Canadian defenseman Akito Hirose, 26, has signed a one-year contract with the Fischtown Pinguins, a DEL club based in Bremerhaven, Germany.

This is Hirose’s first contract to play overseas. He has spent the past two-plus seasons in the Vancouver Canucks organization, and was part of the Abbotsford Canucks’ AHL Calder Cup championship team this past spring.

“Akito is a player who brings dynamism and quality to the game,” said club sports director Sebastian Furchner. “He has received excellent training and fits into our system. We are convinced that he will stabilize our defense and make it more versatile.”

Hirose himself is looking forward to his new challenge with great anticipation:

“I really wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to play in Bremerhaven,” said Hirose. “I’m looking forward to meeting the fans and being on the ice with my new teammates. I’m also especially excited about playing against my brother.”

Ex-Wing Taro Hirose heads to Germany Canadian left winger Taro Hirose, 28, has signed a one-year contract with Red Bull Munich, <a href="https://www.redbullmuenchen.de/en/news/ehc-red-bull-muenchen-verpflichtet-ex-nhl-spieler-taro-hirose">the DEL club announced on Friday</a>.

Hirose’s older brother, left winger Taro Hirose, currently plays in the DEL with Red Bull Munich. The two teams have already played once this season and are scheduled to face each other three more times on Nov. 13, Dec. 21 and Jan. 23.

Born in Calgary, Alta., Hirose played three years of college hockey at the University of Minnesota State in Mankato. Undrafted, he signed as a free agent with Vancouver in the spring of 2023 and recorded three assists in seven NHL games down the stretch. The following season, he played three more NHL games.

The Fischtown Pinguins, who lost in the DEL finals two years ago and finished third in the regular-season standings last season, have so far played four Champions Hockey League games and four DEL games this season.

Stronger and Confident, Elias Pettersson Looks Ahead to New Season <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/elias-pettersson-s-revenge-year-is-nigh-with-vancouver-canucks">Elias Pettersson</a> is coming off the toughest season of his NHL career. During a turbulent year in Vancouver, the media storm was constant and the Swede from Ånge managed only 45 points in 64 games. Now Pettersson wants to put that difficult season behind him.