Former Bruins prospect Joona Koppanen is heading overseas.
A former Boston Bruins prospect is continuing his professional career overseas.
Lulea HF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) has announced that they have signed former Bruins forward Joona Koppanen for the 2026-27 season.
Koppanen heading overseas comes after he spent each of the last three seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. The 6-foot-5 forward played in 28 games for Pittsburgh over that span, where he recorded one goal, one assist, and 54 hits. In 13 games this season with Pittsburgh, the former Bruins forward had one assist.
Koppanen spent most of the last three seasons in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, however. Due to this, it is understandable that the former Bruin is now heading home to play in Sweden.
Koppanen Spent Many Years In the Bruins' System
Koppanen was selected by the Bruins with the 135th overall pick of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. In five games with Boston during the 2022-23 season, he recorded one assist, four penalty minutes, and eight hits. This would be the NHL action he would get in during his time with the Bruins organization.
While Koppanen did not get a lot of opportunities on Boston's roster, he spent many years down in the AHL with the Providence Bruins. In six seasons with Providence, he posted 39 goals and 93 points in 245 games. His best season with Providence was in 2022-23, as he recorded 12 goals, 23 assists, and 35 points in 64 games with the AHL squad.
It will now be interesting to see how much of an impact Koppanen can make with Lulea HF from here.