As most teams finalise their rosters for the upcoming season LHC and Timrå add veteran North American players to boost their forward lines. The Växjö Lakers also fill their remaining goaltending position.
NHL Talent
The SHL is no stranger to North American players and former NHLers looking for a new opportunity on the ice. This week saw two players joing the league with previous NHL experience, Ty Rattie and Brian Gibbons.
Brian Gibbons joins an LHC team that has had a string of dissapointing seasons and is looking to turn things around. General Manager Niklas Persson had previously stated they were looking for a pair of forwards to round out their offence and seem to have found at least one in Gibbons. Gibbons spent six seasons in the NHL, playing a total of 204 games with Pittsburgh, Columbus, New Jersey, Ottawa and Carolina. He also played 355 games in the AHL with those teams affiliates. This, however, will not be hist first taste of European hockey as he spent last season playing with Lausanne HC in the Swiss league where he racked up 11 goals and 22 assists in 46 games played.
"I think it is a good opportunity at this stage in my career, I have been around in a few different places in my career but never in the SHL, so I look forward to experiencing it. I have heard very good things and look forward to experiencing the culture more and playing good hockey" says the 33 year old Gibbons. He says his friends and fellow Americans Broc Little and Joe Whitney had nothing but good things to say about the club "I know Broc Little very well and I asked him a lot of questions and he only had good things to say. Joe Whitney is one of my best friends, he loved it in Linköping and had a fantastic experience with his family".
Timrå also continues to bolster their roster as Ty Rattie joined the team this week. Rattie was a high second round draft pick by St. Louis back in 2011 but never found a stable job in the NHL. He did have 98 games played in the NHL over six seasons with St. Louis, Carolina and Edmonton, but spent most of his North American career playing in the AHL. In 2019 he decided to test the waters in Europe, playing with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL. He spent last season in Liiga with Ässat posting a decent 7 goals and 9 assists in 28 games played. This, however, will be his first taste of Swedish hockey.
"Is very excited to join Timrå IK. I've only heard good things about the organization on and off the ice. I can not wait to play in front of Timrå's passionate supporters" says the 28 year old Rattie. Timrå is hoping he will be a good fit as General Manager Kent Norberg is "convinced that he will add a lot to the team".
Växjö Lakers
After the signing of young goaltender Adam Åhman last week the Lakers have finalised their goaltending duo with the signing of Janis Kalnins. The 29 year old Latvian has had an impressive KHL career over the past five seasons playing with Jokerit and Dinamo Riga. In 188 games played he has posted a 2.29 GAA and a .920 SV% with 14 shutouts and boasted a winning record of 90-66-17.
"I am very happy to have the opportunity to represent the Växjö Lakers. It will definitely be a fun season where we aim high, as I understand that the club always does. I can hardly wait to meet all my teammates to start training and the journey together" says Kalnins. General Manager Henrik Evertsson says "Janis is a very stable goalkeeper who, when he played behind good defense, has delivered absolute top numbers in the KHL".
Other Moves
There were only a few other moves from SHL teams this week.
Lars Volden will be moving down to HockeyAllsvenskan as he leaves the Malmö Redhawks to join BIK Karlskoga. The 28 year old Norwegian goaltender has had trouble finding his stride in the SHL and will be returning to a league in which he has had previous success.
Juusso Puustinen joins Örebro for his first taste of SHL action. The 33 year old has spent the past three seasons in the KHL with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk and Sibir Novosibirsk where he found success, scoring 57 goals and adding 46 assists in 157 games played.
The final move of the week came yesterday as Oskarshamn announced they were parting ways with forward Tyler Kelleher. In his two seasons with Oskarshamn he scored 21 goals and added 36 assists in 99 games played. The 26 year old announced today that he will be staying in the league and will be joining Rögle for the upcoming season.