Swedish forward Fredrik Olofsson, 28, has signed a three-year contract with Rögle BK, the Ängelholm-based SHL club announced on Monday.

“It’s an honor to have the chance here in Rögle and to play in a team with high ambitions,” said Olofsson. “It will be exciting. The SHL is a demanding league and nothing comes free. I am motivated to be an engine for the team at center and I want to challenge myself to carry a heavy load together with my teammates.”

“I’m very happy and excited to finally see Fredrik in green and white,” said club sports director Hampus Sjöström. “Fredrik has accumulated a lot of experience through playing in different leagues, which will be useful for our group. He’s a responsible player with the ability to make his surroundings better and a great and competitive guy to have in the locker room.”

Olofsson is originally from Helsingborg in southwestern Sweden, about 25 km from Ängelholm and just across the Öresund from Denmark. However, he began playing in the United States at age 14 – first youth hockey in Colorado, followed by two years in the USHL and four years of college hockey at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Olofsson was drafted in the fourth round, 98th overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, and he made his professional debut with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs in the spring of 2019 after finishing his senior year at UNO.

Olofsson spent the next three seasons playing professionally in Sweden – first for MoDo in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan and then two years in the SHL for IK Oskarshamn. During that time, he also played his only significant international hockey to date, recording one assist in six games for Sweden at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Olofsson split the next two seasons between the NHL and the AHL – first with the Dallas Stars in 2022-23 and then with the Colorado Avalanche in 2023-24. Combined, he had 13 points and 10 penalty minutes in 85 NHL regular-season games. He was also pointless in two playoff games for Dallas in 2023.

Last season in Switzerland, Olofsson recorded 30 points in 51 National League regular-season and playoff games for EV Zug.

“My ambitions are crystal clear – winning a championship as a team is the only thing that matters,” Olofsson continued. “How we get there and individual goals we will put together now during the summer. Building a daily operation that spreads good energy while making demands on each other will drive us to the top. Together with Dan (Tangnes, Rögle’s head coach), we will be clear in everything we do and I look forward to that.”

Rögle finished seventh in the SHL regular season last year before being eliminated in the play-in round. Besides Olofsson, players under contract with the team for 2025-26 include NHL prospects Linus Sjödin (Buffalo Sabres), Simon Zether (Florida Panthers), Felix Nilsson (Nashville Predators) and Austrian defenseman Gregor Biber (Utah Mammoth).

Radim Zohorna Signs With Swedish ClubCzech forward Radim Zohorna, 29, has signed a two-year contract with Färjestad BK, the SHL club announced on Friday.

Canadian defenseman Nicolas Mattinen, 27, has signed a one-year contract with Adler Mannheim, the DEL club announced on Monday.

It will be Mattinen’s second tour of duty in Germany after spending last season in the AHL.

“I’m thrilled and honored to be wearing the Adler jersey next season,” Mattinen is quoted in a club press release. “It feels great to be returning to Germany. I want to do my part to contribute to what will hopefully be a successful season and am very excited to meet everyone and start working in August.”

“We are grateful that Nicolas has decided to return from North America and join our team,” said Dallas Eakins, Mannheim’s sports manager and head coach. “He’s a proven scorer in the league and brings size and attitude. We look forward to seeing him on the ice in our colors soon.”

A native of Orleans, Ont., Mattinen played junior hockey for the London Knights, Flint Firebirds, Hamilton Bulldogs and Oshawa Generals, winning two OHL titles along the way and was a member of London’s 2015-16 Memorial Cup championship team, although he missed the final tournament with an injury.

The 6-foot-5, 216-pound Mattinen was drafted in the sixth round, 179th overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He went on to play three years for the University of Ottawa, however, before finally turning pro in 2022 at age 24.

Former Leafs, Lightning D-Man Returns Home To Sweden Swedish defenseman Andreas Borgman, 29, has signed a three-year contract to play with HV71, the Jönköping-based SHL club announced on Tuesday.

