Skellefteå AIK won the SHL title in 2023-24 with a good mix of veterans and young players but since then, through the retirements of older players and the younger ones moving on to greener pastures, that core is coming apart. This season, Skellefteå sits sixth in the standings but, with seven games left in the regular season, a playoff spot is not yet secured – a log-jam of four teams between them means Skellefteå is only four points ahead of 10th place.
It is already known that Sandin-Pellikka intends to play in North America next season and Swedish media outlet Norran reports that the team will suffer more losses to its blueline, with Oskar Nilsson and American Luke Witkowski – who can play defense or right wing – also on their way out.
To make up for the losses, the Norran article, which is behind a paywall, states that the club is in pursuit of a couple of Swedish defensemen who currently play in Switzerland’s National League – Andreas Borgman of Fribourg-Gottéron and Emil Djuse of the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers.
Borgman, 29, hails from Stockholm and originally turned pro with Timrå IK. He has also played in the SHL for HV71 and Frölunda HC, in Finland for Ässät Pori and is now in his second season in Switzerland.
Borgman played in North America from 2017 to 2022 in the organizations of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars. He played 47 NHL games for Toronto in 2017-18 and seven more for Tampa Bay in 2021, recording 13 points and 32 penalty minutes in total. He also went to the training camp of the St. Louis Blues in September 2021.
Djuse, 31, comes from Östersund and has played professionally in Sweden for Södertälje SK, Frölunda, the Malmö Redhawks, Timrå, MoDo, and a previous three-year term with Skellefteå from 2016 to 2019.
Djuse spent the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season in North America in the Dallas and Florida Panthers organizations but only played in the AHL, He then spent one season in the KHL for Spartak Moscow and has played in Rapperswil-Jona ever since.
Skellefteå still has veteran defenseman and team captain Jonathan Pudas signed through 2029. As well, 19-year-old Montreal Canadiens defense prospect Rasmus Bergqvist, who has played 24 SHL games this season, might take on a full-time role.
Skellefteå also signed 33-year-old ex-NHL center Pär Lindholm to a two-year extension, which will see him remain with the club through 2027.