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Utah Signs Noel Nordh To Entry-Level Contract

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June 17: The Utah Hockey Club is officially in business, making Nordh’s signing official as the first in franchise history (via Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN).

May 5: The loom of a summertime move hasn’t stopped the day-to-day affairs of the former Arizona Coyotes front office. Now representing Utah, they’ve signed 2023 third-round pick Noel Nordh to a three-year, entry-level contract, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). The contract carries a $865K cap hit and both signing and performance bonuses. Nordh becomes the 11th player from 2023’s third-round to sign his first NHL contract.

Nordh is coming off his first full season of pro hockey, earning a role in Sweden’s second-tier league, the HockeyAllsvenskan, after starting the season in the country’s U20 league. He was limited to just six goals and 15 points in his 50 appearances with Brynas IF, averaging 9:41 in ice time. While he certainly posted an anti-climactic stat line, Nordh improved significantly in his ability to make plays and work with teammates at high speeds this season.

He’s still a bit of an awkward skater who doesn’t inspire many flashy plays – both complaints levied against him in his draft year – but Nordh fit nicely into Brynas’ systems and showed a clear ability to use his size and long reach to shut down defenders. He seems to have all of the tools needed to develop into a reliable bottom-six forward. Utah now seems ready to test that, signing Nordh to a deal that strongly suggests he’ll be moving to North America next season.

The Coyotes iced 19 different forwards over the 2023-24 season, showing no fear in rewarding minor-league standouts with their NHL debut. That could bode well for Nordh, who will now enter a race with players like Aku Raty, Jan Jenik, and Milos Kelemen for some of the last spots on Utah’s lineup.

Overseas Signings: Poirier, Rubins, Haapala, Rodewald

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After being picked 22nd overall by the Flames in the 2013 draft, things never worked out for Emile Poirier in the NHL. He managed only one assist in eight games during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons and didn’t receive a qualifying offer when his entry-level contract expired in 2018.

Poirier spent the next two seasons on a minor-league contract with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose before heading overseas at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s racked up many airline rewards miles in the few years since, switching European leagues every season. Now 29, he’s on the move again, inking a one-year deal with Nybro Vikings IF of the Swedish second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan.

The Montreal-born forward has been decently productive in Europe but has been at his peak in the Slovak Extraliga. There, he’s averaged nearly a point per game across two different teams during stints in the 2020-21 and 2023-24 seasons. Poirier spent last season with HC Slovan Bratislava, and although injuries limited him to 28 games, he still rattled off 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points.

He has played briefly in Sweden before, suiting up in 11 games for Djurgårdens IF, then in the Swedish Hockey League, to end the 2021-22 campaign. Poirier had three goals and two assists to end the season but went without a point in three relegation games as the Stockholm-based club was relegated to the HockeyAllsvenskan, where they remain entering 2024-25.

In Nybro, Poirier joins a club in just their second season at the second tier since 2009. They’ve spent much of their existence in the third tier of the Swedish hockey pyramid, now known as HockeyEttan. The Vikings impressed in their first season back in the HockeyAllsvenskan, going 20-22-7-3 and finishing 27 points out of the relegation zone.

Other notable European signings over the past few days with NHL pedigree:

  • Former Maple Leafs defenseman Kristiāns Rubīns has signed a one-year contract with HC Plzeň of the Czech Extraliga. The 26-year-old Latvian went undrafted after coming to North America to finish his junior career with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League but stuck it out and inked a minor-league deal with the Toronto Marlies in hopes of one day making the jump to the NHL. It paid off, yielding an entry-level contract in 2020 before making his NHL debut in 2021-22, posting a -2 rating and 4 PIMs while averaging 11:45 per game across a three-game stint. However, it wasn’t enough for the Leafs to issue him a qualifying offer, and he became a free agent the following summer. After spending 2022-23 on a two-way deal with the Senators and Flames, he headed to Europe last summer to play for the SHL’s MoDo Hockey. There, the 6’5″ defender posted 10 points in 44 games in a top-four role. He now takes his services to Czechia for the first time in his career, joining a blue line that includes projected 2024 first-round pick Adam Jiříček.
  • One-time Panthers winger Henrik Haapala will play in Sweden for the first time in his lengthy professional career next season, inking a one-year pact with the SHL’s Malmö Redhawks. The undersized but dynamic playmaking winger has an illustrious career in his native Finland that includes one Liiga bronze medal, three silver medals, and two championships. His title-winning 2016-17 season with Tappara saw him lead the league in scoring with 45 assists and 60 points in 51 games, earning him his first NHL shot with Florida the following season. However, Haapala spent most of the year in the minors and only managed five NHL appearances, recording a lone assist. Now 30, he had 18 points in 28 Swiss National League games last season, split between Genève-Servette and Lausanne HC.
  • Former Senators depth forward Jack Rodewald is remaining in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League next season on a one-year deal with Admiral Vladivostok. The 30-year-old Winnipeg native played 10 NHL games with the Sens from 2017 to 2019 but failed to record a point and averaged just 7:09 per game. Since heading to Europe in 2020, he’s suited up for Czechia’s HC Oceláři Třinec, Finland’s TPS, and the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star and Traktor Chelyabinsk. He split last season between Kunlun and Traktor, recording eight goals and 21 points in 59 contests.