Mattinen played for Villacher EV in 2022-23, winning the ICEHL’s top defenseman award, and then played for the DEL’s Straubing Tigers in 2023-24, where he won the league’s top defenseman and MVP awards. Mattinen signed a contract with Mannheim in the summer of 2024 but exercised an escape clause when he had the chance to sign with Toronto.

Last season, Mattinen played only 22 games for the Toronto Marlies, recording four assists and eight penalty minutes. He has seven points and 12 penalty minutes in 30 career AHL games.

Toronto retains his NHL rights.

Last season, Mannheim finished fourth in the DEL regular season and was swept by eventual champion Eisbären Berlin in the semifinals. In addition to Mattinen, Mannheim also has ex-NHLers Tom Künhackl, John Gilmour, Kristian Reichel and Marc Michaelis under contract for the 2025-26 season.

Kristian Reichel leaves Winnipeg for Adler MannheimKristian Reichel is moving on from the Winnipeg Jets organization where he’s spent the past six seasons, signing a three-year contract with German club Adler Mannheim.

Swedish defenseman Filip Roos, 26, has signed a two-year contract with Färjestad BK, the SHL club announced on Sunday. This comes two days after Färjestad signed Czech forward Radim Zohorna to a two-year deal.

“It’s gonna be fun,” said Roos. “I don’t know much about Karlstad, but I lived up in Karlskoga for two years, which is not very far away. The times I’ve played here, you can feel the energy from the fans in the arena. It will be really fun.”

“We’ve had our eyes on Filip for a long time and we believe that he, with his abilities, will strengthen our defense in a good way, said Färjestad sports director Rickard Wallin. “Of course, we’re looking to strengthen all parts of the team to the best of our ability, and even though we thought the defense had the qualities that we wanted in advance of last year, we didn’t really get it together as a whole. We think the qualities that Filip Roos has match very well with what we want to add.”

Wallin described Roos as “a really good two-way defenseman at the SHL level. He skates well, has good size and can play in all zones. We think the ceiling is high and we know that he is eager to come here so it feels great.”

Roos, who describes himself as “a skilled defenseman who likes to drive the puck and hopefully can use it even more at home on bigger ice,” is originally from Gothenberg and played one SHL game with Frölunda in 2017-18 and 56 with Skelleftea AIK in 2021-22, recording seven points in the regular season and playoffs.

Roos was never drafted by an NHL team but spent the last three seasons in North America. The first two seasons he spent in the Chicago Blackhawks organization, recording three points and four penalty minutes in 21 NHL games, spending the rest of the time with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. He spent last season in the Ottawa Senators organization, recording 17 points – all assists – in 68 AHL games with the Belleville Senators.

Last season, Färjestad finished fourth in the SHL regular season and was eliminated in the quarterfinals. The team also reached the final of the Champions Hockey League, losing to the ZSC Lions in Zurich.

In addition to Zohorna and Roos, Färjestad has under contract for next season ex-NHLers Oskar Steen and Marián Studenič, and NHL prospects Lucas Forsell (Vancouver Canucks), Jack Berglund (Philadelphia Flyers), Noel Fransén (Carolina Hurricanes) and goaltender Melker Thelin (Utah Mammoth).

Radim Zohorna Signs With Swedish ClubCzech forward Radim Zohorna, 29, has signed a two-year contract with Färjestad BK, the SHL club announced on Friday.

Swedish defenseman Filip Roos, 26, has signed a two-year contract with Färjestad BK, the SHL club announced on Sunday. This comes two days after Färjestad signed Czech forward Radim Zohorna to a two-year deal.

“It’s gonna be fun,” said Roos. “I don’t know much about Karlstad, but I lived up in Karlskoga for two years, which is not very far away. The times I’ve played here, you can feel the energy from the fans in the arena. It will be really fun.”

