Visas, address book: why Grenoble has so many Swedish players this season

Even though some of them sing the Marseillaise at the top of their lungs every game night, the Swedish anthem that will ring out this Tuesday evening (8:15 pm) at the Polesud ice rink is unlikely to be unfamiliar to them. "They" are the Swedes of Grenoble. Four of them are wearing the Brûleurs de Loups colors this season, in addition to coach Per Hanberg, who played in Italy, Switzerland, and Denmark before settling last year on the banks of the Isère River.

Four is the same number as the Canadians—the largest foreign contingent in the Magnus League—on the roster of the reigning French champions. It's a sporting and administrative decision. "For the past two years, we've seen a tightening of the process for obtaining work visas for North American players," explains Jacques Reboh, president of the Brûleurs de Loups. "The two- to three-month processing time is incompatible with our recruitment, which takes place in June and July."

The club therefore chose to refocus on European players. And what could be more logical, with a Swedish coach at the helm, than to seek out talent in this hockey-mad country? "He leveraged his extensive network in Sweden to our advantage, allowing us access to players who, in the past, had been somewhat reluctant to come to France," observes Reboh, aware that the level of the Ligue Magnus is equivalent to the second or even third tier in Sweden.

On one side, there are defensemen Alexis Binner (26 years old) and Pontus Englund (25 years old), two young players who haven't managed to break through in Sweden. Both played in Denmark in 2023-2024 for Herning Blue Fox, where they were coached by... Hanberg. In France, they're looking for a showcase to demonstrate their skills before, perhaps, joining other, more competitive European leagues.

Binner, who arrived a year before his compatriot, quickly became a dominant player in Grenoble. Last season, he scored 44 points in 43 regular season games, and his effectiveness didn't wane during the playoffs. This season, he is once again the top-scoring defenseman in the Magnus League (16 points in 13 games before the international break).

With Per Hanberg as coach, Grenoble has reached the CHL playoffs for the first time in its history. (F. Baldino/Brûleurs de loups)

"They could have earned a bit more money in Sweden, that's for sure, but with far fewer responsibilities."

On the other side, there are experienced forwards: Martin Karlsson (34 years old), recruited in September to compensate for injuries in attack, and Fredric Weigel (33 years old), whose friend Jacob Andersson, who won the French championship with Grenoble last season, spoke very highly of the Isère club. Approaching the end of their careers, these two players, who had never left Sweden, have one goal: to win titles.

“They could have earned a bit more money in Sweden, that’s for sure,” Reboh admits. “But with far fewer responsibilities within the team. For us, they are key players, whereas in another team, they would have been more like supporting players. They made the choice to be in a weaker team but to have more responsibilities and a more important role.”

While the clubs in their home country or in Finland that might have been interested in them weren't top-tier, these Swedish players have found in Grenoble a team capable of competing for titles and in which they play a leading role. It's a win-win situation for the Brûleurs de Loups (Grenoble's nickname), who will certainly need their Swedish contingent to challenge Frölunda, the formidable Gothenburg club, four-time Champions League winners.

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Per Hanberg is the second Swedish coach in Grenoble after Mats Lusth, who swept all four national trophies with the Brûleurs de loups in 2009 (Champions Match, French Cup, League Cup and Magnus Cup).