The newcomer HV71 is the last in the SHL without three pointers.
During the week, Lucas Elvenes and Matthias Tidenby were missing from the squad.
There has been an intense manhunt for players for a long time, and it didn’t get any less intense when we lost players, says sporting director Kent “Nuppen” Norberg.
HV71 In the second game of the season when Örebro won at home 3-0.
It relieves the need to try to find reinforcements for the Jönköping club.
– Now we lost again and then there will be more ideas about new players. I have to do my part and see what to do with the team. Two players disappeared on one day of the week. I might get lucky and have two players by Friday night, but it could take a week or so. There are hardly any clubs ever that have signed contracts for that long, because there weren’t any players, says Kent “Nuben” Norberg.
So does the plan have to be done with any new players within a week anyway?
– He might be ready tonight and I have two men tomorrow. I hope to have new players in a week anyway, no doubt that’s what I want.
“You must decide”
For a long time, HV71’s sporting director has been chasing a key guard, Anton Strålman, who owns a home in Skövde, has returned to North America.
This week has also seen the absence of two strikers from the current squad, with Matthias Tidenby diagnosed with an ankle ligament damage that will rule him out for the rest of the year, and Lucas Elvens joining Lakesand after being unhappy with the role assignment.
On the market are, among other things, two of the Gothenburg area’s top offensive players, NHL veteran Louis Eriksson and Johan Sundstrom, who were not allowed to stay in Frölunda despite being in the Cow District.
– No need to brag that I have been at Johann Sundstrom since April, we have been with him since the moment he was not going to stay in Frolunda. Obviously, I heard and listened to both guys. There are two players who will definitely add something to us and they have not been written off. They have to decide what they want to do, they haven’t been able to do it yet. I still look at all the players available in the hockey world, as “Nubben” says.
‘must escalate’
How do you see the difficult start to the season you had in SHL?
– It’s clearly not good. We’ve had points in four out of six games, but we haven’t been able to win in normal time. It’s not a crisis after six games, but we have to start finding ways to win hockey games to create some peace and quiet. It was nice to get a better start, now that we don’t get it, we have to work from that instead.
This season, HV71 has recruited top players such as Matthias Tidenby, Andre Peterson, Eric Martinson, Rasmus Bingson, Andy Meili, Mikel Bodker, Jonas Natinen and Johnny Orteau.
– It’s not like we’re going to find a christ or two, but first of all we have to work with the players we have. We can find players and add them to the team, but it won’t make much of a difference if we don’t get those here to come forward as well, says Noobin.
On Saturday evening, the Linköping club next to the SHL will come to Jönköping.