“We’ve had our eyes on Filip for a long time and we believe that he, with his abilities, will strengthen our defense in a good way, said Färjestad sports director Rickard Wallin. “Of course, we’re looking to strengthen all parts of the team to the best of our ability, and even though we thought the defense had the qualities that we wanted in advance of last year, we didn’t really get it together as a whole. We think the qualities that Filip Roos has match very well with what we want to add.”

Wallin described Roos as “a really good two-way defenseman at the SHL level. He skates well, has good size and can play in all zones. We think the ceiling is high and we know that he is eager to come here so it feels great.”

Roos, who describes himself as “a skilled defenseman who likes to drive the puck and hopefully can use it even more at home on bigger ice,” is originally from Gothenberg and played one SHL game with Frölunda in 2017-18 and 56 with Skelleftea AIK in 2021-22, recording seven points in the regular season and playoffs.

Roos was never drafted by an NHL team but spent the last three seasons in North America. The first two seasons he spent in the Chicago Blackhawks organization, recording three points and four penalty minutes in 21 NHL games, spending the rest of the time with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. He spent last season in the Ottawa Senators organization, recording 17 points – all assists – in 68 AHL games with the Belleville Senators.

Last season, Färjestad finished fourth in the SHL regular season and was eliminated in the quarterfinals. The team also reached the final of the Champions Hockey League, losing to the ZSC Lions in Zurich.

In addition to Zohorna and Roos, Färjestad has under contract for next season ex-NHLers Oskar Steen and Marián Studenič, and NHL prospects Lucas Forsell (Vancouver Canucks), Jack Berglund (Philadelphia Flyers), Noel Fransén (Carolina Hurricanes) and goaltender Melker Thelin (Utah Mammoth).

Radim Zohorna Signs With Swedish ClubCzech forward Radim Zohorna, 29, has signed a two-year contract with Färjestad BK, the SHL club announced on Friday.

Czech winger Dominik Kubalík, 29, has signed a two-year contract with EV Zug, the National League club announced on Friday.

Last season, Kubalík had 52 points in 56 regular-season and playoff games for HC Ambrì-Piotta.

“Dominik is an experienced player with leadership qualities. With his speed, his intelligence and his shot, he strengthens our team on the wing,” said Zug GM Reto Kläy.

The news confirms reports from a month ago that Kläy and Kubalík’s agent were in contact.

A native of Plzeň, Czechia, Kubalík was a seventh-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2013 but, other than two seasons in the OHL, stayed in his home country until 2017, when he went to Switzerland for the first time. In 90 National League regular-season and playoff games between 2017 and 2019, Kubalík had 37 goals and 60 assists for 97 points. In 2018-19, he was the league scoring champion and MVP.

In five NHL seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators, Kubalík has 93 goals and 83 assists for 176 points in 357 regular-season games. In his first NHL season with Chicago, the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 campaign, he had 46 points in 68 regular-season games, then eight points in nine playoff games. However, he had only 15 points in 74 games with Ottawa in 2023-24 and, as a result, had trouble attracting contract offers last summer.

Report: Swiss Club Interested In Tomas Tatar, Dominik Kubalik Unhappy with the way his team’s season finished, EV Zug GM Reto Kläy recently spoke to the Swiss media about how he’d like to go about strengthening his team for next season.

Kubalík has made no secret of his desire to return to the NHL. Last year’s contract with Ambrì-Piotta included a clause that would have allowed him to leave the team if he had received an offer from an NHL team by Dec. 15. Although Zug’s announcement wasn’t specific about the details, it appears that his new contract includes the opportunity to accept a potential NHL offer.

“With a player of his caliber, the NHL is, of course, always a topic and we are aware of the risk that Dominik would take the step back to North America should he receive a corresponding offer,” said Kläy.

