The Minnesota Wild, fresh off a prospect signing, have dipped their toes into the European free agent market. The team announced today a one-year, two-way contract for Eric Martinsson, a 25-year old defenseman out of the SHL.
Martinsson has played four full seasons for Vaxjo already, and recorded a career-high 17 points this season while playing a bigger role. The undrafted defenseman added his second SHL Championship to the mantle, and was a big reason why—he scored 11 points in 13 playoff games to lead all defensemen. His puck-moving ability and speed to join rushes allows him to take chances, something encouraged more and more in professional hockey these days.
Minnesota will be an extremely interesting team to watch this summer, as they figure out who will make up their defense corps in 2018-19. The team has a group of eight or nine players who could all find themselves in regular roles, and Martinsson is another name that could battle for playing time. Though he’ll likely start in the minor leagues, there’s no telling how quickly he could adjust to the North American game. He does have experience with it, going back to 2012-13 when he played a single season in the USHL and recorded 33 points in 59 games.