American defenseman and right winger Luke Witkowski, 34, has signed a contract to play the remainder of the current season for Skellefteå AIK, the SHL club announced on Thursday.
“I am really happy about the opportunity to come to Skellefteå and look forward to getting to know the players and the club,” said Witkowski. “The body feels good, but of course it will take a few practises before I fully learn the team’s system.”
A native of Holland, Mich. and a graduate of Western Michigan University, Witkowski was chosen in the sixth round, 160th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
Between 2014 and 2022, Witkowski played 132 NHL regular-season games for the Lightning and the Detroit Red Wings, both as a defenseman and as a winger, scoring two goals and adding 11 assists and 162 penalty minutes. He also played two playoff games for Tampa Bay in 2016.
He spent last season, his first in Europe, in Finland with Tappara, where he recorded six assists and 88 penalty minutes in 52 games. Tappara won its third straight Liiga title.
“Luke is an experienced player with good leadership qualities,” said Skellefteå GM Erik Forssell. “He has his strengths mainly in the defensive game where, with his skating and size, he will contribute a lot to the team.”
“I do everything to help the team, whether it’s blocking shots or standing up for my teammates,” Witkowski described. “I let my game do the talking and that has gotten me roles like that, even though I’m not the one who talks the most in the dressing room.”
Skellefteå is the defending SHL champion but this season has been a trying one. The team currently sits ninth in the standings with 28 points in 19 games and has been on a slide as of late. Prior to beating HV71 on Tuesday, Skellefteå had lost seven SHL and Champions Hockey League games in a row and currently has only two regulation wins in its last 13 games.
Included in that stretch is a pair of embarrassing losses to the Fischtown Pinguins from Bremerhaven, Germany in the CHL round of 16, bowing out by a score of 10-1 on aggregate. Coach Robert Ohlsson was relieved of his duties on Nov. 6.
The team is, however, still loaded with talented players, including Oscar Lindberg, Pär Lindholm, Jonathan Pudas and a pair of Detroit prospects, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård. Witkowski is also a former teammate of current Red Wing and ex-Skellefteå player Jonatan Berggren from Detroit and the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL.
“I contacted Jonathan when coming to Skellefteå became a possibility and he only had good things to say about both the club and the city,” said Witkowski. “In addition, I have received a bunch of nice hunting pictures sent to me from (interim co-coach) Pierre Johnsson, which suits me perfectly. I’m an outdoors person and there seems to be a lot to explore in the surroundings.”