Felix Sandstrom has signed a contract with HV71, leaving behind a team he has been with since his youth days in Brynas. This transaction comes after Sandstrom’s recent loan to IK Oskarshamn in Sweden’s second division.
Last season, Brynas and HV71 played each other in the SHL Finals. It was a classic series, with HV71 edging Brynas in overtime of Game 7. Sandstrom did not play in that seventh game, as his starting spot was taken away from him after a string of tough performances in the Finals.
Brynäs IF bekräftar idag att avtalet med målvakten Felix Sandström är avslutat. Läs hela pressmeddelandet här; https://t.co/JvISvTTWiV #Brynäs #SHL pic.twitter.com/FzZPzNm066
— Brynäs IF (@Brynas) February 12, 2018
Sandstrom appeared in 25 regular season games last year for Brynas (SHL teams play 52 games) and 13 playoff games while taking home the Best Goaltender award in the World Juniors. This season, however, he only played in eight games for Brynas before his loan to IK Oskarshamn in January, and his goals-against average dropped from 2.25 to 2.87 from last year to this year. He performed even worse with IK Oskarshamn, recording a 3.10 GAA and a .895 save percentage.
“Felix is a great goalkeeper and talent will strengthen our team”, said Johan Hult, the sports director of the HV71.
The change in scenery will be a good thing for the 21-year old goaltender. HV71 have dealt with many injuries this season with only three players playing all 45 games up until now and only one defenseman playing more than 39 games. The team is sitting very comfortably in a playoff spot but is chasing after a berth to the second round of the playoffs – in the SHL, the top six teams at the end of the season advance to the quarterfinals, but teams seventh through tenth play in the round of 16 – and are three points back with seven games left. Brynas is in 10th place, six points behind HV71.
Sandstrom’s contract with HV71 runs until the end of next season.
Originally published on SonsOfPenn.com