Home Swedish HockeyFärjestad sign Oskar Steen

Färjestad sign Oskar Steen

by Matthew Smith

Färjestad finally got their man on Saturday.

After weeks of discussions, Oskar Steen has decided to return home after five seasons in North America. He has signed a 5-year contract with Färjestad and, whilst all SHL contracts tend to have an NHL opt-out, it’s a real statement of intent that Steen will be part of the Karlstad core for years to come.

Roster being rebuilt

As with most SHL teams, Färjestad have had quite a bit of roster-rebuilding work to do this summer after losing several key players, particularly among their forward group. This is how they lined up for their final game of the 2023-24 season when they were dispatched from the play-offs by Rögle.

Two of the three from the top line have departed. Liam Öhgren benefitted from Färjestad’s early play-off exit by heading across to North America and making his NHL debut with the Minnesota Wild. He is on course to build on that in 2024-25, although he may start the season in the AHL. As for Victor Ejdsell, he decided to capitalise on his excellent 23-24 season by signing a lucrative contract with Bern in the Swiss National League.

Oscar Lawner has joined Linköping, Marcus Nilsson has moved to the Allsvenskan with Björklöven and Partik Lundh is weighing up his options having left at the end of his contract.

Tomasek still with the team

The good news for Färjestad is that the player we all thought was leaving, David Tomasek, remains with the team.

After an excellent first season in Sweden, capped off by claiming a Gold Medal with Czechia at the World Championships, it was no surprise that several NHL teams were looking at him. Tomasek decided that after the season he had, and being 28-years-old, he was only going to leave if he received a one-way contract, meaning that he would be on an NHL contract rather than a two-way deal that could have seen him spending the season in the AHL.

Such an offer ultimately did not materialise, so he has backed himself to repeat or better his 23-24 campaign, which is great news for Färjestad.

Several new additions

The signing of Steen comes two weeks after the capture of Marian Studenič, who has spent the past six seasons in North America including games in the NHL for the New Jersey Devils, Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken.

Viktor Lodin has moved to Karlstad after his contract with Oskarshamn was voided after their relegation to the Allsvenskan, whilst Emil Alba makes the step up to the SHL after impressing for Södertälje over the past four seasons.

How they may start the season

Lodin and Alba are likely to centre two of the lines, with Linus Johansson and Joel Kellman taking that role on the other two. Steen and Tomasek can play at centre as well, but it feels more likely that they will start the season on the right-wing. Michael Lindqvist would also come into the team after finishing the 23-24 season on the injured list.

After finishing top of the league in the regular season, it was a bitterly disappointing end to 23-24 for Färjestad. Sporting Director Rickard Wallin appears to be intent on giving his team every chance to wipe that memory away as quickly as possible. He has completed some excellent work to fill some holes this summer, with Steen being the latest quality addition,

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