Canadian on his way to Växjö?

A little bird whispered to me that Växjö has been in contact with a player from the Toronto area. Any deal is far from done, but inquiries have been made.

Is this him?

Transfer deadline closing in

There are a few interesting weeks ahead as the Swedish transfer deadline approaches. Here's a list of the top teams from Allsvenskan and the prospects of any additions to their squads:

• Leksands IF
  Always in the top regarding rumours and speculation. The club has just released defender Niklas Andersson. With Jan Huokko having been forced into retirement earlier in the season and Petter Ullman sidelined for the foreseeable future there might be room for additions in defence. The void left by Jamie Johnson taking his chances across the pond and the retirement of his 'replacement' Andreas Johansson has yet to be filled. Rumours are more or less realistic, ranging from former player Niklas 'Pajen' Persson to Jan Hrdina, Kris Beech and last years' success, Kevin Doell.
• Växjö Lakers
  There has already been some news from the Lakers. The club has signed goaltender Johan Tahlberg from Västerås, and it seems Cristopher Liljewall is joining the squad on a permanent basis. Rumours also place Niklas Andersson, just released from Leksand, at the club.
• Mora IK
  Mora is nowadays not know as a club making spectacular signings. But the squad looks thin at the moment, and with on-loan forward Thomas Enström heading to Björklöven, I would hazard a guess Janne Simons has a replacement lined up.
• AIK
  With the ongoing economical difficulties in the club, I don't expect much to be happening in terms of signings.
• Malmö Redhawks
  The club has just recruited a goaltender to cover for sacked Jani Hurme, Johan Svensson has joined from Kumla Hockey. Defender Teemu Kesä is being treated for what could be a long-term injury and might need replacement. Andre Lakos has apparently been offered to the club, but unless Percy Nilsson opens his wallet, the club will not be able to afford him. I suspect we will at least see a defender joining the team before February.

Among the other contenders I expect less movements or at least less prospects of any major signings,  there are however rumours that Patrik Lundh might be on his way to elitserien from Bofors.

Transfer deadline is January 31st..

Yetman leaves Västerås

It would seem that Patrick Yetman has made his last appearance in VIK's black and yellow jersey. When he signed, he only signed until the christmas break with the option of continuing if both parties so wanted. Västerås has apparently signed Carl Corazzini on a try-out contract, and with teams being limited to two non-european players on the bench, it seems likely either Christian Larrivee or Patrick Yetman is heading away. Larrivee is still under contract - so guess who's it might be.

Even more interestingly, where is he headed?

Anger signs for Leksand?

According to people in the know, Leksand will announce the signing of Niklas Anger from Timrå. The forward has been released after a torrid season, scoring only five points from 25 games. Previous season  he managed a very respectful 42 points from 51 games in a struggling Djurgården side.

I find this somewhat strange as the team has more forwards than enough, and what is really need is an outright center. He's not a bad player by any means, but the money could be spent much better. Anger is also rumoured to go to Switzerland.

Update: False Alarm! Timrå confirms Anger is leaving the club. In a statement issued they say he is leaving for a Swiss club.

Source: http://www.hockeykanalen.se/1.1392214/2009/12/13/timra_bekraftar_anger_lamnar_klubben

Update 2: He has now officially been named in the Basle squad

First of the '82s returning

Leskands IF has just signed one of their lost boys of the 1982 class. Daniel Hermansson returns after being released by Brynas. The signing itself may not be a remarkable one, but it is a reminder of what the total imbecile of a Sporting Director, the former Leksand and Sweden star Anders 'Masken' Carlsson, did to the club during his reign. This is of course not mentioning what he did outside (and possibly inside) the board room...

Sign that Russian whatewverhisnameis - his wife is well fit!

It was really simple, the man spent millions on buying foreign players he'd never seem - who apparently came well recommended by their agents. He spent so much money savings had to be made elsewhere, and in his wisdom the first thing to go was the academy. At the time of his appointment, Leksand had one of the best academies in the country. Not only did he close this, he released the promising home grown players we had at the time (all born in '82) saying they were not good enough although they had taken Leksand U20 to the Swedish Final a couple of years earlier - this while signing players that no one had ever heard of before or since. Fans now hope Daniel Hermansson is the first of many from this cull to come back. Realistically not many will (why return to a club that never believed in them?), at least not when the club is finding themselves in the second tier of Swedish ice hockey.

Players from this year includes Lars Jonsson, Daniel Widing, Pontus Petterström and Jonas Nordquist among others.