Elitserien

Elitserien, (also known as the Swedish Elite League or the SEL, as it is often unofficially called in English) is a professional ice hockey league composed of twelve teams in Sweden. It is the highest-level ice hockey league in Sweden and, based on average player salaries in 2006, is ranked as the fourth highest paying professional ice hockey league in the world (behind the National Hockey League, Russian Superleague (now the KHL), and the Czech Extraliga). As of 2010–11, Elitserien is the world's most evenly matched professional ice hockey league. It's also the most attended league in Europe, averaging 6,385 spectators per game in the 2011–12 regular season.

The first season under the name Elitserien was played in 1975–76. The Swedish ice hockey championships have been played in various forms since 1922.

A large majority of the players in Elitserien, approximately 70% during the 2006–07 season, constitutes Swedes. According to the Swedish Ice Hockey Association (SIHA) there were 99 foreign players in the teams' rosters, and a total of 127 foreigners registered with the twelve Elitserien teams, at the start of the 2006–07 season.