Former New York Islanders defenseman Sebastian Aho has signed with the Växjö Lakers of the SHL, the team announced today. The deal ends his nine year term in North America, the last two of which were spent with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.
Today’s news is not much of a surprise, as back in February the 30-year-old was expected to return home to Sweden with Växjö. Despite playing in 129 regular season games between his last two years on Long Island from 2022-24, Aho was unable to secure another NHL opportunity. Signing with Pittsburgh for league-minimum two years ago, he did not see another shot at the highest level.
Aho put together a strong 2022-23 campaign for the Islanders, his best as a pro, notching 23 points in 71 games. He got into all six playoff contests for the club that spring, too, which caused some added difficulty for play-by-play announcers as New York took on Carolina, being defeated in six games. Of no relation to the Hurricanes star center of the same name, Aho’s puck-moving ability offers a skill not always seen as far as depth third-pairing options go, but at 5’10” 180 lbs, size held him back at the NHL level.
The type of player who often is a high scorer in the AHL, Aho dealt with injuries over the last two years with Wilkes-Barre, not managing more than 29 games in either season. The 2017 fifth-round selection recorded exactly 14 points each, passing through waivers twice as the output was not enough to catch the attention of another NHL franchise.
A product of Skellefteå AIK, the lefty will be a big addition to the Lakers whose defense corps were largely led by former Canuck and standout AHLer Brogan Rafferty last season, also featuring Keegan Lowe, son of Hall of Famer Kevin Lowe. One other expected future teammate of Aho worth mentioning is former Blackhawk and Duck Dennis Rasmussen, now 35, still a top scorer on the team. Växjö had a strong season in 2025-26, finishing third before an eventual defeat in the semi-finals, now eager to pick up an NHL-pedigree blueliner whose 190 NHL contests are a team-high.