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Christian Folin

Notable Former NHLers Playing In The SHL Next Year

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As overseas campaigns get ready to kick off at the beginning of next month, we’ll highlight some notable former NHLers suiting up for teams in major European leagues over the next few days. First up is the Swedish Hockey League, which sees a new face this year in Örnsköldsvik’s MoDo Hockey, which earned promotion from the second-tier Allsvenskan to play in the top flight for the first time since 2016.

D Christian Folin – Frölunda HC

Suiting up as an alternate captain for Frölunda this season, the 32-year-old Folin has two years remaining on a deal with the club he signed in 2021. A veteran of 244 NHL games, the left-shot defender most recently suited up for 16 games with the Montreal Canadiens in the 2019-20 campaign. His career-best season came with the Los Angeles Kings in 2017-18, the second of three consecutive seasons he managed to avoid AHL assignment. In 65 games, Folin recorded average possession numbers and finished the year with three goals and ten assists for 13 points. He appeared in all four playoff games as his Kings lost to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in a first-round sweep. Since returning to his home country, the two-way defender has represented Sweden internationally at the World Championship and Winter Olympics, although his offensive game is beginning to decline. He recorded just seven assists in 37 games for Frölunda in 2022-23.

F Oscar Lindberg – Skellefteå AIK

Lindberg has played overseas for the past four seasons, but only in Russia and Switzerland. 2023-24 will be his first time playing in the Swedish top flight since 2013, and he’s doing so with the only SHL club he’s ever known in Skellefteå. Initially a second-round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2010, Lindberg saw 134 out of his 252 games of NHL action in a New York Rangers uniform after he was sent there in a 2011 swap of prospects. Now 31, Lindberg recorded a career-high 13 goals and 28 points in 68 games during his rookie season with New York in 2015-16, but he never quite displayed the ability to become a long-term top-nine fixture in the NHL. He made later career stops with the Golden Knights and Ottawa Senators before leaving for Switzerland’s EV Zug after the conclusion of the 2018-19 season.

F Magnus Pääjärvi – Timrå IK

The most NHL-seasoned forward on this list, Pääjärvi will play a depth role in helping Timrå avoid relegation to the Allsvenskan for a third straight season after getting promoted in 2021. Pääjärvi also played his last NHL game with Ottawa in 2019, much like Lindberg, although he’d been in the league since the start of the decade. Now 32, Pääjärvi was the tenth overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, going off the board to the Edmonton Oilers. It looked like a solid selection at first – he rattled off 34 points in 80 games during his rookie season as a 19-year-old in 2010-11 on a struggling Oilers squad. However, he wouldn’t put up double-digit goal totals again until his final season in the NHL with Ottawa, instead bouncing around the Oilers, Blues and Senators as a depth forward in a fourth-line role over nearly a decade. He did appear in a very respectable 467 NHL contests before heading overseas in 2019 with the KHL’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, however. He hasn’t been a huge offensive factor since returning to Europe, recording just seven goals and 13 points in 40 games for Timrå last season.

F Tobias Rieder – Växjö Lakers HC

This will be Rieder’s third consecutive year suiting up for Växjö after he departed the NHL for Sweden in 2021. It’s been a fruitful tenure for the German-born forward, as he’s put up double-digit goal totals in both seasons and won an SHL title in 2022-23. Once a promising middle-six talent with the Arizona Coyotes in the mid-2010s, things went off the rails for Rieder after signing as a free agent with the Edmonton Oilers in 2018. Viewed as a surefire bet for at least around 15 goals and 30 points, Rieder instead put up a goose egg in the goal column despite playing in 67 games. Later tenures with the Buffalo Sabres and Calgary Flames went similarly poor, and the 30-year-old will likely play the rest of his career overseas.

