Expectations are high for the homecomer.
Not so strange when Jakob Silfverberg is so closely associated with Brynäs' latest SM gold in 2012, when he scored the gold goal and dominated greatly.
One is reminded of it frequently when one is at home. It is clear that it has stuck as a strong memory for many. It's fun, it was a special goal for me and for Gävle.
Hottest and Best
Silfverberg is seen by many as both the hottest new acquisition in SHL and the league's best player.
Together with three other merited homecomers, the defensemen Christian Djoos (currently injured), Victor Söderström, and the forward Oskar Lindblom, Brynäs is to establish itself after all the tough years leading up to the relegation.
Silfverberg is bursting with energy, unlike the last twelve NHL seasons, eleven of which were in Anaheim.
He says that the joy disappeared at the same time as Anaheim got worse and his role in the team became smaller and more defensive.
I have a hunger far beyond what it has been the last 3-4 years over there, I feel that I have a damn drive in my body and it has shown in the fitness tests that it looks really good, he says.
"It doesn't feel good"
He thinks that last season, when he wanted to finish nicely and prepare for his homecoming, was a step in the right direction.
He has lost seven kilos during the summer and is looking forward to again getting an offensive role.
It feels super fun. It was also why I felt last season that I really had to take a grip. Coming home means expectations, not just from myself but from the team and people around. I think I still have that potential.
He puts words to the last few years:
I didn't have the same glow and fire, not the same drive. It went in the wrong direction, it doesn't feel good.
Now he is home in a Gävle where the atmosphere around Brynäs has changed during the winning streak last season in front of a record audience.
So where do you set the bar in the SHL comeback? Brynäs is not just any ordinary newcomer, but Swedish hockey's second-most winning champion (13 SM gold)?
It feels hard to call Brynäs a newcomer, it doesn't taste right in the mouth. But it's about being humble. It's going to be a tough task, at the same time we're all here to win. We've said within the group that we want to be in the fight for the playoffs, he says.
2023-24: Modo, eleventh place.
2022-23: HV71, eleventh place.
2021-22: Timrå, last, new contract after qualifying win over Djurgården.
2020-21: no newcomer.
2019-20: Oskarshamn last, qualifying cancelled due to the pandemic.
