Captain’s Log: The Story of Djurgården Hockey

This is a post written directly by Björn @Jungledonk Lindberg and reflects his own thoughts. If you're interested in writing a Captain's Log, please contact @jahajaha93 for more information. You can also let us know who you'd like to hear from in the comments section.

As the captain for Djurgården Hockey it's for sure a real pleasure to look back a couple of years and to think about our whole journey from the start. 

Almost two years ago, I got the honor to take over the C in Djurgården. A shattered team, a terrible collaboration, with results lower than they should be and with frustration and fights among many players in the community. Confidence was at rock bottom, players had come and gone and everyone was pulling in different directions.

We had an incredible amount of work in front of us, in terms of the game play, with the mental aspects on and off the ice, to build a team with the same ambitions but also with Djurgården Hockey as an organization. 

The first thing I did was explain to all the players that we would build something long-term, we would stick together and we would accept each other for the individuals we are. I also made it clear that even if I would be the captain on paper, all players in the team will be involved in decision-making and would get their opinions heard. We would work in the same direction no matter how long it would take.

After a stormy season in ECL 10 Pro, where we finished in 11th place, it was now time to course correct and do the right thing. It was not an easy road to go but we looked forward to ECL 11 Pro. We made some adjustments in the roster and decided to go with a lineup that we would use as much as possible. We had lost Tobias @svetidaje Karlsson to SSK Esport but took in Janne @jahajaha93 Tarvonen as a replacement. We felt that Janne, who had experience from Elite, was just the player who could give us tips to develop even more. The season ended with us going all the way to the quarterfinals of the ECL Pro.

Somewhere there, we felt that we had something really good going on, and now it was the relationship with Djurgården Hockey that felt important to address. After a fantastic meeting at their office in Stockholm, it was clear that both we as players and Djurgården as an organization had the same ambitions and a clear plan for how we would proceed and with that we decided to go all in. Since ECL 12 was played in the middle of the summer, our motivation and objectives were a bit unclear at the start, but after the meeting with Djurgården we set things straight and decided that we would go for the ECL 12 Pro Title no matter what.

Since Janne early made it clear that he would be signing with Conquer Gaming after ECL 11, we needed a new right defender, and what option could be better than to take back @svetidaje, being a Stockholm native and with Djurgården as the club in his heart. He was up for it and as a huge bonus we managed to acquire Philip @Strumpan87 Ström at the same time and the roster was complete. A few months later we were the winners of ECL12 Pro and the Elite spot was secured. A couple of months after that, we had also won bronze in the SCL.

Now as we're underway with our first Elite campaign, we understand it's a massive challenge and while we aim to go as far as possible, it is important that we get comfortable with the level of play and do everything in our power to retain our divisional spot. In the long run, of course we want to become an established top team and in this way gain an increased interest in the sport in Sweden, and to get more people to follow us.

Players who haven't played at this level should know that ECL Elite is a special league. Every point is extremely important and every match feels like a playoff match. At this point of the season it can be stated that our start has been a struggle, but we're a team that will keep fighting no matter how difficult the task ahead of us appears.

I am incredibly happy with all our players. Each and everyone has grown a lot both as players but also as individuals. We are a team that stick together and have strong bonds, and I can only hope that this journey continues for a long long time.

We are excited to see how the season ends, wish all teams good luck and thank NHLGamer who make this possible for all of us!

Sincerely,
Björn @Jungledonk Lindberg