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Your New European Head Coach |
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Sam Hallam is probably not a name you’re very familiar with. No, not the British murderer. I certainly wasn’t until this year. Which is surprising considering the level of success this young coach has seen. I suppose it’s also because when you think of the Elitserien (Swedish Hockey League) you tend to think of the historic clubs if any at all. Teams like Brynäs, Frölunda or MODO. You don’t really think of the Växjö Lakers. Despite winning two Elitserien Championships in the past 5 seasons. The history of Växjö paints a picture of why Sam Hallam is a coach on the rise.
Växjö is a very new Swedish hockey club. 1997 might not make it seem that way, but in terms of the Swedish Hockey Consciousness they’re basically a baby. The team started in the tier-4 Swedish league. As quite literally zero NHL players come from even the tier-3 league, you can work out the quality of competition rather easily. Like European soccer leagues, the Swedish Leagues have a promotion and demotion system. You’re never guaranteed to stay in any tier.
Within 6 seasons they had managed to move into the Allsvenskan which is the tier-2 of Swedish hockey and a league that has managed to produce several quality NHLers. Filip Forsberg being the most recent notable. It would take 8 years for the club to make the Elitserien in 2011, but they’ve never been down since and recently have been a consistent contender. The team would struggle their first two seasons in the tougher league. They would fire their Head Coach Janne Karlsson mid-season as they were in the relegation zone. They promoted their 32 year old Assistant Coach Sam Hallam as Interim Head Coach. They would go on a quiet 7-8-2 run to end the season and finished one spot out of relegation. Sam Hallam would sign a one year contract extension as Head Coach. The team going young and cheap, not knowing if this would be their last season in the Elitserien.
2013-2014
This was the first full season of Head Coaching in the Elitserien for Hallam. He had been a Head Coach in the Allsvenskan for Bofors IK for three years prior to taking the Assistant Coaching position. Where he provided a stark change in their fortunes. Including coaching the clubs best performance in their history. In 2013-2014 the Lakers leapt from one slot from relegation to third place in the Elitserien. A jump of 30 points. He would take them to the Semi-Finals where they would lose to Färjestad BK. There were not “star” players on this squad. Ex-NHLers at the end of their careers like Colby Armstrong, Liam Reddox and Jan Hlavac were present though not even the best players on the team. Dennis Rasmussen would parlay his career 40 point season into a contract with the Blackhawks, though he would never materialize as anything but a fringe NHL/AHL journeyman. Ironically…he now plays for Växjö again.
The dramatic turnaround was a good indicator that Hallam had what it takes to coach in the best league in Sweden. However, in all hockey leagues we have seen these “miraculous” turns blow up in team’s faces. *cough* Patrick Roy’s AVs *cough*
2014-2015
With a Semi-Final loss on the mind, the Lakers were out to prove they weren’t one hit wonders. With their leading scorer in Rasmussen gone and no immediate replacement signed (Jeff Tambellini would sign on later in the year), this was not going to be an easy task. To make matters worse, they had also lost their starting goaltender Teemu Lassila who was a monster in last season’s playoffs. Hallam would lead them to their best season yet with 96 points and yet again finished 3rd in the league. The playoffs were where things would change. The Lakers won their first ever Elitserien Championship in just 4 years in the league. An almost unheard of jump. It’s even more impressive due to the squad not being a “stacked” team. Most were the same players that were a part of their near relegation season. They beat last year’s champion and back to back best team in the league Skellefteå AIK. All in all…not a bad season.
2015-2016
So where do you go from a Championship? A little bit backwards actually. Despite getting some strong players in Richard Gynge and Ilkka Heikkinen. The Lakers finished in 6th place. This is the first time Hallam would lose points in his Elitserien Coaching career. Every other season was improvement. The defending champsions would eventually lose in the Semi-Finals. Ex-NHLer and Terry Pegula Superfan Ville Leino would be a playoff bust and not give them the depth scoring they needed.
2016-2017
Despite winning a championship, this season can probably be viewed as the most successful yet. They would win the league with 99 points breaking Skellefteå AIK’s 4 season streak. Despite a fantastic regular season. They would be bounced in the Quarterfinals in a disappointing 6 games. Hallam was beginning to rely more on some of his younger players like Calle Rosén (23), Emil Pettersson (23) and Philip Holm (25). Getting career years and NHL deals for both. Winning the League would earn Hallam his first Elitserien Coach of the Year Award. Well deserved to say the least.
2017-2018
This is the year everything changes. A young man named Elias Pettersson joins the team…and the rest is history. Pettersson would have the best season of a teenager in Elitserien history. Passing Peter Forsberg’s long thought unbreakable record of 23 goals and 48 points. Pettersson scored 24 goals and 56 points in just 44 games. Following that up in the playoffs with 10 goals and 19 points in 13 games. The Växjö Lakers had their best season in history with 116 points. They would also win the Championship yet again and cruise to it too. A lot of things went right for Hallam this year. Having the best performing teenager in history helps. Having former NHL journeyman Viktor Fasth backstopping the team helps. Having Rasmussen, Shinnimin (former AHL All-Star) and Miele (former AHL All-Star) helps.
Achievements :
2014-2015 Elitserien Champion
2016-2017 Elitserien Coach of the Year
2017-2018 Elitserien Champion and Elitserien Coach of the Year
Players Coached that Joined North America (soon will) :
Dennis Rasmussen – 139gp 9g 12a 21p in the NHL
Calle Rosén – 62gp 4g 18a 22p in the AHL
Philip Holm – 63gp 12g 26a 38p in the AHL
Emil Pettersson – 72gp 13g 33a 46p in the AHL
Elias Pettersson – 5th Overall 2017 (Vancouver Canucks) He’s going to be a star
At 38 years old, Hallam has already achieved what most can’t in his home country. He has two Championships and two Coach of the Year Awards. He has turned around a franchise and seen incremental growth every season but one. His resume is as impressive as any young coach could hope for. Yet the NHL has always been leery of hiring European coaches. The European game is a different style. There’s usually cultural or language barriers. Add some other such excuses and you can see why. The thing is, Sweden is not like a lot of Europe. Hallam is fluent in English and speaks it like a native as many Swedes do. That shouldn’t be an issue. He’s young enough to learn new strategies and styles, such as the North American game. He’s not an older coach stuck in his ways. He’s had a ton of North American journeymen that play a “rough” style and used them well over the years. It’s not like he has no idea about that aspect of the game. He seems like the ideal candidate for a team to poach as a potential future Head Coach.
With Pettersson leaving for North America, the 2018-2019 season will certainly be a different year. It should be a very good indicator of how important Hallam’s coaching really is. With extreme pressure to continue winning the league and in the final year of his contract, this will be a story to watch next year.
Thanks for reading.
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