- Malmö Redhawks
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Malmö Redhawks 
2011–12 Malmö Redhawks season
City Malmö, Sweden League HockeyAllsvenskan Founded 1972 Home arena Malmö Arena Colors Black, red and white
Owner(s) Hugo Stenbeck General manager Stefan Nyman Head coach Leif Strömberg Captain Linus Klasen Franchise history 1947–1972 Malmö FF Ishockey 1972–2001 Malmö IF 2001–2004 MIF Redhawks 2004–present Malmö Redhawks Le Mat Trophy 1992, 1994 The Malmö Redhawks is an ice hockey club from Malmö, Sweden. The team is currently playing in the second highest league in Sweden, HockeyAllsvenskan. Malmö has played 16 seasons in the top Swedish league Elitserien (1990–91 to 2004–05 and 2006–07).
Contents
History
The team was founded on 28 February 1972 when the ice hockey section of the Swedish sports club Malmö FF became an own club. The Malmö Redhawks played in the Elitserien from 1990–91 to 2004–05. They were the Swedish champions in 1992 and 1994 and European champions in 1992.
The Redhawks, previously known as "MIF" became famous in Sweden when they started buying very talented players to an anonymous team in the late eighties. They signed players such as Peter "Pekka" Lindmark, one of the greatest goaltenders all-time, Daniel Rydmark and Raimo Helminen and basically brought money into the sport in Sweden.
Decline by 2005
At the end of the 2004–05 season, the Redhawks played in the qualification series to stay in Elitserien, lost and were relegated. Thus, as of the 2005–06 season, they played in the HockeyAllsvenskan, the second division hockey league in Sweden; at the end of the season, the top 4 teams played the qualification series with the bottom two teams of Elitserien. Malmö won the qualification round and played in Elitserien during the 2006–07 season with limited success. Finishing the season as 12th (last) meant playing Kvalserien in order to avoid relegation for the second time in three years. On 1 April 2007, the Redhawks finished third in 2008-09 Kvalserien and was relegated to the Allsvenskan league.
Failed qualification efforts in 2007 and 2008
In 2007, Malmö Redhawks participated in a qualification series (Kvalserien) consisting of the top four teams of HockeyAllsvenskan and the bottom two teams from Elitserien, having finished 12th in the 2007–08 Elitserien season. Malmö were considered favourites alongside the second team from Elitserien, Skellefteå AIK, but failed to re-qualify for Elitserien, falling two points behind Södertälje SK. In 2008 the team once again managed to reach Kvalserien, and had a golden opportunity to advance to Elitserien, leading the series during a majority of rounds. The Redhawks, however, lost in overtime of the final round while their arch rivals, Rögle BK, claimed the Elitserien spot with a margin of two points by scoring twice in the last minute of play. The Redhawks only managed to get 2 points in the 2008 Kvalserien's last four rounds, despite having gotten 15 points after the first six games.
New arena and financial issues in 2009
During the 2008–09 season, Malmö Redhawks moved to the new Malmö Arena, a top-modern sports and entertainment venue. The club originally aimed on being back in Elitserien before the premiere.
On 29 January 2009, while still playing in HockeyAllsvenskan, the team released all its contracted players due to financial debt and to avoid bankruptcy. The players were made free to find and sign with new clubs. By then the Redhawks were ranked 10th in the league with only one month of games remaining to play, instead of the top three or seven required for Kvalserien and possible Elitserien qualification. The team finished 8th and thus missed the playoffs, although the team was just one point short from reaching the playoffs.
Failures to reach Kvalserien and started efforts
Malmö Redhawks finished fifth in HockeyAllsvenskan in the 2009–10 season and thus reached the playoffs, which was an improvement over last season. The Redhawks started the playoffs with knocking out Bofors IK in two straight games, and the Redhawks were now set to face Almtuna IS for a series that would decide which would be HockeyAllsvenskan's fourth team in Kvalserien. The Redhawks started by beating Almtuna 2–1 at home in the first game, but lost the two following games (which the Redhawks played on away ice) and thus were eliminated from the playoffs. In the 2010–11 season, things went worse, as the Redhawks failed to reach the playoffs, finishing 8th and 4 points short from a playoff spot.
