It was at the SHL's annual kickoff meeting in Stockholm on Tuesday that the media's tips were in focus.
Färjestad is a giant favorite with almost half of the votes (46.8 percent).
The runner-up and reigning champion Skellefteå received 14.89 percent of the votes.
Färjestad won the regular season last season, but flopped in the playoffs and were swept by Rögle in the quarterfinals in four straight matches.
We need to be better when it comes down to it. I saw a statistic in the playoffs that we had a 42 percent chance of winning our matches and Skellefteå 44 percent. They went all the way. We've tried to twist and turn and tweak a few things, says Mitell.
Malmö (35.22 percent) and Örebro (31.81 percent) stand out as relegation candidates.
Växjö forward Patrik Karlkvist was relegated with Oskarshamn last season and is the star recruit in Örebro.
It rarely turns out as the media thinks and believes. It's great to go in with an underdog stamp and have it as fuel, says Karlkvist, who is revenge-hungry:
Really. Especially after my own season, which was injury-plagued and not at the level I think I should be at.
Karlkvist only scored seven goals and 22 points last season, compared to 23 goals and 61 points the season before.
The premiere round of the SHL is played on Saturday.
