There is a fairly simple reason Emil Sylvegård's name is starting to appear among IK supporters.
He is a free agent. He is experienced. And he plays the kind of hockey this team could use more of.
Yes: Arsi should make the call.
That does not mean we think Emil Sylvegård will play for IK.
Quite the opposite. It is easy to imagine an SHL club running into trouble, needing size and experience and signing him before Oskarshamn ever becomes a serious option. Sylvegård is also in Malmö, training with the Redhawks U20. To play for IK he would actually have to move to Oskarshamn.
That matters more than people sometimes admit when silly season is reduced to names and statistics.
It is also where the comparison with Mattias Tedenby becomes interesting.
Tedenby has a completely different geographical and emotional logic. Jönköping is home. HV71 is the club he is so closely associated with that nearby alternatives are not necessarily simple. Växjö? Linköping? Close to the family on a map, perhaps, but in hockey terms potentially much further away.
Oskarshamn is close enough for everyday life to work and far enough from HV's direct SHL world to be something different.
If Tedenby still wants to play, it is difficult to let go of the idea.
Sylvegård is almost the opposite. Less local logic. A bigger market. More plausible destinations if the phone starts ringing.
But the player type?
That is where it gets very interesting.
We have already written about what Manuel Ågren brings beyond points. The local connection, absolutely. But also experience, standards and the fact that the team's star can still lead from the front in an ordinary practice and an ordinary shift.
IK need more high-end depth of that kind.
Not two copies of Manuel. That is impossible.
But two more players with CVs strong enough to know what is required when the opposition gets better – and enough hunger left to demand it from themselves and everyone around them.
Players who challenge Joel Svensson, Calle Karlsson and the other young players, while allowing those young players to challenge them right back.
That is why both Tedenby and Sylvegård are interesting names.
Not to collect old achievements in a dressing room. Not to win silly season on Elite Prospects.
To raise the level of competition every day.
Sylvegård would bring physicality, experience, personality and a style that gets noticed. Tedenby would bring skill, experience and attacking quality from a player who still has a great deal of hockey in his hands.
Different players. Same principle.
And this is where IK have to think in net terms rather than only cost.
Strengthening a team that already looks good will cost money. Good players do not become cheaper because we think they ought to enjoy living in Oskarshamn.
But the alternative can be more expensive.
There is something around this team right now. People believe in it. The youngsters are pushing from below. Homegrown players are taking bigger roles. Hallquisth is staying until Örebro want him back. Melker Eriksson is returning. Ågren and Sveningsson are back on the ice even if they are not yet ready to play.
This is not the time to wait until something becomes a problem.
This is the time to try to make a good team harder to beat.
And perhaps the order has to be slightly backwards.
IK can of course go to sponsors and supporters and say the club wants to strengthen. But the real energy comes when the club shows it means business. Dare to take the first step. Build something people want to help pay for.
Then ask Oskarshamn to help.
So: should IK sign Emil Sylvegård?
We do not even know if it is possible.
Should Arsi find out?
Absolutely.
And Tedenby?
Call him too.
High-end depth does not mean you are only allowed to make one phone call.