International Hockey Roundtable
Hurricanes Loan Honka To HC Ajoie
© Sam Navarro-Imagn Images - Hurricanes Loan Honka To HC AjoieFinnish defenseman, Anttoni Honka has been loaned by the Carolina Hurricanes to HC Ajoie in Switzerland, the National League club announced on Monday.
Honka, 24, was Carolina’s third-round pick, 83rd overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He recently attended the Hurricanes’ training camp, and he will now go to Switzerland rather than back to Finland or the AHL.
Honka comes from Jyväskylä, Finland, and to this point, he’s spent almost his entire career playing for hometown JYP. He has 127 points and 72 penalty minutes in 253 career Liiga games dating back to 2017. In his rookie year as a pro, at age 17, he was a member of the JYP team that won the Champions Hockey League, beating Elias Pettersson’s Växjö Lakers in the final.
Honka spent the 2022-23 season playing in the AHL for the Chicago Wolves, where at age 22 he recorded 34 points in 70 games.
Internationally, has won a gold medal for Finland at both the 2018 IIHF U-18 World Championship and the 2019 World Junior Championship.
According to the Ajoie website, Honka arrived in Switzerland on Monday, is due to join the team on Tuesday and is expected to be in the lineup for Friday’s game in Zurich against the ZSC Lions.
Ajoie won its most recent game last Friday against Kloten after losing its first six of the season. The team currently sits last in the standings with three points.
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