D Anton Strålman – HV71

Strålman is returning home to Sweden after spending last season in the Boston Bruins organization. He played just eight games in the NHL, however, instead being relegated to the AHL’s Providence Bruins for most of 2022-23 after earning a contract off a PTO. The 37-year-old is likely done in the NHL after quite a respectable 938-game, 16-season career, but he’ll look to log heavy minutes for HV71 and try and rediscover his offensive touch against some easier competition. It’s a nice bookend for Strålman, who was once one of the better complementary defenders in the game and played against tough competition as a premier two-way defender for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the mid-to-late 2010s.

Honorable Mentions: F Henrik Borgström (HV71), D Brandon Davidson (Rögle), F Christoffer Ehn (Linköping), F Remi Elie (Linköping), G Jhonas Enroth (Örebro), D Oscar Fantenberg (Linköping), F Janne Kuokkanen (Malmö), F Anton Lander (Timrå), F Pär Lindholm (Skellefteå), F Alan Quine (Malmö), D David Rundblad (MoDo), D Joakim Ryan (Malmö), F Mattias Tedenby (HV71)

William Nylander, Timothy Liljegren Reportedly Joining Sweden At Worlds

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According to a report from Swedish outlet Sportbladet, a pair of Toronto Maple Leafs are heading to the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championship after their elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Winger William Nylander and defenseman Timothy Liljegren are joining the Swedish squad, while Sweden has reportedly sent defensemen Joel Persson and Christian Folin home from the tournament to create room on the roster.

After a disappointing loss to the Florida Panthers, Nylander and Liljegren are now set to bring their skills and experience to the international stage. The news bolsters a Swedish contingent that’s yet to lose through three games at the tournament, although they’ve struggled to produce offense outside of a 5-0 win against Austria.

Nylander should help with those scoring woes, coming off the first 40-goal season of his NHL career. He’s been money in the bank for Sweden at this tournament, recording 15 goals and 37 points in just 21 World Championship appearances across three tournaments (2017, 2019, 2022). It’s a significant boon to a Swedish team that has scored just three goals in two games against Germany and Finland, including a shootout marker.

Joining him is Liljegren, who’s made significant strides in his all-around ability since the last time he represented Sweden internationally at the 2018 IIHF Men’s World Junior Championship. One of the more intriguing young two-way defenders in the sport, Liljegren now gets a chance to add an additional spark to a Sweden defensive corps that’s excelled thus far at the tournament, one that includes former teammate and defense partner Rasmus Sandin.

Neither Persson nor Folin had suited up yet for Sweden in the tournament. While they’re both capable contributors to the Swedish lineup, and both have NHL experience, the swap for Nylander and Liljegren is a significant upgrade to a Swedish team with hopes of capturing the gold medal at this tournament.

Sweden can make it four games without a loss when they take on Hungary on Thursday.

Sweden Announces 2023 World Championship Roster

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Sweden has revealed its roster for the upcoming 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championship, and it’s filled with an impressive mix of NHL players, high-end SHL players, and young prospects. The team is hoping to bring in Sweden’s first medal at the tournament since winning back-to-back golds in 2017 and 2018.

Headlining the roster are some prominent NHLers, including seasoned veteran Jakob Silfverberg and younger players like Lucas Raymond, Jonatan Berggren, and Fabian Zetterlund. For Silfverberg, who’s rumored to return to Sweden after his current contract with the Anaheim Ducks expires, this is his first appearance at the Worlds in over a decade. There’s also top 2023 NHL Draft prospect Leo Carlsson, who could see his name called as early as third overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets after spending the entire season up in the SHL with Örebro HK.

On the blue line, Sweden is led by a pair of longtime NHLers in Christian Folin and Patrik Nemeth, but their best defender is undoubtedly Washington Capitals youngster Rasmus Sandin. Others, such as three-time Swiss league defenseman of the year Henrik Tömmernes, provide some valuable depth.

