Canadian left winger John Quenneville, 28, has signed to play the remainder of the current season with Tappara Tampere, the Finnish Liiga club announced on Saturday.
“I’ve been practising hard and calmly looking for a suitable place,” said Quenneville. “I’m very happy to finally find a place in Finland and Tappara. I’ve heard a lot of good things about both the city and the club. I can’t wait for Tuesday to put on a new jersey and play in front of a new home crowd.”
Quenneville was born in Edmonton and played junior hockey for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. He was chosen by the New Jersey Devils in the first round, 30th overall, in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
Between 2016 and 2020, Quenneville played 42 NHL regular-season games with the Devils and Chicago Blackhawks, recording five points and six penalty minutes. In 2020, he played two games for Chicago in the Western Conference playoff bubble in his hometown, Edmonton.
Since 2021, Quenneville has mostly played in Europe – in Switzerland with the ZSC Lions and HC Lugano and in Sweden with Leksands IF – but also had a 25-game stint with the AHL’s Belleville Senators.
“We’ve negotiated with Quenneville before and it’s great that this time we got him,” said Tappara sports manager Antti Tuomenoksa. “He’s a very versatile North American forward who brings suitable grit to the team, but also has the ability to produce solid point totals.”
Tappara is a three-time defending champion in Finland and currently sits second in the Liiga standings during the international break but is obviously not complacent with its roster.
Quenneville’s signing comes just days after the club signed another ex-NHLer – Czech defenseman Andrej Šustr. Both players are expected to debut with the team on Tuesday in the first leg of the Champions Hockey League round of 16 against Färjestad Karlstad from Sweden.
Quenneville’s two older brothers also currently play in Europe. David, 26, plays in Sweden for Örebro HK and Peter, 30, also plays in Finland for Kiekko-Espoo. Tappara and Kiekko-Espoo are scheduled to face each other Jan. 10 in Tampere and Feb. 15 in Espoo.
Quenneville’s second cousin is former NHL player and coach Joel Quenneville and his uncle by marriage is former NHL player Johnny Boychuk.