On 28 January 2011, during the 2010–11 season, the Redhawks announced that they had agreed to a 3-year 70-million SEK ($10.6 million USD) deal with businessman Hugo Stenbeck. The goal with the 3-year-long deal is to get Malmö Redhawks back in Elitserien.[1]
Malmö's efforts to reach Elitserien started immediately prior to the 2011–12 season. Several players from higher divisions, including Hannu Toivonen, Daniel Josefsson, J.D. Forrest, Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre and Linus Klasen, joined the club. When Linus Klasen joined the team on May 17, 2011, he was immediately appointed the team's captain. Linus Klasen's three-year contract with the club includes an annual salary of 4 million SEK ($0.6 million USD), making Klasen the best paid Swedish ice hockey player.[2]
Current roster
Players under contract for the 2011–12 season, as of October 24, 2011.[3][4]
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace 28 
Hannu Toivonen G L 27 2011 Kalvola, Finland 40 
Pontus Sjögren G L 26 2011 Stockholm, Sweden 3 Robin Weihager D R 23 2009 Hässleholm, Sweden 6 Emil Carnestad D L 19 2010 23 
J. D. Forrest D L 30 2011 Auburn, New York 34 
Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre D R 34 2011 Montreal, Quebec 74 Tim Heed D R 20 2011 Göteborg, Sweden 22 Daniel Josefsson D L 30 2011 Tranås, Sweden 77 Alexander Ribbenstrand D L 24 2011 Stockholm, Sweden 14 
Stefan Lassen D L 26 2011 Herning, Denmark 13 Morten Green (A) F L 30 2009 Hørsholm, Denmark 86 Linus Klasen (C) W L 25 2011 Stockholm, Sweden 29 Tomas Kollar W L 29 2011 Stockholm, Sweden 4 Roger Ohlsson C L 19 2007 Malmö, Sweden 15 
Alexander Barta C R 28 2011 Berlin, West Germany 53 Lukas Eriksson C L 23 2011 Karlstad, Sweden 71 Pathrik Westerholm C/LW L 19 2008 Karlskrona, Sweden 21 Jesper Mattsson C/RW R 36 2011 Malmö, Sweden 10 Robin Alvarez (A) LW L 24 2004 Malmö, Sweden 11 Robert Carlsson LW L 34 2011 Södertälje, Sweden 84 Dragan Umicevic RW R 27 2011 Dubica, Bosnia and Herzegovina 17 Ponthus Westerholm RW R 19 2008 Karlskrona, Sweden 7 
Ivan Čiernik RW L 34 2011 Levice, Slovakia 81 Miroslav Lažo RW R 34 2011 Bratislava, Slovakia Notable players
Retired numbers
- Nr 1 - Peter Lindmark
- Nr 18 - Patrik Sylvegård
- Nr 25 - Kaj Olsson
Alumni:
- Peter Andersson
- Róbert Švehla (Slovakia)
- Raimo Helminen (Finland)
- Mats Näslund
- Mats Hallin
- Fedor Fedorov (Russia)
- Andreas Lilja
- Kim Johnsson
- Juha Riihijärvi (Finland)
- Daniel Rydmark
- Jani Hurme (Finland)
- Tomas Sandström
All with experience from their respective national teams.
References
Notes
- ^ "Hugo Stenbeck köper Redhawks" (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. 2011-01-28. http://www.sydsvenskan.se/sport/ishockey/redhawks/article1367824/Hugo-Stenbeck-koper-Redhawks.html. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ^ "Linus Klasen klar för Malmö" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 2011-05-17. http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/hockey/sverige/allsvenskan/article13039064.ab. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ^ "Malmö Redhawks roster". Eliteprospects. http://www.eliteprospects.com/team.php?team=8. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
- ^ "A laget". Malmö Redhawks. http://www.malmoredhawks.com/Redhawks/Teams.aspx. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
External links
- Malmö Redhawks Official website
- Redhawks Support supporter's club
Preceded by
Djurgårdens IFSwedish ice hockey champions
1992Succeeded by
Brynäs IFPreceded by
Brynäs IFSwedish ice hockey champions
1994Succeeded by
HV71
HockeyAllsvenskanTeams Almtuna IS · Bofors IK · Borås HC · Leksands IF · Malmö Redhawks · Mora IK · IK Oskarshamn · Rögle BK · IF Sundsvall Hockey · Södertälje SK · Tingsryds AIF · IF Troja/Ljungby · VIK Västerås HK · Örebro HKSeasons 2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10 · 2010–11 · 2011–12Related topics Swedish Ice Hockey Association · Elitserien · Kvalserien · Guldpucken · J20 SuperElit · National men's team · National women's teamSee also: IIHF · IIHF Continental Cup · IIHF European Champions Cup Categories:- Ice hockey teams in Sweden
- Sport in Malmö
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