The classic Stockholm club seemed to be heading for another wasted season in Hockey Allsvenskan as late as the beginning of December.
AIK was in eighth place when Markus Åkerblom was fired.
Roger Melin surprisingly stepped in as a replacement and since then, AIK has reached record levels:
23 wins in 29 matches under Melin – including 16 in a row, tied for an Allsvenskan record.
When the playoffs begin on Sunday and Monday, AIK, who will face Björklöven in the quarterfinals, is suddenly a hot contender for a SHL spot.
Roger Melin has previously taken AIK to the SHL, in 2010.
"Would be brutal"
What would it mean to do it again?
It would be brutal, not for me personally, but for AIK. I have no personal interest in this, I'm a leader because I like to help people and do things together in a group. It would mean enormously much for the guys on the team and for AIK, says Melin.
Roger Melin was on a pleasant golf vacation in Spain when AIK contacted him and wanted him to make a comeback and take a fourth stint in the club.
He was extremely hesitant, but eventually said yes.
Now, as Roger Melin sits on the Hovet stands after an AIK practice, he says it's been surprisingly fun.
Yes, actually. I had moved away from hockey, I had never thought about this scenario. It was over and it was a pretty nice feeling to put the coaching career aside and just be a regular person. I was unsure if I would have the motivation and energy. But it's been much more fun than I thought, he says.
Skates in the trash can
Melin is not himself on the ice during practices. He threw his skates in the trash can when he quit in 2020.
Instead, he follows the practice from a bench between the boxes.
So, I haven't really started over. I'm not on the ice and I've found a way together with the other coaches so that we have tasks that complement each other, he says.
Melin has, during his over 35 years as a hockey coach, always been a specialist in getting his teams together and getting the best out of them.
It's the same this time:
The most important thing is that the player group itself starts taking responsibility, that they come together and that they dare to start making demands on each other. We've gotten to that point, I think. Everyone is working extremely hard and everyone wants to move forward.
But when the season is over, so is Melin's coaching career. For good. Even if it means SHL.
Hehe, I'm too old already, he says.
Eight teams are left after the quarterfinals in the playoffs, where the final winner takes the step up to SHL.
This is how the playoffs continue:
+ Quarterfinals (16-29/3).
Sunday's start: Djurgården (series winner)–Mora (7).
Bik Karlskoga (2)–Oskarshamn (8).
Monday: Södertälje (3)–Kalmar (6).
Björklöven (4)–AIK (5).
The three highest-ranked teams got to choose their opponents among the four lowest-ranked teams. The match series are decided in best of seven matches.
+ Semifinals (31/3-13/4)
Highest-ranked remaining team chooses opponent among the two lowest-ranked teams. Remaining teams meet in the other semifinal. Best of seven matches.
+ Final (16, 18, 20, 22, possibly 25, 27 and 30/4).
Winner to SHL, loser remains in Hockey Allsvenskan.
Born: April 25, 1956, in Enköping.
Lives: in Gävle with his wife Susanne.
Clubs as coach: Enköping, RA73, Väsby, Hammarby, Arlanda, Brynäs, Rögle, Linköping, Färjestad, Frölunda, AIK, Leksand.
Top merits: SM gold with Brynäs in 1999, winningest coach in SHL history with 395 wins until December 2023 when Roger Rönnberg, Frölunda, surpassed him.
Current: Can take AIK back to SHL after the successful comeback.
