Minnesota Wild prospect Simon Johansson flees team for Europe
Simon Johansson was a defenseman who the Minnesota Wild were quite excited about back in 2018 when they drafted him in the fifth round.
However, when it comes to his professional career in the United States, he has mostly struggled for traction. In 2022, he came to the Minnesota franchise after some time with Ilves in the SM-Liiga. He was immediately sent down to the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League where he put up decent numbers. Across two seasons, he managed 35 points in 136 games, which isn't so bad as a defenseman.
Today, it has since been reported that Johansson will now be going back to Ilves. He was an unrestricted free agent and with the Wild showing very little interest in signing him, this seemed like his best path forward.
In fact, Johansson has signed a two-year deal with Ilves where he is having a pretty hot start to the season. In nine games, he has seven points, including six goals. When Johansson first played for Ilves three seasons ago, he notched an impressive total of 32 points in 58 games.
It will be interesting to see if Johansson's foray back into European hockey leads him to a return to the National Hockey League. Although, with his long history of playing overseas, it would not be surprising if he remained with Ilves over the long term.
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Source: HockeyDB
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