In net, Sweden will be relying on a trio of capable goaltenders led by one of the best prospects in the world – Jesper Wallstedt. The Minnesota Wild prospect posted a .908 save percentage in 38 games with the AHL’s Iowa Wild and put up a .940 mark in international play for Sweden last year at the World Junior Championship. If Wallstedt doesn’t run away with the crease, there’s a high-end second option in SHL and KHL veteran Lars Johansson, who recorded a sparkling .958 save percentage for Sweden at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The full roster can be found below:

F Pär Lindholm
F Dennis Everberg
F Marcus Sorensen
F Andre Petersson
F Leo Carlsson
F Lucas Raymond
F Oscar Lindberg
F Jakob Silfverberg
F Jonatan Berggren
F Fabian Zetterlund
F Linus Johansson
F Carl Grundström
F Jacob de La Rose
F Alexander Nylander

D Christian Folin
D Henrik Tömmernes
D Patrik Nemeth
D Lukas Bengtsson
D Rasmus Sandin
D Anton Lindholm
D Jonathan Pudas
D Joel Persson

G Jesper Wallstedt
G Lars Johansson
G Jacob Johansson

 

Sweden Announces 2022 Olympic Roster

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Jan 31: Djuse and Gustafsson have been ruled out because of positive COVID results, meaning Theodor Lennstrom and Philip Holm will replace them on the roster.

Jan 21: With just three weeks until the 2022 Winter Olympic men’s hockey tournament gets underway, rosters are being finalized by all the participating countries. Sweden is the latest to reveal who will represent their country in Beijing next month, announcing a roster filled with names that are familiar to NHL fans. While the best league in the world won’t be going to the international event, there’s still plenty of NHL experience that will hit the ice.

The full roster:

G Magnus Hellberg
G Lars Johansson
G Adam Reideborn

D Lukas Bengtsson
D Erik Gustafsson
D Emil Djuse
D Oscar Fantenberg
D Christian Folin
D Linus Hultstrom
D Jonathan Pudas
D Henri Tommernes

F Daniel Brodin
F Mathias Brome
F Jacob de La Rose
F Dennis Everberg
F Max Friberg
F Pontus Holmberg
F Linus Johansson
F Carl Klingberg
F Marcus Kruger
F Anton Lander
F Joakim Nordstrom
F Fredrik Olofsson
F Gustav Rydahl
F Lucas Wallmark

Like the Finns, Sweden has gone with a veteran lineup filled with NHL and international experience, passing on many of the country’s top young prospects. One interesting name though is Holmberg, a 22-year-old forward that actually signed his entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs last summer. He’s playing in Sweden this season on loan and has 28 points in 33 games. He is the youngest player on the roster by several years and basically represents the only prospect included. Selected in the sixth round in 2018, it would be quite a find for the Maple Leafs if he can continue his high level of play in North America next season.

East Notes: Smith, Norlinder, Daws

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The New Jersey Devils will get some reinforcement on the defensive end tonight as second-year ’D’-man Ty Smith will make his season debut tonight after missing the first week-and-a-half with injury, per the team. A move prefaced by the waiving and subsequent assignment of Colton White to the AHL’s Utica Comets, Smith likely makes his season debut on a pairing with Damon Severson. The Devils are now at full strength on defense for the first time this year, and the new-look group that also includes Ryan Graves and Dougie Hamilton will get a real chance to shine tonight at home against the Buffalo Sabres as the team looks to improve to a 3-1-0 record. Smith finished seventh in Calder Trophy voting last season, scoring two goals and 21 assists in 48 games.

More notes from today in the Eastern Conference:

  • Per The Athletic’s Marc-Antoine Godin, Canadiens defense prospect Mattias Norlinder will resume skating this week after missing the beginning of the 2021-22 season. While he’s loaned to Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League this season, the Habs prospect had a strong camp and this year is an important one in his development. A third-round pick of the squad in 2019, Norlinder had a respectable 10 points in 37 games last year in Sweden and looks to continue his growth on a defense core that also includes the Detroit Red Wings’ Simon Edvinsson and former NHLer Christian Folin.
  • Netminder Nico Daws is making his NHL debut tonight for the New Jersey Devils, the team announced this morning. With Mackenzie Blackwood still on injured reserve and Jonathan Bernier still day-to-day with a lower-body injury, a tandem of Daws and Scott Wedgewood will have to do it for now in Jersey. Wedgewood allowed four goals in a loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday, so the team will give Daws a chance tonight to show what he can do. The 20-year-old was drafted 84th overall in 2020.

