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NHLGamers, We hope that many of you had the possibility to watch the opening round of the eSHL last night - at least the numbers suggest so! Streams of respective teams had and incredible viewer turnout varying between 800-100 viewers on the most popular channels. That is something we could not have expected and are very grateful! Although the league started last night, we haven't presented all teams to you guys yet, and with that we take the time to welcome the roster of Örebro Hockey to the league. Captain Joakim @Nexhztah Stewart has brought over the base of the former Nordic Lightning roster and made some interesting new signings in order to make this team as competitive as can be. Their first round games against an admittedly major underdog in IK Oskarshamn surely shows that their offense is running on all cylinders as they combined for a total of 15 goals in the two games played. "The team is based on players from the former Nordic Lightning, but we needed to replace some players who decided to move on after the latest ECL tournament. I feel like our recruitment process was successful as we've been able to create a nice mix of players and assign our guys to suitable positions where they will be able to utilise their respective strengths." - Captain @Nexhztah on the current roster and recruitment process. Nordic Lightning saw a disappointing finish to the ECL 9 season in which they competed in the Pro division. The team was rejuvenated after a short hiatus and going into play, things were looking good. 30 games later, however, the team found themselves on the outside looking in and in need of some new direction, which the eSHL so timely provided. "We're eager to redeem ourselves after a frustrating performance in the latest ECL season. We'll compete hard every night and when we get our game going, I know we're a tough team to beat. Playoffs should be a realistic goal for our team, but once we get there - anything could happen." - @Nexhztah on the team aspirations for the upcoming season. We are certainly just as excited as @Nexhztah and his team to get the eSHL started. Tune in on Friday at 19:00 CET to the Sportbladet broadcast for your next dose of eSHL action when contender teams Linkoping HC and Malmo Redhawks clash in a top-level battle!

NHLGamers, We’re happy to announce that Rögle BK has secured a roster for the upcoming eSHL league that kicks off next week on Monday, January 13th 2020. For eSHL, Rögle has signed the roster of former Company of Geeks, which is a long lived franchise in the competitive NHL scene, having started their journey back in the early 2010’s in the days of EHL. There’s been some short breaks for the team, but they’ve remained a relevant piece of NHL gaming history and have since 2017 been back competing in the ECL. The team is currently on a playoff run in the Lite division. “We’re heading into an interesting challenge - nowadays a strong digital presence is required and I believe that this is a step in that direction for Rögle BK. By having a team represent us in the eSHL we’re excited to engage a new demographic that we potentially couldn’t reach otherwise. We recognize a large potential to expand our brand in a rapidly growing market.” - Rögle BK CEO Daniel Koch on their esports initiative For the upcoming season of eSHL, the team has revamped their roster a bit and made some additions in order to ensure the competitiveness of their team. Competition is hard, but long-time club member Simon @hammarjet Jönsson feels like they will be up for the challenge: “Naturally our goal is to perform to the best of our abilities and in that achieve a high finish. It’s all very new and it’ll be interesting to see how the eSHL clubs match up against each other. We’re proud to represent Rögle and will do our very best to do so in a successful way. Obviously Linköping, Luleå and Färjestad are the ones to beat, but as I said it’s all very new and you never know what is going to happen.” Rögle BK Originally, Rögle BK was founded as a bandy club in the village of Rögle in southwestern Sweden. Nowadays, Catena Arena in Ängelholm is where the team calls home. The hockey club was founded in 1950, and as a younger club from a rather small city, the history of the team holds some interesting tales. Since 1991, Rögle has spent time up and down between the two highest divisions in the Swedish league system, with their most recent promotion happening in 2015.

NHLGamers, With less than a week left until the first gameday of the Swedish eSHL, announcements from teams are ramping up and with that, HV71 has released their roster for the upcoming season. That roster is comprised of some fairly unknown talents, led by captain and SCL 6vs6 bronze medalist Daniel @Demski13 Gadd, who will look to center the somewhat inexperienced bunch. The team was selected in a somewhat different way compared to other rosters that have been announced for the eSHL, as HV71 held online tryouts in order to select their participating squad, which in its final form consists of seven players (5 skaters + 2 goaltenders). "Our club meets the prospect of eSHL with open arms and we're excited about the initiative that the SHL is taking together with the teams. We believe that the timing is right and will see this as yet another tool for us to reach new audiences and increase the interest towards HV71." - HV71's Managing director Agne Bengtsson about their participation in the eSHL As said, the roster of the team consists of mostly new faces, out of which @Demski13 will be acting as the team captain. Most guys are local, which is something special and was an important part of the team building process from the very beginning. The team was hand picked through tryouts by the captain himself, so the project is of extremely high importance to the man himself. "It's a fun and inspiring project. We're a tremendously talented team and it's been a dream come true for me personally to be able to build this team in cooperation with HV71. I've been a fan of the club since childhood and I've seen every game for as long as I can remember. The statement that HV71 is the team my heart beats for doesn't even do this sentiment justice. The fact that we're a group of local guys just adds to the greatness of it all and surely makes us unique in comparison to the competition. The fact that we're such a tight knit group and have the physical ability to meet up for practices at Kinnarps Arena is something worth cherishing and I believe it'll play a big part for us down the line." - Captain @Demski13 on team building and representing the club he loves The inaugural season of the eSHL kicks off on Monday, 13th of January with a full round of games. Stay tuned for more news and the full schedule soon!