Swedish defenseman Marcus Björk, 27, has signed a contract to play the remainder of the current season for Kärpät Oulu, the Finnish Liiga club announced on Saturday.

Björk underwent off-season back surgery and was recently cleared medically to resume his career.

“In Marcus, we get a big, well-balanced defenseman who moves the puck well – the kind we’ve been looking for for a while,” said Kärpät sports director Mikko Myllykoski. “Marcus wanted to arrive in Oulu on a quick schedule and he will certainly help the team at both ends of the ice and on special teams.”

Haling from Umea in northern Sweden, Björk developed primarily in the Björklöven and Lulea clubs, finally reaching the SHL in 2018. In four seasons with Örebro HK, the Malmö Redhawks and Brynäs IF, Björk played 217 games in Sweden’s top league, recording 68 points and 127 penalty minutes.

Never drafted by an NHL club, the 6-foot-3, 203-pound, right-handed defenseman signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022. He played 33 games for the Jackets in 2022-23, scoring three goals and adding eight assists and 42 penalty minutes and was a minus-9.

He spent the rest of the season with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and then missed much of last season with back problems, playing 61 regular-season and playoff games with Cleveland. Following the season, he opted for surgery.

In an interivew with Swedish media outlet Västerbottens-Kuriren during his rehab, Björk stated that he felt his size and style of play were well-suited to North American hockey and the NHL, and that he aims to return there.

The club’s announcement does not say when it expects Björk to make his Liiga debut. Kärpät currently sits 12th in the 16-team league with 33 points in 27 games.