Weekly Recap: International Break

With the league on its first international break of the season, there were no games this week, but their was some moves off the ice to report.

Bowlby

Rögle has recruited a new player who will be getting his first taste of SHL hockey. 26 year old Henry Bowlby will be joining Rögle. The American forward has spent his entire career in North America so far, playing in the AHL and NCAA. He started this season with the Colorado Eagles but will now be joining Rögle.

- Henry is a guy we've had our eyes on for a couple of years. He is a competitive power forward who brings intensity and physical play. He is also a strong and powerful skater. We were very happy to hear that he was keen and eager to come here to Rögle. He will add strength to the team in the forecheck and along the wings. He can also create chances offensively with his sharp shot. It is a versatile player who can do a bit of everything says General Manager Chris Abbott.

Johnsson

Rögle wasn't the only team to bolster their roster this week as Skellefteå has brought in Andreas Johnsson. The 28 year old forward has been in North America for the past seven season bouncing between the AHL and NHL but he has now decided to return to Sweden. 

- Andreas will be a great piece of the puzzle to bring into our team building. A fast and skilled offensive player who can both score and play forward. With his skill and his experience, he will be able to help us in our hunt for SM gold, says Skellefteå's General Manager Erik Forssell. 

Johnsson previously played in the SHL with Frölunda before heading across the pond. With his signing he will be joining his brother Jonathan Johnson in Skellefteå.

- It will be really fun! It's something we've talked about our whole lives, to be able to play professional hockey together and to be able to do it at such a high level has been a dream for both of us, so I'm looking forward to it, says Andreas Johnson.

It appears he will be staying put for a while as the contract is valid until 2027.

Brithén

After 384 games in the SHL Ted Brithén has announced his retirement this week. The 32 year old has not played since the 2022 post season and, unfortunately, will not return. Brithén suffered a wrist injury during the playoffs in 2022 which caused him to miss all of last season, it's now evident that the injury is serious enough to keep him off the ice permanently.

- It was worse than feared, and I found out quite early on that it will be a struggle to be able to come back. But we had to give it time to see how it would heal. And after it has now healed and I have had an operation, it turns out that there is not much to do to be able to come back and play hockey. I miss a gold with Rögle. That's really the only thing I'm upset about right now, that I wasn't able to help enough for it to happen before this (the wrist) happened. Or that I had been part of the future and made it a reality, says Ted Brithén

NICLAS JÖNSSON / Bildbyrån