Amidst a flurry of player signings, movement and extensions one name stands out among the rest when it comes to players returning to the league next season as one of the most successful North American SHLers returns to his old team.
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After a season that was split between the Pelicans in Liiga and the ZSC Lions in Switzerland, Ryan Lasch has resigned with the Frölunda Indians for his 9th season in the SHL. The native of Lake Forest California has had one of the most successful careers of any North American to play in Sweden, registering 325 games played, scoring 92 goals and adding 197 assists. His SHL career started back in the 2010/11 season with Södertälje who he was with for one season, he spent two seasons with the Växjö Lakers before finding his home with Frölunda. With Frölunda he has won four Champions Hockey League titles, two Swedish League titles, has topped the points race twice, was named SHL forward of the year and won the Stefan Liv Memorial trophy back in the 2018/19 season. All in all Lasch's time with Frölunda has seen him capture both personal and club success conistently, something he will hope to continue in the coming season.
Another North American player returning to Sweden next season is Brendan Shinnimin who spent the past season with Adler Manheim of the DEL. Having spent the previous three seasons with the Växjö Lakers and capturing the SHL title in his first year in the league, Shinnimin will be heading north to Luleå next season. In his three seasons with the Lakers he scored 36 goals, added 53 assists and registered a staggering 260 penalty minutes in 142 games played.
Other notable moves include Pär Lindholm heading to Ak Bar Kazan in the KHL, Erik Källgren has signed a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs and will be starting next season with their AHL affiliate the Toronto Marlies. Jonatan Berggren has signed with the Detroit Red Wings, Konstantin Komarek will be returning to Sweden to play with Luleå next season, Johan Gustafsson will be joining Vasterås in HockeyAllsvenskan and Marcus Sylvegård will be returning to Malmö to play with the Redhawks.
SHL Awards
The SHL awards were all announced last week, here's this years list of winners
Most Valuable Player in the SHL: Marek Hrivík (Leksand)
Rookie of the Year: William Eklund (Djurgården)
Goal of the Year: for the third year in a row, Nils Höglander (Rögle)
Save of the Year: Janne Juvonnen (Leksand)
Forward of the Year: Marek Hrivík (Leksand)
Defenseman of the Year: Moritz Seider (Rögle)
Goalkeeper of the Year: Viktor Fasth (Växjö)
Coach of the Year: Björn Hellkvist (Leksand)
Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy: Pontus Holmberg (Växjö)