The only teams that defended their men's gold in ice hockey in the 2000s are Djurgården (2001) and Skellefteå (2014).

Reigning champion when the new season starts today is Frölunda. And to increase the chances of doing what seems so difficult, they should not think that they should defend the gold.

- Defending a gold ... It doesn't work that way. Nobody takes away the guild from last year, and we know that. We need to chase a new one and start from scratch. So we should be humble and realize that everyone starts from scratch this season. We have not proved a splash this season, coach Roger Rönnberg told SVT Sport, and continues:

- So we're going to start from scratch and make sure we get better every day.

Get lost an advantage

Unlike most other Swedish master teams in the last decade, Frölunda has been able to retain most of the squad. "Only" seven players have disappeared, and of them several were players who had only minor roles in the gold team.

And just because the player loss has been quite few and not so heavy is something that speaks to Frölunda this season, Rönnberg believes.

- It means lots, especially that the nuclear group is intact, he says.