Brendan Gaunce Signs With Vaxjo Lakers

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After a long off-season waiting for an NHL opportunity, forward Brendan Gaunce will have to settle for a season overseas. The 26-year-old forward has signed with the SHL’s Vaxjo Lakers, the team announced. The release quoted Gaunce as stating that his motivation to join the Lakers, who are currently third in the SHL, was the chance to win a Swedish championship, which of course wouldn’t hurt his chances of finding his way back to the NHL next year.

Gaunce may have only played in one NHL game in 2019-20, but the lack of NHL interest is still somewhat surprising. After all, Gaunce was playing for the President’s Trophy-winning Boston Bruins, a club with more than enough depth and talent that didn’t need the veteran forward’s services. Gaunce did record a point in his lone appearance with Boston though and added 37 points in 52 AHL games. He had a similarly impressive output in the minors in 2018-19 and again scored at a point-per-game pace in limited action with the Vancouver Canucks. The 2012 first round pick played in 114 games with Vancouver in the three seasons prior.

A two-way power forward with equally strong offensive and defensive instincts, Gaunce may not have produced points as a regular in the NHL, but has been an effective scorer in the AHL and in his limited NHL opportunities over the past two years. Whereas he likely deserved another shot in the NHL, instead he will head to Sweden where the talent level is arguably even lower than it is in the AHL. Joining Vaxjo, Gaunce will be playing alongside fellow NHL veterans like Christian Folin, Joel Persson, and Viktor Fasth and NHL prospects like Jack Drury and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson. Gaunce’s addition to an already talented roster could boost the Lakers up to the SHL’s top spot in the standings and makes them a favorite to win the title this season.

Christian Folin Signs In SHL

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An injury in the SHL has created an opportunity for Christian Folin, as the Vaxjo Lakers have announced a contract with the veteran defenseman. Folin played last season with the Montreal Canadiens but was an unrestricted free agent after his one-year contract expired.

The 29-year-old has played in 250 games at the NHL level, suiting up for the Minnesota Wild, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, and Canadiens. An undrafted free agent signing out of UMass-Lowell, he actually put together a nice little stretch that included playoff games with both Minnesota and Los Angeles. After seeing just 16 contests with Montreal last year, there obviously wasn’t a huge free agent market in the current climate and Folin will now have to continue his career overseas.

There’s certainly no reason to believe that Folin’s time in North America is completely over, however, as he’ll likely be a candidate to return next season when there are more jobs available around the league. The big-bodied, right-handed defenseman doesn’t have a ton of offensive upside but can be a useful depth piece, especially at the AHL level if he were to accept a role in the minor leagues.

Snapshots: Sharks, Marchenko, Hronek

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Call it the thinnest of silver linings, but the numerous injuries of the San Jose Sharks may actually help the team to make something of their season. In a year in which everything has gone wrong in San Jose, including the season-ending injuries of Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl, the team is now in a position to take on considerable salary due to those absences and reap the rewards of doing so, writes NBC Sports’ Marcus White. The once cap-strapped Sharks now have more than $6MM in salary cap space following the trade of defenseman Brenden Dillon and that number could increase if more deals are made. This could allow for San Jose to land a pick or prospect from a contender lacking in cap flexibility who has been weighed down by a bad contract. Of course, the team would likely be looking for expiring contracts so as not to carry the added cap weight into next season, when they hope to be healthy and competitive once again. Still, there are a number of bad contracts out there that the Sharks could take on, making the most of a deadline in which they otherwise don’t have many valuable pieces to trade away.

