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NHLGamers, We’re pleased to be bringing you your next eSHL team, which is going to be Leksands IF who have signed the roster of former Synergy Hockey. Kim “DraySWE” Larsson is the man put in place to recruit the team and he will be acting as a manager of sorts for them too. He is an accomplished Dota player and caster, and has also made a name for himself as an event host, which he has transitioned to full time. I had a short chat with the man about their team and their new investment into esports: What did you find so interesting about Synergy in particular? “The routine that they’ve amassed during all their years of play. That and the fact that they’ve managed to maintain a high level of competition throughout their history.” Kim says that they had a vision of what kind of team they wanted to recruit, and Synergy fit that mold very well: “NHL is currently a rather marginal esport, so you’d imagine that the criteria can’t be all too strict. However, after taking a look at the situation around Sweden, we realized the potential and set expectations to recruit experienced players with passion for the game and their club. We wanted a stable team who could put up a fight against most opponents on any given night. On top of that, our guys have a very positive vibe and a good attitude that makes me extra happy.” What does this esports endeavor look like for Leksands IF - do you already have future plans? “I like the attitude that Leksands IF has towards esports in general. They are eagerly diving into new things and aren’t afraid to innovate. I guess we’ll know more after the first eSHL season, so get back to me on that later. The overall feeling is definitely very positive!" Synergy Hockey is one of the most long-lived clubs in the NHL esports scene and have remained a rather successful bunch ever since the team was put together in the fall of 2010 and that surely shows the experience and long-term success that was talked about. Most players have been part of the team for their whole careers with very few exceptions. The team is nowadays known as a strong defensive unit that due to their chemistry built along the years can surprise any team with impressive passing plays. Here is the roster of Leksands IF: We also caught up with captain William @Mumsi- Lindblad and assistant captain Jonas @Supremski Söderlund for some comments about their new colors: @Mumsi-: "Representing an SHL team had been in the talks within the team for quite some time already, of course under the right circumstances. It was a big surprise when Leksand contacted us, however. They told us that they were looking for a team to represent them in the eSHL and that they’ve been keeping tabs on us for a while. They were very clear about the fact that we were the ones they wanted to sign. There was a mutual interest so no we quickly got into negotiating with Dray (Kim Larsson) who came off as a real professional. We clicked very well and things have taken off from there." "Our left winger Calle @Smutto Hjul has a special bond to Leksand in the form that he's a passionate fan of the team. That's been valuable for us as he's been running errands with the club for us.", says captain Mumsi. @Supremski: "I'll add that it was very important for us to sign with a team that really wanted our team to represent them. We weren't going to jump on any offer we got on the table. When Leksand and Kim approached us, they made a very good impression and our discussions revealed that we were very much on the same page. We've been sporting the Synergy colors for so long now, that we wanted to make sure we get it 100% right when we were going to sign." The transition from Synergy Hockey to Leksands IF will be happening immediately and the change will also take effect in the ongoing ECL Elite season. We wish the best of luck to the team and hope to see great things from them in the future!

NHLGamers, We’ve started the NHL 20 season strong but it’s time to ramp up the heat. We’ve been plotting behind the scenes for quite some time now and so, without further ado, we are extremely proud to announce that, in cooperation with the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), Aftonbladet and Area Academy, we will be launching the eSHL starting January 13th, 2020. “This is truly an exciting venture for both us and our clubs as we’ll be expanding our product range while having the opportunity to reach a completely new audience”, says Michael Marchal, CEO of SHL. The official broadcasting partner for the eSHL will be Aftonbladet, the biggest daily newspaper in Sweden with close to 4 million daily readers/viewers. A live studio broadcast will be hosted twice a week by Aftonbladet and all other games will be streamed on the Twitch channels of the respective teams, with the occasional matchup featured in an NHLGamer Twitch broadcast. Aftonbladet will also serve as one of the main news outlets for the eSHL for the duration of the season. The eSHL will act as a virtual counterpart to the current SHL, where teams will play each other in a league format of 6v6 EASHL. The regular season will start on January 13th and end in February. While other major professional hockey leagues around the world have slowly begun turning their eyes towards esports, the eSHL stands out in that it is a sanctioned, organized league played in the 6v6 format - something completely unparalleled in NHL esports up until this point. “The most successful esports worldwide are already team-based, not to mention the strong synergy that exists between real hockey and the EASHL mode where all six players on the ice need to work as a unit in order to win”, says Linus @KAWAIIII Eklund, Project manager at SHL. To Eklund, partnering with NHLGamer for eSHL was the obvious choice: “With their many years of experience hosting leagues within the EA SPORTS NHL series, NHLGamer made for a perfect fit as our league partner as we set out to create the eSHL. I have plenty of experience when it comes to competitive gaming, including the NHL series, and could tell NHLGamer had built things the right way, developing a community and a professional environment within an esport that didn’t really exist a few years ago.“ “Kenneth (Lehtinen - @Kenu ) has been an incredible resource for us when setting up this league and we look forward to working with him and NHLGamer to make this league reach its full potential.” As NHLGamer members have surely noticed, a number of SHL teams like Växjö Lakers, Färjestad BK and Luleå Hockey already announced their EA Sports NHL rosters in recent months - announcements that have all been leading up to this project. As things currently stand, a vast majority of the 14 current SHL clubs will be participating in the eSHL. Rögle BK and HV71 are currently openly recruiting teams and players, others have not spoken out about their situation yet. This is what the list of teams looks like currently: Färjestad BK HV71 IK Oskarshamn Leksands IF Linköping HC Luleå Hockey Malmö Redhawks Rögle BK Skellefteå AIK Växjö Lakers Örebro Hockey All of the league action and standings can be followed at e.shl.se which will be going live in mid-December. Follow eSHL on their social media channels Twitter - eSHLse Instagram - eSHL_se About SHL Svenska Hockeyligan or the Swedish Hockey League is the highest tier of professional hockey in Sweden and also regarded as one of the best European hockey leagues. It was formerly known as Elitserien but renamed in 2013. The league consists of 14 teams who are competing for the Le Mat Trophy. Read SHL’s story in Swedish here