Even though most international leagues have started up and are in full flight, there are still roster spots being created for NHL-contracted players. One of those is with AIK of the Allsvenskan in Sweden as the team announced that they’ve added winger Fabian Zetterlund on loan from the Devils. The press release states that the agreement is in place until further notice, suggesting that it will be until NHL training camps resume.
The roster spot was created by the injury to Islanders prospect Oliver Wahlstrom. He suffered an upper-body injury on Wednesday and there is no word on how much time he’ll miss.
Zetterlund was a third-round pick of New Jersey back in 2017 (63rd overall) and made his debut in North America last season, playing in 46 games with AHL Binghamton. The 21-year-old acquitted himself relatively well, picking up eight goals and 11 assists but didn’t earn a recall to New Jersey last season.
It’s likely that Zetterlund will be back in the minors for next year but at the very least, this loan agreement will give him a chance to get into game action after last suiting up on March 11th with Binghamton. This will be his first time in AIK’s organization after coming up from Farjestad’s system initially; as they’re an SHL team (and not taking players on loan), Zetterlund had to dip down a level to get a chance to play close to home.