Canucks Swedish GM Taps Hometown for Another Prospect

On Tuesday the Vancouver Canucks signed free agent lefty forward Nils Aman from the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) team Leksand. It’s the hometown of Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin.

Ranked 38th overall among European skaters by the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau for the 2020 draft, Aman was picked in the 6th-round by the Colorado Avalanche and went unsigned. The Avalanche obviously have substantial depth and other pressing matters at hand.

Allvin signed another Swedish center, righthanded Linus Karlsson back on May 26th to a two-year, two-way contract. His rights had been obtained in a trade with the San Jose Sharks back in February of 2019 and he’d been playing back home for Skelleftea in the SHL.

Aman apparently can play any forward position. His deal is also a two-way for two years with the exact same terms as Karlsson, his fellow 22-year-old: $70,000 salary at the AHL level, $883,750 per season if they’re playing in the NHL.

“Nils is a smart hockey player who plays with speed and has a strong work ethic,” said Allvin in the announcement. “He possesses a good two-way game, and we look forward to seeing his continued development on both sides of the ice with the Canucks organization.”

Aman and Karlsson will be two more players to watch at the Vancouver Canucks Development/Prospects Camp that runs from July 10th to July 15th at UBC. The camp begins two days after the NHL Draft in Montreal.

Allvin’s hometown ties raised a question regarding super-sized 18-year-old defenceman Lian Bichsel, a Swiss-born player who split this past season in Leksand with the junior team and then the big club. Should the Canucks stay where they are in the draft and utilize their 15th-overall selection, Bichsel would be in their wheelhouse. Allvin will know everything he needs to know.

Aman’s hometown is Avesta, about 90 km to the southeast of Leksand, directly on the road to Stockholm, another 150 km away. “The perfect human”, Hockey Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom was apparently born in Avesta, a town of 11,000 inhabitants, before moving on to Vasteras.