Photo credit: Dave Hall - X (screenshot)
Vancouver Canucks prospect Melvin Fernstrom has early 'Assist of the Year' candidate following a recent pre-season game in the Swedish Hockey League.
The pre-season is slowly winding down over in the European leagues, with the regular season getting underway in a matter of weeks. The Swedish Hockey League doesn't begin their season until the middle of September and Vancouver Canucks prospect Melvin Fernstrom was on the ice yesterday with Orebro HK.
On Saturday, Orebro HK was facing Djurgarden IF and in the second period, Melvin Fernstrom got in on the action, picking up his first point of the pre-season. Not only was it Fernstrom's first point of the pre-season, we may have an early candidate for 'Assist of the Year'.
Fernstrom had the puck at the top of the circle in Djurgarden's zone when he pulled off the spin-o-rama to find Christopher Mastomaki, who was wide open in front of the net and tied the game up at 1-1.
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Fernstrom got his first taste of the Swedish Hockey League last season, skating in six games with Orebro HK, along with three in the playoffs, but failed to register any points. This season, Fernstrom will likely bounce back and forth between the SHL club and Orebro HK J20, who play in J20 Nationell.
There's also a chance, if he plays well in the first couple months of the season, that he could be on Sweden's roster for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. It's going to be tough to do, but if he's able to crack the roster, he'll likely only play a small role, possibly at the 13th forward, especially if Sweden loads the team with 19-year-olds.
Fernstrom and Orebro HK will open up the 2024-25 Swedish Hockey League season on Saturday, September 21st against MoDo. MoDo's roster features Lukas Jasek, an unsigned member of the Vancouver Canucks organization, but the team retained his rights by issuing him a qualifying offer back in 2021.