Internationally, Kubalík has produced big for the Czechs over the years with 46 points in 43 career games at five IIHF World Championships. In 2023, he led the tournament with eight goals and was a forward on the tournament all-star team. He also had two points in five games for the Czechs at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Martin Nečas Says Yes; Czechs Take 25 To Denmark The Czech roster for the upcoming IIHF World Championship is starting to come together. A week ago, David Pastrňák confirmed he would play and on Tuesday, at the team’s end-of-season press conference, Colorado Avalanche GM Chris McFarlane confirmed that Martin Nečas would be going as well.

Tim Stützle is joining the German team at the IIHF World Championship, the German Ice Hockey Association announced on Friday night.

“Immediately after the end of his NHL season, Tim publicly stated that he would like to join us,” said Christian  Künast, manager of the German team. “We are pleased that we have now calmly resolved all the formalities and that he will be joining us. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Ottawa Senators, from whom we have already received approval for his participation, and we look forward to Tim’s arrival here in Herning.”

“We are, of course, delighted that Tim, a very high-quality player, is joining us and will further strengthen our team for the tournament,” said German coach Harold Kreis. “He demonstrated his strengths in the past NHL season and delivered a great season with the Senators. We had a very good and detailed conversation during our NHL trip, during which he reiterated his intention to join us. It’s all the more pleasing that his participation in the World Championship is now working out.”

Stützle becomes the fourth active NHLer on this year’s German team (see roster below).

To make room for Stützle, Marcel Noebels, a former Philadelphia Flyers prospect who is a veteran of eight World Championships and a silver medalist from the 2018 Winter Olympics, was cut from the team. That reduces the contingent on the team from DEL champion Eisbären Berlin to six.

Moritz Seider To Captain Germany At Worlds Germany’s initial 25-man roster for the 2025 IIHF World Championship includes three players who played in the NHL this season and three others who are currently under contract to NHL teams.

Germany’s first game is on Saturday afternoon against Hungary, although Stützle probably won’t play until at least Germany’s third game on Tuesday against Norway.

Goaltenders: Mathias Niederberger (Red Bull Munich), Arno Tiefensee (Adler Mannheim / Dallas Stars), Philipp Grubauer (Seattle Kraken).

Defensemen: Korbinian Geibel, Eric Mik, Jonas Müller (all Eisbären Berlin), Leon Hüttl, Fabio Wagner (both ERC Ingolstadt), Lukas Kälble (Adler Mannheim), Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings), Maksymilian Szuber (Tucson Roadrunners, AHL / Utah HC).

Forwards: Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators), Leo Pföderl, Frederik Tiffels, Manuel Wiederer (all Eisbären Berlin), Yasin Ehliz, Patrick Hager, Maximilian Kastner (all Red Bull Munich), Alexander Ehl (Düsseldorfer EG), Marc Michaelis (Adler Mannheim), Joshua Samanski (Straubing Tigers / Edmonton Oilers), Justin Schütz (Kölner Haie), Wojciech Stachowiak (ERC Ingolstadt), Dominik Kahun (Lausanne HC, SUI), Lukas Reichel (Chicago Blackhawks).

Canada Ready To Start Worlds With All-NHL LineupCanada is set to begin the IIHF World Championship on Saturday against Slovenia with an all-NHL lineup.

Canada is set to begin the IIHF World Championship on Saturday against Slovenia with an all-NHL lineup.

It didn’t look like that a week ago when several junior-aged and European-based players were in the lineup. However, in what THN’s Adam Proteau described as “The Sidney Crosby Effect,” once the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar declared his intention to play in his third career World Championship on Sunday, he was soon followed by Nathan MacKinnon and Marc-André Fleury. Since then, Stanley Cup first-round casualties Jared Spurgeon, Mike Matheson, Jordan Binnington, Brayden Schenn and Phillip Danault have joined the team.

The only non-NHLer remaining on the roster is presumptive third-string goalie Dylan Garland of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, who is unlikely to see tournament action unless there’s an injury.

