Despite becoming a Swedish hockey power rather recently, Skelleftea AIK seems intent to stay at the top for a while. Despite losing some of their top players every year, their replacements from a strong junior program bode well for the future.

by Fredrik Palsson

Skelleftea AIK was formed in 1921 and has played ice hockey since 1943. The club from a rather small town (32,000) on the east coast in northern Sweden has established itself as one of the dominant hockey clubs in Sweden right now, but it hasn’t been a straight journey to the top.

The long road to the top

After playing in Sweden’s top league for the first time in 1955, the club took three silvers and one bronze in the Swedish championship between 1958 and 1963. After a decade without any success as the club went up and down between the top and second league, they took bronze again in 1975. Three years later in 1978 the club won the Swedish championship for the first time, led by star player Hardy Nilsson, who later became head coach of Sweden’s national team. In 1980–81 the club won the regular season of the Elitserien but was eliminated in the semi-finals.

Once again, however, the time of success was rather short and in 1985 the club was relegated again and also changed its name to Skellefteå HC. The club went up and down for a few years but, after being relegated again in 1990, the club remained in the second tier for many years. In 1991 the club switched its name back to Skellefteå AIK. Then in the late 1990s the club had financial trouble but managed to survive, and a few years in to the 2000s the club made a large effort to be promoted to the Elitserien again. After just falling short a few years in a row, the club was finally promoted again in 2006 after a 16-year absence from the top league.

After missing the playoffs in the first season, the team has reached the playoffs every year since 2007–08 and have improved their position each season. In 2011 and 2012 the club reached the finals but lost both times. Finally, in 2012–13, they completely dominated the regular season and breezed through the playoffs with only one loss to claim their second national championship. The following season they repeated the success and won both the regular season and playoffs again after outscoring Färjestad Karlstad 20–3 in a four-game sweep of the finals. In 2014–15 and 2015–16, they finished first in the regular season for the third and fourth straight seasons but lost in the finals both years – to the Växjö Lakers in 2015 and then to Frölunda Gothenburg in 2016.

Arena, fans and players

Skellefteå play their home games in Skelleftea Kraft Arena, with a capacity of 6,001. The arena was built in 1966 and was originally called Skelleftea Isstadion. In 2007 the arena was rebuilt and got its current name from a local electric company which bought the naming rights. The club has a good local fan base led by the supporter club "North Power" and had a 5,225 average in the 2013–14 regular season. In Skelleftea the club is known just as “AIK”, while in the rest of the country it’s called Skelleftea or Skelleftea AIK.

In addition to Nilsson, who led the team to its first title, another well-known player from the past is Jan Erixon, who also played for the New York Rangers. Mikael Renberg also played a couple of seasons in Skelleftea at the end of his career. A transfer from rivals Lulea that didn’t please the Lulea fans. While Lulea – the only top-tier club farther north than Skelleftea – is currently their main rival in the Swedish Hockey League, their traditional derby is with Bjorkloven from Umea, who currently play in the HockeyAllsvenskan (second tier).

Historically there are not so many Skelleftea players who have made a big impact in the NHL or on the Swedish national team but that is about to change, as Skelleftea has developed into one of the best youth and junior clubs in Sweden. In recent years the club has produced tons of talent, and in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft five Skelleftea players were chosen. In recent years, talents like David Rundblad, Tim Erixon (son of Jan), Adam Larsson, Oscar Lindberg and Petter Granberg have all gone overseas to play in the NHL or AHL.

Team facts

CHL seasons:

2015–16: 1st in Group D, Round of 16
2014–15: 1st in Group J, Semi-Finals

Click here for current information about this club.

NOTE: This article has been updated since its original publication.