Swedish
center Jacob Josefson, 34, has signed a one-year contract to play
with Djurgården,
the Stockholm-based SHL club announced on Monday.
A
former NHLer, Josefson has not played professionally since the
2020-21 season, when he recorded 14 points in 27 games for
Djurgården. After suffering a series of
concussions in his career, Josefson left the team’s training camp
prior to the 2021-22 season when symptoms returned. This season, he
feels he is finally ready to return and has already appeared in three
pre-season games.
“I
am so incredibly happy and grateful to have the chance to play hockey
after a long absence,” Josefson
is quoted in the club’s announcement.
“Getting the opportunity to put on the Djurgården
jersey and play in front of the best fans in the world again is
something that I am extremely proud of. Always. No matter what.”
“This
is so incredibly gratifying for both Djurgården and Jacob,”
said club sports director Niklas
Wikegård. “His attempt to return to
hockey has succeeded and the entire Djurgården family will see when
a great athlete is given a second chance.”
Born
in Stockholm and a member of the Djurgården
club
from age 14 to 19, Josefson was picked in the first round, 20th
overall, by the New Jersey Devils in
the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Between
2010 and 2018, he recorded 64 points and 84 penalty minutes in 315
regular-season NHL games, mostly with New Jersey but he also played
one season with the Buffalo Sabres. His
only six playoff games came in 2012 – a year the Devils went to the
Stanley Cup Final – in which he tallied one assist.
Norwegian National Team Captain, Former Oiler & Flyer Retires
There was speculation he’d come back for one more season but,
ultimately, Patrick Thoresen is sticking with the decision he made
last summer and announced his retirement on Thursday via Instagram.
From
his return to Sweden 2018 until his timeout from hockey, Josefson
served as Djurgården’s team captain.
“Hockey-wise,
we know what Jacob is capable of, and that there is more to learn,”
said Wikegård.
“With every game
he plays and every practise he attends,
he feels stronger in his body. He can skate more, put more pressure
on himself and will get better and better just like the rest of the
team.”
Djurgården was just promoted to the SHL from the
second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan but is trying to build a competitive
roster. The team will notably feature two 18-year-old forwards who
were chosen in the first round of this year’s NHL Entry Draft
– Victor
Eklund and Anton
Frondell.
In addition to Josefson,
Eklund and Frondell, Djurgården’s lineup for the 2025-26 season
also includes veteran center Marcus Krüger, who was a two-time
Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago
Blackhawks, Canadian
winger Charles Hudon, Finnish
right winger Jesse Ylönen, Swedish
defenseman Gustav Lindström, and Swedish goaltender Magnus
Hellberg.
Charles Hudon Signs In Sweden, Joins Frondell & Eklund
Canadian
forward
Charles Hudon, 31, has signed a two-year contract with
Djurgården IF, the Stockholm-based SHL club announced on Wednesday.
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