Hey everyone, little update Kasper Bjorkqvist signed to one year, two way deal.
Ah, the first sigh of relief has just hit, so far so good from lord Hextall, this is a good sign of hopefully more young talent getting contracts. He will most likely be used as a call up for injuries, but hopefully he will get some shots, and we will get to see him shine. I wouldn’t of minded him on a consistent main roster spot, but hopefully Hextall already has plans for some other possible main roster spots, Zohorna? Legare? One can hope, let’s wait and see.
Via NHL: “Kasper is an honest, responsible two-way player who is very coachable and understands the game well,” said assistant general manager Patrik Allvin. “We felt that it was important for Kasper to play in Finland last year after his injuries, and he found a lot of success there, which was good for his development. He has all of the intangibles to develop into an NHL player.”
Bjorkqvist, 24, split the 2020-21 season between KooKoo of Liiga, Finland’s top professional league, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. While on a loan with KooKoo, Bjorkqvist recorded 11 goals, 15 assists, 26 points with a plus-14 in 44 games. His 26 points ranked fourth (tied) on the team and the most among all league rookies, earning him Rookie of the Year honors.
The 6-foot-1, 198-pound Bjorkqvist joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the end of the season, recording one goal in five games before being recalled to Pittsburgh’s taxi squad for the playoffs.
Bjorkqvist made his professional debut in 2019-20 with the WBS Penguins. He played six games and recorded one goal before a season-ending injury.
The forward played three seasons of collegiate hockey at Providence College between 2016-19. In 112 career games at Providence, Bjorkqvist recorded 36 goals, 26 assists and 62 points.
Internationally, the Espoo, Finland native won a gold medal at the 2016 World Junior Championship and captained the Finns to a silver medal at the 2015 Under-18 World Junior Championship.
Bjorkqvist was drafted by Pittsburgh in the second round (61st overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft.
Caleb,
I did see this a little bit ago. I have been hoping to see this kid play in a Penguin sweater for some time.
Two Preseasons ago he was part of the Penguins most effective line paired with Legare and Lafferty but between JRs pathetic financial responsibility and Sully’s abhorrent prejudice against grit, Bjorkqvist, like the rest of this line were consigned to irrelevance. He then got injured and missed most of that AHL season.
Let’s see if Sully gives him a chance.
Hey Rick,
I really hope he does get a chance to play some big league this year, but I’m with you we’ll see if Sully gives him an actual shot, or if he’s called up and just slapped on the 4th line with no ice time.