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NHLGamers, It’s a great day as we have the pleasure of announcing the eSHL roster of Djurgårdens IF, historically the most successful hockey club in the Swedish national league. The club hailing from Stockholm has today announced a contract with the former Miracle roster. Miracle, alike Djurgårdens IF is a team with a long history of playing at the top competitive level. in the past couple years, they’ve been playing under several different names, but the teams core and captain has remained the same as long-time community member Kimi @Zip player Nordberg has been the man in charge ever since the club was founded as White Trash in 2016 for ECL 3. The team saw decent success in the Pro division for a few seasons, but managed to have a breakout in ECL 6, where they reached the semifinals and finally ended up in a relegation faceoff against Nordic Stars. After a wild series, a promotion was reality and the team would compete at the Elite level from that point onward. ECL 9 was fairly good for the team, who struggled in the beginning but after a few timely acquisitions found their stride. Some minor changes will happen in the roster: “We’re making some changes to the lineup and will be playing with a tighter roster than before. The main change is that we’re bringing in Nico @nylanderi Laitinen on the starting spot at LD.” - Captain @Zip playeron roster changes for the eSHL One of the other leading forces behind the team is another pioneer and personality in our community - Mattias @iSvamp Björck, whom we reached for some comments about their new eSHL endeavor. Do you have any DIF fans in your ranks or past connections to the team? “@amadee21 has been working as a game reporter for Djurgården Hockey and has ever since he was a kid been a big fan. I know he always dreamed about playing for Djurgården in SHL, and now he gets that opportunity opportunity on the virtual ice, which I’m really happy about." "My own connection to DIF started back in 1997 I think. I'm a guy who watches a lot of live hockey, and I saw my first Djurgården game in 1997 against Färjestad. Since then, I’ve seen them both in playoff games in SHL, in the relegation series which earlier were called "Kvalserien". I think by now I’ve seen them play against every SHL team except Luleå and Oskarshamn.“ How does it feel to finally ink this deal and in that being solidified as eSHL participants? “It feels really good! This league has been a big topic in the community lately. I'm one of the guys that have rallied behind the statement that two ECL tournaments per year isn't enough for this game, and this community needs more competitive tournaments to actually become a valid Esport. To now have signed a deal with Djurgården Hockey and to get the chance to play in eSHL, with our own roster from Miracle representing this big Swedish club feels really good. We are also one of the teams that isn't using any loan players from other top clubs, which will make it interesting to see how far it can take us in this league, and also how much it will help us for the upcoming ECL 10 which still is the big thing. It will also be interesting to see how it will go for the clubs that have done local tryouts now when we have so many Elite teams like Linköping, Färjestad, Luleå and us." Who are the teams to beat this upcoming season? “Linköping without a doubt. They signed a complete roster from FILA, a club that has solidified their spot in the European top 3 for quite some time already. Behind them, I believe it’ll be really tight. Luleå had a great season in this ECL, they also showed some lineup depth and good management when they changed their lineup in the series against Roots, which took them to the semis. Färjestad has boosted their lineup with a defenseman from HAVU, and Vesa Pompa (Malmö) from PRO has loan-deals with maybe two of the best forwards in the world right now (Dominointi and Flyerkungen), which will make them a better team for sure. I also think that Växjö will be a team that can win games against every team in the league, their signing of eBasse is a good one and I really think he will fit their style. Linköping will probably get a perfect record, and the key games will be against the teams I mentioned above.” Djurgårdens IF Hockey Djurgårdens IF is one of the largest sports clubs in Sweden and with that one of the most recognizable ones too. Hailing from the nations capital Stockholm, they are currently the hockey pride of their city as dear rival AIK is struggling and not currently competing at the top level. Djurgården is the team with the most championships in the history of the Swedish national league (16), out of which the latest was won in 2001. The start date of the eSHL is closing in on us, so expect even more news coming up soon! Please also read Djurgårdens own press release here.

NHLGamers, With the eSHL season closing in on us, it's time to take a look at some of the teams that will be participating, and as we've released information about most other teams, let's now take a look at Malmö Redhawks. The club from the very south of Sweden has signed a highly competitive roster that is looking to take the league by storm. The base of Malmös roster consists of players from the reigning SCL champions Vesa Pompa HC and the team is captained by 25 year-old defenseman Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann. On top of Vesa Pompa players, such as Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund, Anton @antoniomannen004 Svensander and Edvin@Thunborg5 Thunborg, the club has signed a few players who are the very cream of the crop when it comes to competitive NHL 6's. The guys we're talking about is of course HAVU Gaming forwards Risto @Dominointi Järvi and Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha, who are no strangers to hoisting trophies and will surely be giving a welcomed boost to this already strong roster. Having a roster comprised of both Swedish and Finnish champions, Malmö puts themselves right into the contender discussion from the get go. "We got into contact with Malmö quite early on and realised that we had a shared understanding about the potential of NHL esports. Ever since our first contact, we've been convinced that the club is investing into this endeavor and have been met by nothing but top class attitude. It was honestly an easy decision to sign with Malmö and we're proud to be representing this club." - Captain @Lehmannens in an interview with Fragbite.se "I'm excited to get playing already! I'm very familiar with my teammates and know that there's tremendous potential that we possess. We've got a bunch of young players and are hungry for both progress and success. All of us want to take home that trophy and I'm confident we have all the tools to do so." - Right winger @FlyerKungen on malmoredhawks.com @Hansulinho will be serving as a backup for the team, which aims to play through the league with a tight set lineup. Malmö Redhawks Malmö is one of the largest Swedish cities and home to the southernmost team in the SHL. Having been founded in 1972, it is one of the younger clubs in the SHL. The club has won two Swedish championships (1992, 1994) and started their current run at the top level in 2015, when they gained their latest promotion.