Tanner Kero heads to Sweden and HV71

American forward and former NHLer Tanner Kero, 31, has signed a one-year contract with HV71, the SHL club announced on Friday.

“Both me and my family are very much looking forward to coming to Sweden and HV71,” said Kero. “I hope to contribute a lot of experience to the team and be a reliable player all over the ice. I know that the SHL is an extremely good league and it will be fun to take on that challenge.”

Never drafted by an NHL team, Kero signed as a free agent with the Chicago Blackhawks in April 2015 after finishing four years of college hockey with Michigan Tech, where in his senior year he was team captain and was the WCHA’s leading scorer and MVP.

In the nine years since, Kero has played 145 NHL regular-season games with the Blackhawks and Dallas Stars, scoring 11 goals and adding 24 assists. He also spent time in the Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche without playing for them. His best AHL season was 2018-19 when he recorded 57 points in 67 games for the Utica Comets.

At 31, this will be Kero’s first season playing in Europe.

“In Tanner, we get an intelligent two-way center who takes great responsibility and is recognized for the structure in his game,” said HV71 GM Chris Abbott. “His professionalism will mean a lot to our team and we welcome Tanner, his wife Taylor and their three sons to Jönköping and HV71.”