Linus Eriksson is on his way to the SHL. The 18-year-old Florida Panthers prospect had played up until now with Djurgården in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. However, that club, Timrå IK and the young center have all agreed that now’s the time to move up to Sweden’s top league.
On Monday, Timrå announced that it had aquired Eriksson on loan from Djurgården for the remainder of the 2024-25 season, and had also signed him to an additional two-year contract, which will run from 2025 to 2027. A Stockholm native, this will be the first time in Eriksson’s life that he’s played for any club other than Djurgården.
“It feels like the right step for my development to come to Timrå IK – I’ve had a very good impression of the club,” said Eriksson. “As a player, I am a stable two-way center who always gives everything for the team at both ends of the rink.”
“We are very happy that Linus is joining us now,” said Timrå sports director Kimmo Kapanen. “He is a player with immense potential who is good in both offensive and defensive zones. With Linus in the team, we increase the breadth and get a skilled player in both zones.”
Florida took Eriksson in the second round, 58th overall, in last summer’s NHL Entry Draft. It’s not explicitly stated in Timrå’s announcement if the contract includes an escape clause should Eriksson wish to sign with Florida before 2027, but it presumably does.
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On the surface, this seems like a strange move since Eriksson hasn’t exactly been tearing up the HockeyAllsvenskan. He has only four points in 18 games, but has missed some games due to injury and has had a difficult time finding a role on the team. Over two seasons, he had 15 points in 47 Allsvenskan games and scored four goals in 12 qualification games in the spring during Djurgården’s unsuccessful bid to qualify for the SHL this season.
Eriksson’s last game with Djurgården was back on Dec. 8 before the World Junior Championship. During that tournament, he scored two goals in seven games for Sweden. When Eriksson didn’t return to the club after the World Juniors, rumors began swirling that a move was imminent.
Eriksson joins a Timrå team that currently sits in fourth place in the SHL standings. The team has won two games in a row since a much publicized, expletive-laced rant by head coach Olli Jokinen between periods of a game on Jan. 7.
Eriksson becomes the youngest player on the roster but it does include a trio of 21-year-old NHL prospects – namely Oliver Kapanen of the Montreal Canadiens, Oliver Johansson of the Ottawa Senators and Simon Forsmark of the Carolina Hurricanes. It also includes 24-year-old Filip Hållander, who is reportedly in talks with the Pittsburgh Penguins, as well as veteran ex-NHLers Magnus Pääjärvi, Anton Lander, Tim Erixon and Jonathan Dahlén.