HockeyAllsvenskan’s Djurgardens IF Signs Jonny Tychonick

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Senators 2018 second-round pick Jonny Tychonick is heading overseas. After seeing his exclusive signing rights with the club expire late last offseason, he’s signing a one-year deal with Djurgårdens IF of the HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier pro league.

Tychonick, 24, originally had his signing rights entrusted to the Sens indefinitely after they drafted him out of the British Columbia Hockey League, but that changed when he began his freshman season at the University of North Dakota the season following his draft. A fifth year of collegiate play in 2022-23 extended his exclusive signing window with Ottawa until Aug. 15 last year, but he instead opted to sign a minor-league contract with the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

Once a promising offensive talent, Tychonick had only 15 points in 52 games with North Dakota before transferring to Nebraska-Omaha for his junior, senior and graduate seasons. He failed to break out there, either but did have a reasonably successful overage year with 26 points and a +8 rating in 35 games. Still, that wasn’t enough for him to land an NHL deal with the Sens, or anywhere else for that matter.

He also played just four games for the Marlies this season after signing his deal, spending most of the campaign on assignment to the now-defunct Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL. He had a strong first professional season there, racking up 43 points in 51 games, but it still didn’t draw interest in his services from NHL clubs.

Tychonick now opts to try his hand overseas and help the Stockholm-based Djurgårdens to promotion back to the Swedish Hockey League. They’re gearing up for their third straight season in the second-tier league after being demoted in 2022, losing the promotion series in back-to-back years.

Afternoon Notes: Drouin, Henrique, Bruins, Brandsegg-Nygard

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Colorado Avalanche winger Jonathan Drouin has shared that he’s hoping to re-sign with the team this summer, per Meghan Angley of TheDNVR.com (Twitter link). Drouin joined the Avalanche on a one-year, $825K contract last July and looked great in their system, posting a career-high 56 points. He appeared in 79 games – the second-most he’s played in any of his 10 NHL seasons, behind the 2018-19 campaign.

Drouin seemed to find his footing with the Avalanche and will now hope to solidify his future with the club. He ranked fourth on the team in scoring while admirably filling Gabriel Landeskog’s role on the second line. That should be enough to earn him a substantial raise from his sub-$1MM salary this season, though he’ll still have to settle for a cheaper deal, with Colorado boasting just $15MM to re-sign their 11 free agents, including Sean Walker and Alexandar Georgiev.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Edmonton Oilers are expected to once again be without forward Adam Henrique for Game 6, head coach Kris Knoblauch shared with Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). Knoblauch also shared that the Oilers will have an extra forward in warmups, with one lineup forward questionable with an illness. Henrique has missed five of the six games this series and hasn’t been particularly effective when he is on the ice – with just two points in six postseason games so far. Connor Brown will remain in the lineup in Henrique’s absence, while one of Sam Carrick, Sam Gagner, or Adam Erne will likely skate as the precautionary extra forward.
  • A pair of Boston Bruins could be set to join Team Czechia at the World Championship, with Czechia news outlet iDNES.cz reporting that both David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha could join the team as soon as Monday. That decision will be made by general manager Petr Nedved and assistant general manager Martin Havlat, who shared that Pastrnak and Zacha are set to undergo medical evaluation on Sunday. These would be substantial additions to a Czechia roster that’s already leading Group A, with four wins in six games. They recently added Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas following their elimination and are now set to add two more difference-makers – a substantial boost ahead of their Tuesday matchup with Team Canada, their final of the group stage.
  • Top 2024 NHL Draft prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard has signed a one-year deal with the reigning SHL champions: Skelleftea AIK. Brandsegg-Nygard spent the season in the HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier league, where he posted 18 points in 41 games. He’s also managed five points in five World Juniors games and 12 points in nine international friendlies with Norway’s U20 team – and is currently one of just six goal-scorers on Norway’s World Championship roster. It’s been a strong year for Brandsegg-Nygard, the fifth-ranked European by NHL Central Scouting. He should only add to his momentum on a flashy, high-skill Skelleftea team next year.

