Swedish forward Mario Kempe will stay with Tappara Tampere for the remainder of the 2024-25 season, the Finnish Liiga club announced on Tuesday.
Kempe, 36, originally signed a try-out contract contract with Tappara in late November through to the end of December that included a club option to extend it – which it has decided to do.
Kempe has scored two goals and added one assist in nine games since joining Tappara.
A product of the MoDo club in Sweden, Kempe played a couple of junior seasons with the QMJHL’s Saint John Fog Devils and was drafted in the fifth round, 122nd overall, by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. However, Kempe returned to Sweden to play in the SHL with Rögle BK, Djurgarden and MoDo, playing briefly for the AHL’s Philadelphia Phantoms at the end of the 2008-09 season.
After a three-year stint with the KHL’s Vityaz Podolsk, Kempe returned to North America in 2017 at age 29. In two seasons, he played 70 NHL games for the Arizona Coyotes, recording 13 points and 22 penalty minutes.
Since then, Kempe has played in the KHL with CSKA Moscow and Dinamo Minsk, in Sweden with Lulea Hockey and finished last season in Switzerland playing 13 games for HC Lugano.
Internationally, Kempe represented Sweden at the 2019 and 2021 IIHF World Championships.
Tappara is Finland’s three-time reigning champion and currently sits third in the standings with 64 points in 37 games but is only one point out of first. The team has won five of nine games with Kempe in the lineup.
Its roster includes ex-NHLers Andrej Šustr, John Quenneville and Olli Juolevi. Drafted prospects on the team include forwards Oiva Keskinen (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Emil Järventie (Pittsburgh Penguins), while undrafted Benjamin Rautikainen is currently on the Finnish World Junior team in Ottawa.
Mario’s younger brother Adrian is currently a member of the Los Angeles Kings, where he has played over 500 NHL games and has been chosen to represent Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
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