On Tuesday, HockeyAllsvenskan club IK Oskarshamn announced they’d come to a one-year agreement with Anaheim Ducks forward prospect Herman Traff for the upcoming 2025-26 season.

Traff (19) was selected in the third round (91st overall in 2024) of last year’s NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils and was acquired by the Ducks along with a 2025 second-round pick on March 6 in exchange for defenseman Brian Dumoulin.

“He’s a big kid who has some nice skill,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek stated after the acquisition. “He has hockey sense. He plays with an edge, and he’s a big kid, and I like that. He’s got an aggressive attitude when it comes to his physical game. Another piece that we can kind of look at to add to this team in the future.”

Traff played the majority of the 2024-25 season with HV71 in the SHL, playing minimal minutes (under ten minutes TOI per night). He finished the year with seven points (3-4=7) in 25 games in Sweden’s top league.

He played two games at the J20 Nationell level and dominated during his time there, scoring four points (3-1=4) while totaling a whopping 14 shots. He played on loan with Nybro Vikings IF in the HockeyAllsvenskan on two separate occasions, where he tallied six points (3-3=6) in nine total games.

Traff represented Sweden at the 2025 World Junior Championship, where again in limited minutes, he scored two goals in seven games as Sweden failed to medal at the tournament.

Traff is a straight-line power forward who utilizes his 6-foot-3, 216-pound frame to absorb pressure, support pucks, disrupt on the forecheck, and win battles in tight areas like the walls and front of the net. He’s exceptionally mobile for his size with a plus-release and does well to scan before jumping to dangerous ice. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Traff sign his ELC at some point in the near future and make the jump to North America during the calendar year of 2026.

Traff will join fellow NHL prospects like Chicago Blackhawks forward prospect Joel Svensson (138th overall in ’24) and Florida Panthers goaltending prospect Olof Glifford (159th in ’23) on Oskarshamn’s roster as they look to move up the standings and push for promotion after an eighth-place finish in 2024-25.

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Photo Credit: Carl Sandin-HV71