Each season means different things to different people. Which players, coaches or associations will consider the 2023-24 season to be a defining year? Handball Channel reporter Ola Selby lists here those with the most at stake for the 2023-24 season.

Christoffer Brännberger, Önnered’s HK

One more season with red cards, blue cards and very ugly and unnecessary slaps, I don’t know if Brännberger’s career will survive.

Lugi HF

The whole association really needs to clean up if we want there to be double relegation. We can’t get much closer to elimination than the men’s team was last season and now the team is weaker. If Lugi leaves, it may take time to come back, as is the case for Redbergslid this year.

Andreas Stockenberg, Amo HK

A profile that dares to stand out, be yourself and not like everyone else. But the height of the fall will also be higher – now it’s proof, will he be able to start Amo in the Handball League? In this case, no one can say anything more against him as to his level among the Swedish coaches.

Henrik Olsson, Hammarby

Replaced Gustav Davidsson, one of the best players in the Handball League. Olsson too, but he has a lot of pressure on his shoulders when he now joins his father’s club Staffan and will immediately carry Bajen. I will get help from Josef Pujol and it will be very interesting to see if the stars align at the same time.

Olafur Gudmundsson, Karlskrona

Much is at stake in the sense that confidence has certainly taken a hit given he failed at all in Montpellier and failed to impress in Switzerland either. The Icelander now needs to show his old skills not to stray away from top-flight handball.

The Board of Directors of IFK Skövde

Chose to get rid of Ulf Nyström, perhaps the most successful sports manager in the Handball League in the past five years. Of course, Skövde’s squad this year is largely made up of Nyström, but a difficult season for IFK and the board will take the toll.

Zoran Bozic, Kristianstad

Highly in vogue at IFK Kristianstad as the club’s next player to turn foreign professional. Injuries were a big part of that, but in last year’s playoffs there was always a feeling that Bozic wasn’t quite good enough. Can he take that step this year and become a really good and consistent player? Mittnian’s play in pre-season suggests as much.

Michael Apelgren, IK Savehof

He started by winning gold in SM and cup with Sävehof. But now Sävehof has missed out on gold two seasons in a row and so that Apelgren, who was truly Sävehof’s dream coach when they signed him from Elverum, isn’t seen as having failed in his mission, you just need to win at least one title this year.

Teams 5 to 14

The top four in the Handball League looks pretty secure this year with IFK Kristianstad, IK Sävehof, Ystads IF and Hammarby IF. There, on the other hand, the situation seems very open and many indications suggest that the situation will be extremely balanced around the different lines, where several teams would be involved. There won’t be big margins to lose points and that in itself makes the series incredibly interesting as many games will be hugely important.