Bruins sign SHL’s Jesper Frödén to a one-year contract

Here’s a random bit of Swedish news for your Monday afternoon: the Bruins announced that they’ve signed forward Jesper Frödén to a one-year contract.

The deal will carry a cap hit of $842,500, an oddly specific number.

Frödén most recently played for Skellefteå AIK in the Swedish Hockey League, the top-tier league over in Sweden (and probably the third-best league in the world, behind the NHL and the KHL).

Last season was his second with Skellefteå AIK; he was named the SHL’s Rookie of the Year after his first full SHL season in 2019-2020.

The 26-year-old Frödén was never drafted into the NHL and has spent his entire career playing at various levels in his native Sweden.

Frödén is 5’ 10” and 176 lbs, per EliteProspects. He’s a right-shot right wing.

Frödén played well for Sweden in the just-completed IIHF World Championships, scoring three times and adding an assist in five games.

An interesting wrinkle: Frödén had a familiar face on his team earlier in his career.

Back in 2013-2014, Frödén played for Södertälje SK of the SHL, where his teammate was none other than David Pastrnak.

In that season, the 17-year-old Pastrnak put up eight goals and 16 assists in 36 games; 18-year-old Frödén put up nine goals and six assists in 31 games.

This past season, Frödén finished 10th in the SHL in scoring, recording 22 goals and 18 assists in 52 games for Skellefteå AIK.

(Do you know who else finished the SHL season with 40 points? Peter Cehlarik, who had 20 goals and 20 assists in 45 games for Leskands.)

An interesting signing for the Bruins, as Frödén will likely provide depth on the wing in Providence, but could push for a spot on the NHL roster.

From a Bruins press release:

“The Bruins are very pleased to be adding Jesper to our organization,” said Sweeney. “We have tracked Jesper’s growth in the SHL where he has proven to be highly productive, competitive, and a smart, two-way player. Jesper is very excited to join a competitive team with the opportunity to compete for a roster spot.”

Here are some random Frödén highlights:

Interestingly, while Frödén certainly isn’t the biggest guy at 5’ 10”, all three of those goals above were scored in the slot.

It doesn’t look like he’s shy about getting to the dirty areas of the ice, which I’m sure was intriguing to the Bruins.

In any case...welcome, Jesper!