If there was one thing that we learned from head coach Jordan Colliton's preseason chat with local reporters in Sweden, it's that she felt she had brought the right people in after players last season clashed with Colliton's view on how the game should be played. The additions of Tatum Amy, Autumn MacDougall, Lore Baudrit, Taylor Leech, and Courtney Vorster as imports were going to set the team on a new direction where their local stars - Ida Press, Ella Albinsson, Fanny Brolin, and others - would thrive alongside this talent.
The team got off to an 0-2-0 start after falling 3-2 to Djurgården and 6-3 to Linköping. They'd respond the following week with a pair of wins over SDE and AIK to even their record at 2-2-0, but another pair of losses to Frölunda in the shootout and to HK71 dropped them to 2-3-1 through the first six games. For a roster that saw half its personnel changed in the off-season, one can accept there may be some bumps in the road before chemistry is found among linemates and everyone thinks and plays the game at the same speed.
A 3-2 win over Brynäs was an example of how well this team can play, and that was followed by a 2-0 loss to the juggernaut Luleå squad. The key in that loss to Luleå is that Leksands IF showed they can skate with one of the better teams in the SDHL as they competed for the entire 60 minutes. However, a 4-1 loss to an improved MoDo team followed by a 2-1 loss today to SDE on a late goal by former UBC forward Mathea Fischer pushed their record to 3-6-1, leaving one searching for answers about consistency through the first ten games.
The good news is that Leksands IF sits just three points back of SDE who are in fifth-place, and they play the woeful AIK squad on Saturday. There are hardly any wins that are "must-win", but defeating an 0-9-0 team is something Leksands IF simply has to do. Beyond that game, Frölunda and HV71 await Leksand, and those two teams sit directly above and below Leksand in the standings. All three games could help boost Leksand back to .500 and, more importantly, push them higher in the standings. Perhaps the highest priority for Colliton and Leksands IF is finding consistent play at both ends of the ice over this next three-game stretch.
Personally, I'd like to see some urgency in the defensive zone as Leksands IF are the only squad in a playoff spot right now that has surrendered 30-or-more goals in the first ten games. They're giving up 3.00 goals-per-game, so they'd need a big offensive night every night if they're going to be successful. As we know, teams go through scoring slumps at times, so tightening the screws defensively seems like the best way to improve their standing in a hurry.
In terms of scoring, Leksands IF is in the mix with 25 goals-for, so they're competing in games. Being a scrappy teams usually means a lot of tightly-contested matches, but scorers are scoring. Norwegian-born Emilie Kruse Johansen leads the team with eight points, Shay Maloney leads the team with five goals, and Anna Purschke has six points. There may be some adjustment to the skill and speed of the SDHL game for players like Amy, MacDougall, and Vorster, but the lineup has virtually everyone chipping in. There just isn't a bonafide offensive star that has emerged at this point on which the team can lean if they need a big goal late.
Ellen Johnson's 2.36 GAA and .902 save percentage are both respectable, but I'd like to see that save percentage up around the .910 mark if Leksands IF is going to make a push. Emma Polusny is more of a concern as she's 0-5-0 with a 3.06 GAA and a .868 save percentage, so playing her regularly doesn't make much sense until she can figure out why pucks are avoiding collisions with her. While those stats for the goalies also reflect the defensive play, goalies still have to make saves. As it stands, Johnson is making more of them, so she should be Leksand's starter against better competition.
Colliton stated in her interview that the rebuild would continue this season, and perhaps we're seeing that as the team figures itself out and what its identity is. She said, "We are in the middle of that process and it can take as long as it needs to. But I'm really looking forward to the season and I'm excited about the steps we've taken, already in pre-season. I want to keep building something, and achieve more than last year."
Leksands IF finished 9-15-2-6 last season for 37 points. Being 3-6-0-1 after nearly one-third of this season doesn't appear that the right steps have been taken to change their fortunes, and extrapolating that ten-game record would see a 36-game record of 11-21-0-4 which is a 37-point season. That projects to being an eighth-place finish this season which would be short of their sixth-place finish last season. Pushing three wins onto their total over the next three games will do a lot of good if they are to improve, but that's going to take a concerted, consistent effort from everyone on the ice and the staff behind the bench.
With 26 games remaining in the SDHL season, Leksands IF may be down, but they certainly aren't out if they can find a way to string together a few wins two or three times in those 26 games. Consistency will be the key, and it's a hallmark of all good teams.
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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