When it comes to the sport of ice hockey, there are few countries who beat Sweden in terms of their domestic league, with the Swedish Hockey League highly competitive and many of the best players also represent Sweden when it comes to major ice hockey tournaments.
The 2019-20 SHL season was temporarily halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and it was then decided that the competition couldn’t be continued. However, the 2020-21 tournament is set to take place over the next few months so that we can enjoy the play-offs and realise which teams are going to be the most successful.
When Does the 2020-21 SHL Season Take Place?
The 2019-20 Swedish Hockey League season started in September 2019 and it was possible to complete the regular season which then ended in March 2020. However, the play-offs couldn’t follow shortly afterwards due to Sweden going into lockdown like the rest of the world.
Therefore, we will now have to wait until September 2020 and the start of the 2020-21 SHL season to enjoy more Swedish ice hockey betting, with fourteen teams lining up to resume the action and this includes Luleå HF who won the regular 2019-20 season on 3 March. They will be joined by Färjestad BK, Rögle BK, Skellefteå AIK, HV71 and Djurgårdens IF.
Frölunda HC, Örebro HK, Malmö Redhawks and Växjö Lakers are also going to be among the leading teams competing in the 2020-21 SHL, with the bookmakers already starting to price up the latest games.
Who are the Betting Favourites to Win the 2020-21 SHL?
Luleå HF were the regular season winners during the 2019-20 regular season and they are the 2020-21 SHL betting favourites which is hardly a surprise. After all, they landed 106 points last season and that put them fourteen points clear of their nearest rivals.
There was no separating Färjestad BK and Rögle BK who were effectively second favourite although it’s the former who are trading as joint-favourites for the 2020-21 SHL ice hockey season, while the latter are currently available at a bigger price.
Bet on Every 2020-21 Swedish Hockey League Match
The SHL is a highly competitive division and ice hockey fans are able to bet on each of the matches are taking place. The Money Line ice hockey betting markets are created well in advance, although there’s also the opportunity to bet on things like Game Line and Points Total, while there are ice hockey props betting markets available closer to the time.
You can also bet In-Play on the action, with the live odds constantly changing in accordance with what’s happening on the rink. There are often opportunities to Cash Out along the way, with live streaming of the SHL often available too.
The Swedish Hockey League is one of the leading ice hockey competitions in Europe, with fourteen teams competing over fifty-two matches to determine the regular standings. The top six teams progress to the quarter final stage of the tournament, while the teams between seventh and tenth go through to the eighth-finals.
The teams that finish in eleventh and twelfth simply retain their SHL status for another season, while the teams who occupy the lower two places in the Swedish Hockey League means that they go into the relegation play-offs.
Who Will Win the 2019/20 Swedish Hockey League?
Last year, there were two outstanding teams in the regular season of the Swedish division, with both sides amassing 101 points and they were Farjestad and Lulea Hockey. As expected, these sides are among the favourites to claim the overall victory this time around.
However, it was Frolunda who were able to come through the play-offs to actually become champions, with a 4-2 victory over Djurgardens in the final ensuring that they were kings of Sweden after previously beating Lulea in the semi-finals by a 4-1 scoreline.
As for Farjestad, they suffered an agonising semi-final defeat against Djurgardens in their last four match by a 4-3 scoreline and will be determined to make amends this time around.
The bookmakers make champions Frolunda the 6.00 favourites to win the 2019/20 title, with Lulea and Farjestads trading at 6.50 and the same price is applied to Vaxjo Lakers. Some might think that Djurgardens are the value at 8.00.
How to Bet on the 2019/20 Swedish Hockey League
The bookmakers such as bet365 create a huge range of betting markets when it comes to the individual games that take place during the season. The first available market is the Money Line, although that is quickly followed by the Total and Line markets.
The Money Line is quite simply when customers bet on which team win a respective ice hockey match. Sometimes a match is regarded as competitive and you might find that both teams are trading at 1.90 to win, especially when it comes to the play-off games.
Alternatively, you might find that there’s one team who are trading at a short price when it comes to the Money Line and it therefore pays to look at the Line market where you can back one of the teams receiving or having a handicap applied.
You might find that the favourite is 1.90 but with a -1.5 handicap which means they would need to win by two or more in order for the bet to prosper. Alternatively, the outsider could be the same price with a +1.5 handicap and they would simply need to avoid defeat by two or more.
Bet In-Play on the Swedish Hockey League
Several bookmakers are committed to offering In-Play betting odds when it comes to every match throughout the 2019/20 Swedish Hockey League season. That means you can get on the games as they take place and place bets on the constantly changing live markets.
You can often access live streaming of the SHL matches and it’s a great way of being able to access the action while you bet In-Play.