The floorball season came to a screeching halt after the COVID 19 pandemic paralyzed much of the world. Does that mean that there is nothing to report?
On the contrary!
Below the surface and amidst the empty floorball fields many clubs have already announced their transfer bombs of which the announcements were sped up by the Coronavirus.
In this article, I’ll list the top 10 transfers so far. Many of them are international transfers of national team players of Sweden and Switzerland and were already negotiated during the regular season.
These transfers showcase the strong connection between Swiss and Swedish floorball which, I hope we can all agree on, is good for floorball as a professional sport. There are many more transfers rumors, some of which will come into fruition in the coming months and we will write about them too in a follow-up article.
In this article I will focus only on male players. If you’d like to also see a female list, please support us on Patreon and let us know.
#10 – Carl Kostov-Bredberg, Zug (SUI) to Sirius (SWE)
Carl Kostov-Bredberg kicks off the top 10 transfers of this season. Two seasons ago, the 26-year old defender changed Sirius for Zug United. Now he will return to his mother club. This is particularly good news for Sirius where a lot of players are either leaving or quitting altogether. Kostov-Bredberg has played two excellent seasons for Zug United and also had a couple of features in the Swedish national team – with a bit of luck he will be in the Swedish WFC squad of 2020. Kostov-Bredberg will be missed dearly by Zug but, fortunately, as we will see further in the list, an excellent (Swedish) replacement will come their way!
#9 – Tim Braillard, Mullsjö (SWE) to Alligator Malans (SUI)
One in, one out. That’s how things seem to work with Mullsjö. It is Tim Braillard, the Swiss national team center, who returns to Switzerland and his mother club Alligator Malans after a two-year stay in the Swedish SSL. Tim Braillard had a successful two seasons in Sweden quickly feeling at home with Mullsjö and their fans. Last year he was joined by fellow Swiss Jan Zaugg who, to the relief of many, decided to add at least one year to his time with Mullsjö. However, Zaugg will have to represent Switzerland by himself.
#8 – Nicola Bischofberger, Wiler-Ersigen (SUI) to Linköping (SWE)
Nicola Bischofberg returns to Sweden! Some of you may remember Bischofberger’s time with Falun, the short stay with the Swedish top club was not a success but despite that, he remains the first Swiss to ever win the Swedish championship*. This time it’s not Falun but Linköping to sign the Swiss national team player, an interesting turn of events. They do this together with another Swiss national team player which we will see further down in this list.
Correction: as an attentive reader pointed out in the comments, it was, in fact, Swiss goalkeeper Mark Wolf, who was the first Swiss to win the Swedish Championship. He did this in 2001 with Pixbo in the Elitserien, the precursor of the SSL.
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#7 – Manuel Engel, Växjö (SWE) to Floorball Köniz (SUI)
Manuel Engel is the 4th in this list. The dangerous, Swiss-born, forward will return to his home country after playing in Sweden for five years. The Swiss national team forward will join the ranks of Köniz, who were happy to sign him. Already making his NLA debut with the age of 18, he moved to Sweden after playing a couple of years for the Tigers where he joined Växjö Vipers, strengthening his team and becoming a core player. An unfortunate last-minute injury prevented him from taking part in the Swiss WFC2018 campaign but it’s likely we will see Engel reappear in Helsinki at the end of this year.
#6 – Deny Känzig, Wiler-Ersigen (SUI) to Linköping (SWE)
Deny Känzig is another very interesting transfer. Together with Bischofberger, Känzig will play a big role in Linköping’s squad for next season. With experience in both the Swiss national team on the highest level (WFC2018) and for Swiss powerhouse club Wiler-Ersigen, it’s a signing that might just turn out very well.
#5 – Pontus Karlson Martell, Höllviken (SWE) to Chur (SUI)
Pontus Karlson Martell reached the #5 spot in this list with his international transfer to Chur. Pontus Karlson Martel is one of Höllviken’s core players and makes an interesting move to Chur. The 29-year old captain of Höllviken played for the club since he was 12 and now signed a 1-year contract with the option of a 1-year extension. With the transfer, Chur states they attracted the player not only for his playing capabilities but also for his leadership personalities, needed to strengthen the young team.
#4 – Jesper Sankell, Växjö (SWE) to Mullsjö (SWE)
Another big loss for Växjö is the departure of powerhouse forward, and internal point leader, Jesper Sankell who returns to his mother club Mullsjö. It wasn’t a very convincing season for Växjö who seemed to have more difficulties scoring than in previous seasons. How big of a loss Sankell’s departure is to the team is something we will see next season but it will be hard to find a replacement who can stand in with the same mix of experience, strength, and work ethic. Mullsjö, who are on the receiving end, definitely made a good signing from one of their biggest (local) rivals.
#3 – André Andersson, Växjö (SWE) to Zug (SUI)
One team that probably “regrets” the abrupt end of the season most are dangerous outsiders Zug United. The team already crowned themselves Cup winners of Switzerland and were leading the quarterfinals series against Köniz with 2-1 in games. The team was quick to announce the coming of Andre Andersson, a strong physical forward playing for Växjö who would have not been a bad pick at all for our alternative Swedish WFC2018 squad. Andersson has had some Swedish national team appearances in the last couple of years and will most likely add tremendous value to Zug United.
#2 – Filip Eriksson, Sirius (SWE) to Storvreta (SWE)
Filip Eriksson will play for Storvreta next year. The Swedish wunderkind is a rising star in floorball and really came into the spotlights in the last two seasons. Eriksson played his first two “proper” seasons in the SSL and made a name for himself, despite his young age of 19. In his first season he took 66 points from 32 games and in his second season (19/20) he earned himself 59 points from 31 games which is incredibly impressive since Sirius just escaped relegation this season. How he will move from his leading role in Sirius to the star-packed team from Storvreta remains to be seen but it’s surely a big transfer and huge for Storvreta.
#1 – Jonas Svahn, Dalen (SWE) to Team Thorengruppen (SWE)
The biggest transfer of the season is probably Jonas Svahn who joins Team Thorengruppen for the next 3 seasons. Svahn, one of the fastest centers in the world, has been a core player of the Swedish national team since the WFC2014 and is one of the carrying players in Dalen, the club for which he played since 2010/2011. Exactly 10 years later he announced his departure to play with Team Thorengruppen, a club with history in the SSL. The signing of Svahn shows they mean business and are there to stay.
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