Before last season, San José was tipped as a top team.

But it did not go as the club had intended, and the Sharks were the third worst team in the NHL.

This season, Swedish star Erik Karlsson believes in a promotion.

- We know that we are a good team.

Our expectations are very high on ourselves.

It will just be fun to get started and see where we stand, he says to SVT Sport.

Different approach to the season

It will be a different season in many ways.

The NHL has new divisions due to quarantine rules when the teams travel between the United States and Canada.

To reduce travel and save time, the teams will only meet each other within the division.

In addition, the season begins without an audience.

- It will be interesting.

Now we did not play in the bubble (Stanley Cup playoffs) where there were no fans, so we do not know what to expect.

But personally, I think it's sad not to play in front of sold-out arenas.

There will still be a pressure on everything but it will feel a little different in the beginning before you get into it, says Karlsson.

Have not trained in San José

San José has had a special charge and the beginning of the season will also be different.

The team is not allowed to play in their own city, but the players have had to leave the families at home and train in Scottsdale, Arizona.

In addition, the season begins with eight straight away games, before hoping to return home to Northern California.

- It is of course very sad.

It is a difficult situation but it is as it is unfortunately.

You have to make the best of it.

Let's hope we get home at the end of the month.

If it does not happen, I do not know what to do.

Challenge with intensive schedule

Karlsson has not played an entire season since 2015/2016.

Now he has not played in almost a year, and has been able to focus on being in good shape.

But it will be a challenge when the season looks like it does.

- We will play every other day almost until the series is over.

It's just going to be fun.

Then it is clear that almost a year without hockey is not ideal.

So it will be interesting to see what you look like after 20 matches in 40 days.