Weekly Recap: Malmö Bring in Veteran

MoDo

The team from Örnsköldsvik did not make any new acquisitions this week, however they did say farewell to a pair of players. Erik Jinesjö Karlsson has played the past three season with MoDo and despite the fact he was an offensive contributor when they played in Hockey Allsvenskan, he was unable to carry that success into the SHL. In two seasons with the club in Hockey Allsvenskan he put up a total of 65 points in 102 games. However, this past season saw him post just 7 points in 41 games. He has now signed a contract with the Ravensburg Towerstars in Germanys second tier league. 

The second player who announced his departure from the club this week is Kristian Rubins. The 26 year old Latvian played junior hockey in Sweden with Västerås but had not played professionally in the country until this past year. He came to MoDo this past season after having spent almost his entire professional career in North America. He played in five seasons in the AHL and also had half a season in Denmarks top league. He scored just four goals and six assists in 44 games this past season with MoDo. He has now signed with HC Plzen in the Czech Republic. 

PÄR OLERT / BILDBYRÅN

Haapala

With the NHL transfer deadline come and gone and the off season in its slowest few weeks, there was very little action this week in the SHL. However, there was one significant signing for the Redhawks who have signed Henrik Haapala. The 30 year old Finn will be getting his first taste of Swedish hockey this season. He has spent the past two seasons playing with Lausanne in Switzerland. Previous to that he had 7 seasons in Liiga, 3 seasons in the KHL and also had a brief stint in the AHL and 5 games in the NHL with Florida.  

- I am very happy to have signed for Malmö! We also talked last year and now it was the right timing for both parties. I have spoken to players from Finland who previously played in Malmö and they have only said good things about the club. I have been to Malmö once before and I really like the arena and the city, says Haapala

Haapala has, in fact, played in Malmö before, but not for the Redhawks. In 2014 he was part of team Finland that won gold in the World Juniors in Malmö. He is also a two time Liiga Champion, CHL Champion and three time Liiga silver medalist. 

- We warmly welcome Henrik to Malmö. Henrik is a player we have followed for some time and we are very happy that we have managed to add Henrik to our team building. Henrik will add a lot with his experience and winning background. In Henrik, we get a game-intelligent player who is good at the game with the puck. Thanks to his quick actions out on the ice, Henrik can find good plays and create a lot of trouble for the opponents, says sporting director Björn Liljander. 

This signing likely finishes all the major signings we will see from Malmö this summer as they have now filled all roster spots on their main squad.