Unlike many players who have bee shipped overseas in recent months while the NHL waits for their season to begin, Petrus Palmu is no stranger to loans. The Vancouver Canucks prospects has spent parts of each of his three pro seasons on loan in his native Finland. As such, it should come as no surprise that he has again been loaned away. Instead, the surprise is that rather than return to the Liiga, Palmu has been loaned to ERC Ingolstadt of Germany’s DEL.
Ingolstadt announced on Monday that they were pleased to have negotiated a loan with the Canucks to land Palmu. As opposed to many recent loan announcements, the team’s release also did not mention any shortened timeline or return for NHL training camp. Instead, it seems possible that this could be a season-long loan for the young forward.
Palmu, 23, is a skilled and speedy forward, as evidenced by a near 100-point season in the OHL and solid production in the Liiga. However, his size continues to be a concern when it comes to his NHL prospects. At 5’6″ and 170 lbs., Palmu is undersized to be competing against elite competition and to this point the Canucks seem hesitant to even place him in the AHL, beyond just a dozen games two years ago. Perhaps another strong season in Europe, this time in a new league, will convince them to give him a shot .
I like Palmu. Hope he succeeds.