Kvalserien (HockeyAllsvenskan)

Kvalserien, also known as Kvalserien till HockeyAllsvenskan, is the name of the Swedish round-robin ice hockey tournament to qualify for play in the next season of HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden's second highest ice hockey league for men.

Teams

Kvalserien is formed after the regular seasons of HockeyAllsvenskan and Division 1 are played. Prior to 2006, the two worst ranked teams in Allsvenskan Södra Vår and Allsvenskan Norra Vår, and the two best ranked teams in each Division 1 series, formed the leagues (Kvalserien södra till Allvenskan, and Kvalserien Norra till Allsvenskan). However, since 2006, the two worst ranked teams in HockeyAllsvenskan, and the four winning teams in the Division 1 playoffs, form the league. The six teams play each other twice and the teams finishing first and second are promoted to HockeyAllsvenskan the next season. The remaining four teams play in Division 1 the next season.

The exemption was the 2009 HockeyAllsvenskan Kvalserien, when the teams ranked 14th and 15th in HockeyAllsvenskan, and the four winning teams in the Division 1 playoffs, formed the league. The worst ranked team in HockeyAllsvenskan was automatically relegated to Division 1, and only the best team in the 2009 HockeyAllsvenskan Kvalserien was promoted to HockeyAllsvenskan, to allow a change in HockeyAllsvenskan from 16 to 14 teams.

Previous winners

Previous seasons

2001 season

Halmstad Hammers HC, HC Örebro 90, Huddinge IK, and Almtuna IS were promoted to Allsvenskan. IFK Kumla, IF Mölndal Hockey, Tierps HK, and IF Vallentuna BK were relegated to Division 1.

References