Björn Hellkvist.
Photo: Daniel Eriksson/Bildbyrån
Björn Hellkvist will not coach Leksands IF next season.
Instead, the profile takes over as the new head coach for Björklöven.
– I am passionate about projects and this is a great and wonderful challenge, says Hellkvist.
The bomb has been confirmed.
Björn Hellkvist will not be Leksand’s head coach next season, but the SHL club chooses to invest further in its coaching team from this season with Charles Berglund and Mikael Karlberg at the helm.
Hellkvist thus leaves Leksand after four seasons in Dalarna.
– In consultation with Björn Hellkvist, I have agreed that Björn will not coach Leksands IF next season in the SHL. Björn will be rented out during the last year of his contract, which feels like a good solution for all parties. We had a good second part of the season with the management team that was added after Björn was forced to take sick leave and we believe in continuing with this team as intact as possible as the best for Leksands IF. I want to thank Björn for four incredibly fun years together that contained a lot of laughs but also great challenges that we faced and good luck in the future, says LIF’s general manager Thomas Johansson.
Hellkvist helped take Leksand to a third place in the SHL 2020/21 – the club’s best record in the Elitserien/SHL since 1998. He was then named coach of the year in the SHL.
– I want to thank you so much for four fantastic years in Leksand and Leksands IF. At times it has of course been tough, including during the pandemic season when we were forced to play in front of empty stands, but the support from all the supporters we have had all along is hard to find elsewhere in Sweden. That support has carried both me and the team. Speaking of support from supporters, I want to once again thank you for all the support I received during my sick leave when I was showered with wishes for recovery, something that helped me come back faster than I thought, says Hellkvist at the club’s website.
Björn Hellkvist takes over Björklöven
At the same time, it is instead clear that the 47-year-old will be the new head coach for Björklöven in HockeyAllsvenskan.
– I am passionate about projects and this is a great and wonderful challenge. A project is not over because you achieve success, but it is the final goal that is important, says Hellkvist on “Lövens” website.
Earlier in his career, Hellkvist was involved in promoting Malmö to the SHL in 2015 and he has also been head coach for Rögle, Oskarshamn and MoDo.
– It feels good that we have brought in Björn as a coach in Björklöven. I know him well since the time in Oskarshamn and liked working together with him. He is very structured in his work and a top coach at this level, says Björklöven’s sporting director Per Kenttä.
Hellkvist’s contract with Björklöven is written over a year and he replaces Viktor Stråhle, who was fired after the fiasco this season.
