It was a hard fought battle as predicted, but in the end, the better team prevailed! The ECL 12 Pro Finals went down at the start of the week and Djurgarden Hockey was seen hoisting that trophy, claiming their spot in the ECL 13 Elite division. The Swedish ensemble have worked hard to achieve this goal, and now several of their players will have the chance to take their first strides in the brightest of lights when it comes to NHL Esports.
We reached out to captain Björn @Jungledonk Lindberg for some comments about their journey. The captain himself had an impressive season, breaking the ECL Pro record for most goals by a defenseman in the playoffs - now at 10 goals by the man himself.
Congratulations! It must feel extra special to accomplish the championship and promotion with guys that you have worked alongside for such a long time. What are some of the factors that have led your to this point, looking back at past seasons?
"As you said, we've been working extremely hard and for a long time. We've worked both on our game as a team as well as the mental aspects of the game. Our players have grown as people, individuals and team players along that way. There truly is no 'I' in this team and it's harder to accomplish that than you'd think when we're composed of such individually skilled players. The fact that everyone fights for each other is the biggest factor to our great run."
Next up for you guys is the step up to the European Top 16. What will DIF look like moving forward and what are your thoughts on what to develop?
"Actually, we haven't given that too much thought just yet. Obviously it's in the back of your head, but our full focus has been solely on claiming the Pro title, the promotion is a welcome bonus. When it comes to our composition next season, we won't be shuffling things around too much. I'll reveal that we've picked up William @Mumsi- Lindblad from Leksand, but overall I'm very hapy with what we've got. We know it's going to be a tough job in Elite and our primary focus lies on retaining our spot in our first season. From there we'll learn and develop into coming campaigns."
Djurgarden Hockey - Road to the championship:
Regular season record: Group 1 - 18-7-5 (3rd)
Round 1: vs 4-0 Hotbox
Quarterfinals: vs 4-2 Kiekko-Espoo Esports
Semifinals: vs BoxinElite 4-1
Finals: vs Team LEISURE 4-2
Championship roster:
GOALTENDERS
#26 Valtteri @Sorsa103 Mulari
DEFENSEMEN
#1 Andreas @Clumpyindiana79 Storbacka
#81 Björn @Jungledonk Lindberg
#92 Tobias @svetidaje Karlsson
FORWARDS
#46 Joacim @LordStanley46_ Wilhelmsson
#71 Philip @Strumpan87 Ström
#91 Amadeus @amadee21 Carlsson
Congratulations on behalf of the entire community, and see you next season!
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