Five Main Characters to follow this SDHL Season
Narratives for SDHL Newbies
Svenska Spel Damhockeyligan has never been more accessible to watch, with games now available to watch for free on YouTube worldwide. However, with ten teams and over 200 players, it can be challenging to know where to begin. Here are a couple key storylines and players to follow if you want to jump into the action and follow one of the best women’s hockey leagues in the world in 2025-2026.
Please note: This is not a comprehensive list or a list of the “best” players. This is just a taster, and geared towards fans unfamiliar with the league or players who have not spent much time in North America.
1. Viivi Vainikka
Everybody loves watching a star player switch over to their rival team, except their former team. Viivi Vainikka is definitely not the player you want to see leave for your rival.
Luleå and Brynäs are a bit of a one-sided rivalry. Luleå was (is?) the dynasty of the SDHL, winning seven championships since 2015. Brynäs, at least since 2020, is usually the runner-up. Despite being one of the best SDHL teams of the decade, the only thing Brynäs has to show for it is the 2022 regular season championship, a season that still ended with losing to Luleå in the finals. The SDHL has been less of a two-team league and more of a levelled playing field the past two seasons, but the intensity between the two teams hasn’t gone away.
Viivi Vainikka was one of the key players who made up the back half of Luleå’s dynasty, helping them win a championship every year from 2020 to 2024 and working her way up to seventh all-time in points in Luleå’s record books. Most of Luleå’s core players have either stayed with the team for over a decade now (Grahn, Hiirikoski, Karvinen) or, if they did leave, they left for another league first (Savolainen, Fällman, Tulus). Players of Vainikka’s caliber leaving Luleå for another SDHL team is rare, but Brynäs was able to get her on a one-year deal. They’re hoping that by enticing the star player who tormented them for all those playoffs to switch to their side, they’ll finally win a championship. Luleå hopes to prove that just as they have lost star players and maintained success before, they can do so again.
Alongside Vainikka, Brynäs also acquired fellow Luleå alumni Noora Tulus (most recently with the New York Sirens) and Swedish top scorer Elin Svensson from HV71. Brynäs is 5-0-1 to start the year, with Vainikka scoring nine points in six games. Their one loss so far came at the hands of, you guessed it, Luleå.
Video via Brynas
2. Aoi Shiga
MoDo is starting the year with a lot of injuries on their back end, from captain Ebba Berglund to new goaltender Lucy Morgan. They have the makings of a contender, but will need their healthy defenders to help them weather the storm as they wait to get back to full strength. Enter: Aoi Shiga.
If the name sounds familiar, you’ve likely seen her on Japan’s blue line during the World Championship, with Lugano in Switzerland two years ago, or remember her sister Akane from her years in the PWHL and current role on Luleå. Aoi is off to an explosive start for MoDo, already accumulating four points in five games, including a game-winning goal against Färjestad. For MoDo, she’s a crucial puck-moving defender who’s strong on her skates and stays out of the box, and has already earned a spot on the top pairing.
MoDo is not off to the start they want (currently 2-2-1), but the production they’re getting from Shiga and other newcomers indicates that this team could really pick up steam when fully healthy.
Aoi Shiga (white jersey) goes against sister Akane Shiga (red jersey), photo via Aoi on Instagram
3. Edit Danielsson
Frölunda has established itself as a top club since joining the SDHL in 2022, winning its first championship last year. The star-studded offense includes acquired players like Elisa Holopainen, Hanna Olsson, and Andrea Dalen, but what’s equally impressive is the players they’ve been able to develop. Alongside Moa Stridh, Nellie Svensson, and Ebba Westerlind, Frölunda is home to Edit Danielsson, who had the most points of a U18 player in the SDHL last year. This is her last season before going to play in the NCAA next year for Minnesota Duluth, and she’ll have two main goals: win another championship, and make a strong enough impression to make her first senior team for the Olympics.
Everybody likes to be on the ground level for players and say they were there from the early stages of their career, and folks will have that chance if they start tuning in to watch Danielsson now.
4. Michelle Löwenhielm
Most people will not be talented enough to play one hockey position professionally in their life, but Michelle Löwenhielm is on to her second. After over ten years at forward with various SDHL, NCAA, and PHF teams, Löwenhielm is switching to playing defender. And where better to get a fresh start than on Färjestad, a team playing its first-ever SDHL season.
Färjestad's main goal is to stay in the SDHL and avoid relegation, and hopefully, avoid having to play in the relegation tournament altogether. They’re hoping Löwenhielm’s skill and veteran presence will help them establish themselves as an SDHL team and bring more scoring to their defense core. Löwenhielm is one of only two players on the team 30 years or older, bringing 350 SDHL games and 314 points of experience.
Färjestad currently sits in ninth place with two wins and five losses. They’ll need to finish in spots 1-8 to avoid playing in the relegation tournament entirely, with an eighth-place finish being a realistic goal (Skellefteå holds that spot with a 2-3-1 record.) If they’re going to pull it off, though, they’ll need Löwenhielm to excel at her new position.
5. Nadia Mattivi
With respect to those who came before her, we may be watching the best Italian-born player we’ve ever seen in women’s hockey. She holds the record for most points by an Italian-born player in both the SDHL (after one season) and NCAA, and already has a Defender of the Year award under her belt in the SDHL.
Mattivi also has a lot of pressure this year. While she excelled in a first-pairing role with Luleå last year, she’ll have even more responsibility now: fellow defenders Hiirikoski and Fällman are coming off serious injuries and may need more help as a result, and she’ll also be relied on for more scoring with Emma Nordin retiring and Vainikka leaving. On top of that, she’ll also be expected to lead Team Italy as their number one defender headed into their first Winter Olympics since 2006.
Already with nine points in six games, Mattivi will be trying to kickstart the second (third?) phase of Luleå’s dynasty and get them back on track after losing the championship for the first time since 2017 last year, all while preparing to represent her country on home soil.