Allsvenskan (hockey)

HockeyAllsvenskan

Current season, competition or edition: 2016–17 HockeyAllsvenskan season
The HockeyAllsvenskan logo
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	2005
No. of teams	14
Country	Sweden
Most recent champion(s)	Mora IK
TV partner(s)	C More
Promotion to	SHL
Relegation to	Hockeyettan
Official website	HockeyAllsvenskan.se

HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is the second-highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system (after the SHL). As of the 2012–13 season, HockeyAllsvenskan has by far the highest average attendance of any second-tier league in Europe, averaging 3,227 spectators per game. Since the 2009–10 season, the league consists of fourteen teams.

During seasons 1948–49 through 1974–75 Allsvenskan was the semi-official name of the first-level league, the official name being Division 1 norra (north) and södra (south), comprising six teams each until 1955–56 and eight teams each from 1956–57 to 1973–74. In 1974–75 it was played as one Division 1 league with sixteen teams, leading up to the start in the 1975–76 season of the present SHL.

The second highest-level league had been called Division 2 since 1941–42, and was divided into eight groups from 1957–58 on. The winners of these groups played in two qualification leagues, a northern and a southern one, from which two teams each were promoted. In the 1974–75 season the grouping was changed to have six groups. Each qualification league contained the winners of three groups and one each of the teams on places nine and ten in the sixteen-team league Allsvenskan.

When the then-named Elitserien started in 1975–76 as the top level with ten teams, the new second highest-level league was called Division 1, in four groups. After a couple of years, it was settled into ten teams each in these. Until the 1981–82 season the Division 1 leagues were played over the entire season and followed by play-offs and Kvalserien, the qualification league for the Elitserien.

In 1982–83, however, the name Allsvenskan came back, for a league starting after the Christmas and New Year's break of the season. The top two teams of each Division 1 league were promoted to the new Allsvenskan. The top two teams in the Allsvenskan played a best-of-five final for promotion to Elitserien. The teams 3–6 in the Allsvenskan continued with play-offs and possibly Kvalserien for the second open spot in the Elitserien.

For the 1987–88 season the Elitserien was expanded from ten to twelve teams, and now also the two last teams in Elitserien by the end of the year were moved down for play in the Allsvenskan together with the top eight Division 1 teams. Still with a best of five final between the top two teams, and play-offs for teams 3–8.