgårdens IFAIK
1952Södertälje SKGävle GIK
1953Södertälje SKHammarby IF
1954Djurgårdens IFGävle Godtemplares IK
1955Djurgårdens IFHammarby IF
1956Södertälje SKDjurgårdens IF
1957Gävle Godtemplares IKDjurgårdens IF
1958Djurgårdens IFSkellefteå AIK
1959Djurgårdens IFLeksands IF
1960Djurgårdens IFSödertälje SK
1961Djurgårdens IFSkellefteå AIK
1962Djurgårdens IFVästra Frölunda IF
1963Djurgårdens IFSkellefteå AIK
1964Brynäs IFLeksands IF
1965Västra Frölunda IFBrynäs IF
1966Brynäs IFVästra Frölunda IF
1967Brynäs IFVästra Frölunda IF
1968Brynäs IFAIK
1969Leksands IFBrynäs IF
1970Brynäs IFVästra Frölunda IF
1971Brynäs IFLeksands IF
1972Brynäs IFLeksands IF
1973Leksands IFSödertälje SK
1974Leksands IFTimrå IK
1975Leksands IFBrynäs IF

Division 1 was founded in 1944, replacing Svenska Serien as the top flight of Swedish ice hockey. From its foundation until the 1954–55 season, the league consisted of twelve teams, with group winners facing off in a best-of-three final, and with two teams from the bottom of each group being relegated. From the 1955–56 season, the best-of-three series was replaced with a double round-robin final round with the top two teams from each group. The league was expanded to two groups of eight for the 1956–57 season. The league would continue to have two groups of eight under a variety of different post-season formats until the 1974–75 season. With Elitserien, a new top flight of Swedish hockey to begin play the following year, this final Division 1 season was played in a single group of 16, with the top 10 teams going on to play in the new Elitserien, and the bottom six remaining in Division 1 in its new status as Sweden's second-tier league.

Division 1 was a much broader league as the second tier, consisting of 49 teams in its inaugural season, eventually being reduced to ca. 40, and then 32 during its final second-tier season in 1998–99. During this entire period, the league was divided into four geographical groups, and operated a system of promotion and relegation with Elitserien and Division 2. Starting in the 1982–83 season, the top teams from each group formed a new group in the spring called Allsvenskan. For the 1999–2000 season, Allsvenskan was spun off into a new second-tier league, resulting in Division 1 becoming the third tier of Swedish hockey.

Division 1's relegation to third-tier status resulted in a massive expansion in the number of teams. 78 teams participated in the 1999–2000 season, though this was reduced over the following seasons. Initially, the league was divided into four regions, all of which were further divided into two groups. By the 2004–05 season, Division 1 had been cut all the way down to 48 teams that were organized into four groups. The league expanded again to 54 teams the following season, and would be numbered in the fifties until 2014.

In 2014, the league was rebranded Hockeyettan, and trimmed down to 48 teams competing in the current format with four starting groups of twelve that are then reorganized into 6 groups of eight in the spring. For the first season under this format, the Hockey Association decided to have only 11 teams in Hockeyettan North, giving a total of 47 teams.

Notes

^a There has been an ice hockey league named Division 1 in Sweden since 1944 when it was the name of the top flight of Swedish hockey. In 1975 with the creation of Elitserien (now the SHL), Division 1 became the second tier. In 1999 with the creation of an independent second-tier Allsvenskan, it became the third tier.

See also

References

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