After seven seasons in North America, Swedish defenseman Jacob Larsson has returned to Europe. Although he was pursued by Swedish clubs, the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers outbid them for his services and signed the 27-year-old to a two-year contract. This continues a trend of top talent signing in Switzerland over other European options.

“Jacob is a two-way defender who can be used in all situations,” said Lakers sports director Janick Steinmann. “At 27, he is at the best age for hockey and has developed into an all-round defender in North America in recent years. I am very excited to see how his development continues on European ice. He has a lot of potential in all situations.”

Larsson was a late-first-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2015, playing 165 games with them between 2016 and 2022. He’s spent the past two seasons in the Ottawa Senators organization, suiting up for just seven NHL games during that time and otherwise playing for the AHL Belleville Senators.

Larsson developed and turned pro in the Frölunda HC system – he played almost two full SHL seasons with the Gothenburg-based club before going overseas and there was apparently a fair bit of interest from Sweden when it became known he was planning to return to Europe. While the financial terms of these deals are rarely disclosed, it has become a trend in recent years that top players heading to Europe – regardless of nationality – have chosen Switzerland’s National League as a landing spot rather than Sweden or Finland.

Genève-Servette won the Champions Hockey League last season with a roster heavily reliant on Finnish players. On Friday, that club announced the signing of Markus Granlund.

Larsson joins fellow Swede Victor Rask and Czech national team captain Roman Červenka in Rapperswil-Jona.