A similar thing happened back in 2015, the last time Crosby played in a World Championship. Canada’s roster was looking run-of-the-mill that spring until Crosby said yes after the Penguins missed the playoffs. By the time Canada took the ice for its first game, the team included the likes of Taylor Hall, Matt Duchene, Claude Giroux, Jason Spezza, Jordan Eberle, Tyler Seguin, Dan Hamhuis and Brent Burns. It also included MacKinnon, Schenn and Ryan O’Reilly, who are all back this year.

That Canadian team started with a 6-1 win over Latvia, finished with a 6-1 win over Russia in the final, and ran the table with a perfect 10-0 record in that tournament, winning every game in regulation time and outscoring its opponents 66-15.

Since then, no team has managed a perfect record at the Worlds. We’ll soon see how far this roster can take the team. 

Goaltenders: Marc-André Fleury (Minnesota Wild), Dylan Garand (Hartford Wolf Pack, AHL / New York Rangers), Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues).

Defensemen: Noah Dobson (New York Islanders), Ryker Evans (Seattle Kraken), Mike Matheson (Montreal Canadiens), Brandon Montour (Seattle Kraken), Travis Sanheim (Philadelphia Flyers), Jared Spurgeon (Minnesota Wild), MacKenzie Weegar (Calgary Flames).

Forwards: Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins), Will Cuylle (New York Rangers), Phillip Danault (Los Angeles Kings), Adam Fantilli (Columbus Blue Jackets), Tyson Foerster (Philadelphia Flyers), Barrett Hayton (Utah HC), Bo Horvat (New York Islanders), Kent Johnson (Columbus Blue Jackets), Travis Konecny (Philadelphia Flyers), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), Ryan O’Reilly (Nashville Predators), Brayden Schenn (St. Louis Blues).

Can This Roster Break USA’s World Championship Semifinal Curse?Can the team that USA Hockey has assembled to represent the country at this year’s IIHF World Championship reach the final? Previous teams have appeared good enough on paper.

Czech goaltender Jakub Škarek, 26, has signed a contract with IFK Helsinki, the Liiga club announced on Friday. The deal is for a year plus an option.

“I am really competitive. For me, the most important thing is to help the team win,” said Škarek. “II am very happy to have signed a contract with HIFK. The club has a long history and is a name known throughout the hockey world. I am really excited to join the team.”

After being a third-round draft pick of the New York Islanders in 2018, Škarek spent almost all of the past six seasons in the Isles organization, mostly in the AHL with the Bridgeport Islanders but he played two NHL games last season.

“Jakub is a very experienced goalie for his age,” said club sports director Janne Pesonen. “His sights are on the NHL and Jakub has already had a taste of that dream. We are happy that he feels that HIFK is the right place for him to take the next step in his career, and he will definitely bring competition to our goaltending department.”

Originally from Jihlava, Czechia and a product of the local Dukla club, this will already be Škarek’s third stop in Finland. After being drafted, he spent the 2018-19 season with the Lahti Pelicans, playing 22 Liiga games and seven in the second-tier Mestis. He returned to Lahti to play four games for Peliitat in 2020-21 while the start of the AHL season was delayed by pandemic-related restrictions.

This past season, IFK Helsinki finished fourth in the Liiga regular season and was eliminated in the quarterfinals – falling behind 3-0, winning three in a row, then losing Game 7 at home to the Lahti Pelicans.

In addition to Škorek, the team has under contract for 2025-26 ex-NHLers Jori Lehterä, Iiro Pakarinen and Petteri Lindbohm, as well as 19-year-old Minnesota Wild prospect Aron Kiviharju. The team will be coached by Olli Jokinen.

Olli Jokinen Explains Viral “F-Bomb” VideoFormer NHL defenseman Olli Jokinen is now in his fourth year of coaching professional hockey, but it’s only been since an expletive-laced video of him trying to motivate his Timrå team went viral in the last few days that many outside of Finland or Sweden have known it.

