Two women's hockey leagues in Sweden make big change to rule book for upcoming season

The two top-tier women's hockey leagues in the country of Sweden are bringing in a big change for the 2022-23 season. Beginning in September, the SDHL and Damettan will allow hitting for the first time in their histories. That said, it still won't be as open-ended as hitting in most men's leagues. According to a news release, open-ice hits, or so-called "north-south" hits, will still not be permitted.

"We have allowed more physical play in the SDHL the last four seasons with good outcomes. To claim without facts on the table that more physical play means fewer concussions is difficult, but now we have that evidence. It feels incredibly exciting that Swedish ice hockey can be a pioneer in introducing hits in women's hockey," said the release.

Modos forward Lina Ljungblom is thrilled with the change.

"Great fun!" she said. "I have wanted to introduce this for a very long time. I think it will benefit women's hockey in general, both in terms of interest but also for us who play."

Ljungblom said she's confident some hitting will actually cut down on the number of injuries that occur.

"It may sound strange, but I think the damage will decrease. Maybe not in the beginning, when it's a little unusual. But I think we will be physically involved in a different way on the ice. I think it will help," she told AftonBladet

Ljungblom is also convinced most other players in both leagues feel the same way she does, although she admits not all will be in favour of it.

In the vast majority of high-level women's leagues around the world, no type of body-checking is permitted. There are, of course, a few different points of view on this. The major ones seem to be those who believe allowing hitting will bring women's leagues on par with the men's, while other believe no-hitting is what sets the women's leagues apart, making them unique.

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