Snapshots: Larsson, Yurov, Oshie

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Swedish goaltender Filip Larsson has announced he is leaving the SHL’s Leksands IF to pursue an NHL contract, as reported by the team (Twitter link). Larsson just wrapped up his first full season in the SHL, posting an admirable 19 wins and .920 save percentage through 28 regular season games. It was tied for the highest save percentage in the SHL among goalies with 20 or more starts, alongside veteran Lars Johansson, who posted a .920 in 40 games.

Larsson, 25, was formerly a Detroit Red Wings draft pick, hearing his name called in the sixth round of the 2016 NHL Draft. He came over to America in the subsequent season, playing one year with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm before moving to the University of Denver for a year. He posted strong stats through both juniors and college, posting a .941 and .932 save percentage in the respective seasons. However, his strong performances fell flat when Larsson turned pro in the 2019-20 season. He spent the bulk of the year as a backup searching through starts in the AHL and ECHL – ultimately posting a .843 in seven AHL games and a .910 in 10 ECHL games.

Larsson moved back to Sweden for the 2020-21 COVID season and has since climbed the ranks through Sweden’s second-tier league, the HockeyAllsvenskan. He recorded 30 wins and a .918 save percentage across three seasons and 60 games in the league. Those appearances, and one spot start in the SHL, were all Larsson had to go on when he took on Leksands’ starting role this year. And he still performed well, even adding a .929 save percentage through five postseason appearances. Rather than settle down too much, Larsson is now trying to seize that momentum and make a return to North American pros. While his track in North America could’ve been better, Larsson has shown exactly what he’s capable of with dominant years throughout Swedish hockey. He’ll undoubtedly be a free agent to follow, with so many NHL teams vying for new and impactful goaltending.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Top Minnesota Wild prospect Danila Yurov is reportedly set to sign a one-year extension in the KHL as soon as tomorrow, per Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). This news comes after Yurov completed his championship run with Magnitogorsk Metallurg. He led the team in regular season scoring, with 21 goals and 49 points in 62 games, and added nine points in 23 playoff games. Minnesota drafted Yurov as the 24th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, and they will now have to wait one more year to bring him to North America.
  • It was revealed after their Game 4 loss that Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie played through the elimination game with a broken hand, shares The Hockey News’ Sammi Silber (Twitter link). It was linemate Dylan Strome who revealed Oshie’s injury while praising him for being such a great teammate. Strome added that fans don’t know the full extent of things Oshie has to do to prepare for a game, which certainly makes sense after the veteran forward suffered a seemingly endless string of injuries this year. He was limited to just 52 games this season, scoring 12 goals and 25 points. He has one year left on his deal, but after reaching 1,000 games and battling through injuries, there’s a chance the 37-year-old Oshie could bring his career to a close. On that idea, Strome says, “If it is his last game, he’s a hell of a warrior, hell of a guy. Everything you can ask for in a teammate.”

Jakob Silfverberg Signs With HockeyAllsvenskan’s Brynäs IF

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Brynäs IF of the HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier professional league, has signed Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg to a two-year contract, the team announced. Financial terms were not disclosed. Silfverberg announced last week that he would be retiring from the NHL at the end of the season.

The 33-year-old now returns to the club where he spent the entirety of his junior and professional career before arriving in the NHL with the Senators in 2012. It’s far from an unexpected move. As far back as May 2023, reports out of Sweden indicated that Silfverberg planned to return to Brynäs after his contract in Anaheim expired this offseason.

The pair of news items over the last week put a bow on Silfverberg’s decade in SoCal, which began when the Ducks acquired him, along with Stefan Noesen and a first-round pick that became Nick Ritchie, from Ottawa for Bobby Ryan in the 2013 offseason. He’s been a mainstay in the Anaheim lineup since, suiting up 771 times over the past 11 years. The 2009 second-round pick posted 158 goals and 354 points while averaging 16:23 per game, earning Selke Trophy votes in three straight seasons from 2015-16 to 2017-18.

Now in his mid-30s, it may be ambitious for Brynäs supporters to hope Silfverberg picks up where he left off. His final season with the club in 2011-12 was nothing short of electric. He played in the top-level Elitserien (now Swedish Hockey League) and captained the club while posting 54 points in 49 games, leading the league in points per game. The two-way winger is likely in line for a middle-six role there.

Brynäs may currently be in the HockeyAllsvenskan, but there’s a strong chance Silfverberg will play in the SHL next season. They were the best team in the regular season with a 33-5-3-11 record and have advanced to the finals against Djurgårdens IF. Their best-of-seven series begins Wednesday. The winner will gain promotion back to the top level in 2024-25.

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