Hockey Slovakia released a list of 26 players that will be headed to Stockholm, Sweden for this year’s IIHF World Championship. It includes no full-time NHL players, most notably Juraj Slafkovský, whose decision not to play is covered in depth by Karine Hains on THN’s Montreal Canadiens site.

Players under NHL contracts that have played either most or all of the season in the AHL include goaltender Samuel Hlavaj of the Minnesota Wild, defenseman Samuel Kňažko of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and forwards Dalibor Dvorský of the St. Louis Blues, Samuel Honzek of the Calgary Flames, Martin Chromiak of the Los Angeles Kings and Adam Sýkora of the New York Rangers. Kňažko, whose Cleveland Monsters were just eliminated from the Calder Cup playoffs, will meet the team in Stockholm.

Pavol Regenda, a San Jose Sharks prospect, is two games away from elimination with the San Jose Barracuda and, reportedly, will likely join the Slovaks if his AHL team is eliminated this round.

This will be the first World Championship since 2021 that the Slovaks have included KHL players on their roster. For three years, Hockey Slovakia refused to select any player from the Russian-based league for its national teams.

However, in a controversial reversal of policy, Slovakia chose three KHL players to its Olympic qualifying roster in August. One of those, defenseman Mário Grman, is on this team as well. One other has been selected to this team: Patrik Rybár, who was the starting goaltender on the 2022 Olympic bronze-medal team.

Interestingly, neither Martin nor Kristián Pospišil is on this team. Martin plays for Calgary, which missed the Stanley Cup playoffs, and Kristián won the Czech Extraliga championship as a member of Kometa Brno. Both brothers were vocal last year about their objection to allowing KHL players on the team, but both ultimately played in the Olympic qualifiers.

Other than AHL and KHL players, the roster includes 10 players from the Czech Extraliga, five from the domestic Slovak Extraliga and two from Switzerland’s National League.

Martin Pospíšil after Olympic qualifiers: “It was never anything against the players” from the KHL Martin Pospíšil was calm and reflective after Slovakia’s 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan on Sunday in Bratislava, which qualified the team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

Finnish winger Roby Järventie, 22, has signed a three-year contract with Tappara, the Liiga club announced on Tuesday.

A Tampere native, Järventie is returning to his hometown after spending the past four seasons in North America in the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers organizations.

“Really good feeling – it’s nice to be home,” Järventie is quoted on the Tappara website. “It’s always been a dream to play together with my brother, so this is a great opportunity to make that dream come true.”

Roby’s younger brother Emil, 20, was a seventh-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023. The two brothers are actually products of rival club Ilves but Emil transferred to Tappara last season, where he split time between the club’s Liiga and top junior teams. This will be Roby’s first tour of duty with Tappara. Due to their age difference, this will be the first time the brothers have played together on the same team.

Roby Järventie was chosen in the second round, 33rd overall, by Ottawa in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He then went to North America late in the pandemic-delayed 2021 season to play for the AHL’s Belleville Senators, recording three points in four games.

After playing a full season with Belleville in 2021-22, Järventie missed significant amounts of the next two campaigns with a recurring knee injury. He managed to play seven NHL games with Ottawa in 2023-24, recording one assist.

In the summer of 2024, he was traded to Edmonton. Järventie missed training camp after another knee surgery but only managed to play in two AHL games with the Bakersfield Condors in November before re-injuring his knee and has not played since.

According to an  Ilta-Sanomat article in March, Järventie’s rehab has been going well and he is expected to be ready for the start of training camp in late summer with Tappara.

In addition to the Järventie brothers, Tappara has also signed veteran defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka, who played 150 NHL games for the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames. The club also has Calgary prospect Eetu Tuola and Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Oiva Keskinen under contract for 2025-26.

Topi Rönni’s Contract With Finnish Club Terminated Due To Public UproarFinnish center Topi Rönni, who recently signed as a free agent with Liiga club Vaasan Sport, has agreed to part ways with the club after the signing drew intense criticism from the Finnish public and media.