  • Former NHL defenseman Alexey Marchenko is eyeing a return to North America and KHL insider Igor Eronko thinks that he has identified the most likely landing spot. Eronko notes that Marchenko’s teammate with CSKA Moscow is Montreal Canadiens’ top defensive prospect Alexander Romanov and the highest likelihood that Romanov could make the jump next year would be if he is joined by a familiar face. Marchenko, who struggled to carve out an NHL role for himself previously, has improved in the KHL and could be a suitable replacement on the Montreal blue line for impending free agents such as Christian Folin or Xavier Ouellet.
  • One of the few bright spots of the Detroit Red Wings’ dismal season has been the continued growth of defenseman Filip Hronek, who has become a dependable all-around defender for the franchise. However, fans can’t even cling to that as a reason to tune in to games for the next few weeks, as the Red Wings have placed Hronek on injured reserve. His injury is not expected to be serious, but the team also lacks any reason to rush him back to action. Long-time depth asset Brian Lashoff has been recalled to take Hronek’s roster spot for the time being.

Minor Transactions: 02/19/20

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Six games are on the schedule for this evening, including an interesting matchup between the division leading Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers. It will be a real test for the Oilers without Connor McDavid or Oscar Klefbom, against one of the true Stanley Cup contenders this season. As they and the rest of the league prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here:

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed John Marino on injured reserve after his recent surgery, meaning they had a spot on the roster for another defenseman. Zach Trotman is that defenseman for now, after he was recalled today from the AHL.
  • The San Jose Sharks have recalled Nicolas Meloche from the AHL to fill Brenden Dillon’s spot, after the veteran was traded yesterday. Meloche has yet to play an NHL game in his young career, but was the 40th overall selection in 2015.
  • Christian Folin has been recalled by the Montreal Canadiens, after Victor Mete left last night’s game with an injury. Folin has played in seven games for the Canadiens this season, recording two points.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled Mark Friedman from the minor leagues, giving them another defenseman for tomorrow’s road game in Columbus. Friedman has played five games for the Flyers this season.
  • Glenn Gawdin has been returned to the AHL by the Calgary Flames, who only recalled him two days ago. The 22-year old forward is still waiting to get his first NHL game action.

Shea Weber Returns To Practice (3-5 Weeks Early)

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Tuesday: Weber will indeed suit up for the Canadiens tonight, returning just six days after being ruled out for four-to-six weeks.

Monday: Montreal Canadiens captain Shea Weber returned to practice today after missing the past week and a half with an injury. Normally, that wouldn’t be big news. However, just last week Weber was given a timeline of four-to-six weeks to recover from his ankle strain. Five days later, Weber is back at practice and questionable for Tuesday night’s game more than three-to-five weeks ahead of schedule.

Weber’s seemingly miraculous healing powers are earning him a new nickname among hockey pundits: Wolverine. And for good reason. Not only is Weber returning to action far ahead of schedule, but even that initial timeline was considered good news after initial reports about the ankle injury were that it could cost him the season. On top of that, Weber was not only skating today, but was a full participant in practice alongside regular partner Ben Chiarot and was even working with special teams units as if he is expecting to play sooner rather than later. While Weber, 34, has dealt with his fair share of injuries, this is not the first time that he has reportedly returned from injury well before most or has braved pain that most would not endure to return to the lineup.

Of course, timeline aside, the injury is still in play and could limit the veteran. After speaking with Weber after practice, Sportsnet’s Eric Engels relays that Weber was told that he could not do any further damage to his ankle, but that he is certainly not at 100%. Yet, Weber says that he feels good to go, which is good news for the Canadiens. Their slim playoff hopes likely ride on whether or not Weber can contribute, so even a limited version of their captain is far better than what they believed could be four-to-six weeks of his absence.

Adding to the idea that Weber could be returning right away on Tuesday is Montreal’s other move today, sending defenseman Christian Folin as well forward Jake Evans to the AHL’s Laaval Rocket. The team needs to open up a roster spot before activating Weber from the injured reserve.

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