Färjestad BK

Lore & Background

Färjestad BK was founded on 10 November 1932 at Håfström Kiosk in the district of Färjestad in Karlstad by Sven Bryhske, Gösta Jonsson, Sven Larsson and Erik Myren. Initially the association's main sport was bandy, which is still reflected in the full name of the club. Ice hockey was first included in 1956. In 1965, Färjestad were promoted to the top division (at that time Division 1 Southern) which they succeeded in winning for the first time in 1973. During the 1974/75 season, Färjestad qualified for the first season of Elitserien, and have since never been relegated. Following Brynäs IF's relegation to HockeyAllsvenskan in 2023, Färjestad is the only team to have constantly played in the current top tier of Swedish hockey, the SHL, since it was started in 1975. They reached the SHL championship finals for six consecutive seasons (2001–2006), winning the championship two times. They are featured rivals with Djurgårdens IF, Frölunda HC, and HV71.

Reader's Guide

Färjestad BK is a cornerstone of Swedish ice hockey, notable for its unmatched consistency and success in the SHL era. Since the league's founding in 1975, Färjestad has never been relegated, making it the only club to have played every season in the top tier. The team has appeared in 21 Swedish Championship finals and won ten titles, the most of any SHL club. Their dominance is highlighted by six consecutive finals appearances from 2001 to 2006, with championships in 2002 and 2006. The club's history includes a unique event in 2014 when they played an AHL All-Star Game in St. John's, Newfoundland, losing both the skills contest (18-17) and the game (7-2). Key records include Håkan Loob's 42 goals in a regular season and 262 career goals, as well as Jörgen Jönsson's 273 career assists. The club has also won the Spengler Cup twice (1993, 1994) and the Le Mat Trophy ten times, most recently in 2022.

Did You Know?

• The club initially played bandy; ice hockey was added in 1956.
• Färjestad is the only team to have played in every SHL season since 1975.
• They played an AHL All-Star Game in 2014 in St. John's, Newfoundland, losing 7-2.

The Draft and a Restless NHL Passage

Jakub Klepiš entered the NHL conversation as a highly regarded prospect when the Ottawa Senators selected him sixteenth overall in the first round of the 2002 entry draft. Yet the path from draft night to a regular NHL career proved anything but straightforward. Before he ever laced up the Senators' sweater, a 2003 transaction sent him to the Buffalo Sabres in a swap that brought Vaclav Varada to Ottawa. His tenure in Buffalo was equally brief; on 9 March 2004, Washington acquired him in exchange for forward Mike Grier. It was with the Capitals that Klepiš finally found a stable NHL home, though his time in the league was limited to sixty-six regular-season games. After that short North American chapter, he turned his attention back to European ice, where his career would ultimately flourish on a much grander stage.

The Gagarin Cup and a Defining Moment

After his brief NHL stint, Klepiš re-established himself in European professional hockey, finding his most celebrated moment in the Kontinental Hockey League. In 2012, as a member of Dynamo Moscow, he was part of the squad that captured the Gagarin Cup, the league's premier championship trophy. The series that clinched the title stretched to a decisive seventh game, and it was Klepiš who etched his name into KHL lore by scoring the goal that sealed the championship. That single strike in a high-pressure, series-deciding contest elevated him from a solid contributor to the player who delivered when it mattered most. For a Czech forward who had already navigated multiple NHL transactions and a return to European competition, that Game 7 winner represented the emotional peak of his professional journey—a moment where individual brilliance and team success converged in the most dramatic fashion possible.

Representing the Czech Republic

Klepiš's international career began in 2004, when he earned his first cap for the Czech national team. Over the following years, he accumulated appearances at four separate Ice Hockey World Championships, steadily building his reputation as a reliable presence in the blue line for his country. The culmination of that international journey came at the 2010 World Championships, where the Czech squad claimed the gold medal. For Klepiš, that golden campaign represented the highest honor available to a player competing on the national stage. His contributions across those four tournament cycles helped cement his status as a dependable defenseman for a team that consistently ranked among the sport's elite. The 2010 title, in particular, gave him a trophy that no club championship could replicate—a reminder that his impact extended well beyond the rink of any single franchise.

The Final Chapters and Retirement

Following his KHL success, Klepiš continued to roam across European leagues in search of new challenges. On 26 June 2014, he departed HC Lev Praha after two seasons and crossed the border to Sweden, signing with Färjestad BK in the SHL. That Scandinavian interlude was short-lived; he soon returned to Czech ice, first joining HC Oceláři Třinec and then moving to BK Mladá Boleslav partway through the 2015-16 campaign. His professional journey eventually led him to HC Stadion Litoměřice in the Czech 1. Liga, where he played his final competitive games. In 2026, it was officially announced that Klepiš had retired from professional hockey, closing a career that spanned three continents, multiple NHL transactions, a Gagarin Cup, a world championship gold medal, and stints in Sweden, Russia, and his native Czech Republic.