American goaltender Collin Delia, 31, has signed a one-year contract
with Brynäs IF, the
Gävle-based SHL club announced on
Friday.
“My family and I
are incredibly happy to have this opportunity to represent a
prestigious club like Brynäs,” said Delia. “The team’s
passionate fans combined with its proud history made our decision
easy. I’m looking forward to the season and I want to contribute to
us going all the way and winning Swedish championship.”
Winning a title
wouldn’t be such a huge leap for Brynäs who, despite being
promoted from the tier-two HockeyAllsvenskan last season, finished
first in the SHL regular-season standings and went all the way to the
league finals, losing to Lulea in six games.
Delia joins a Brynäs
team that has several big-name players, including Jakob
Silfverberg, Johan Larsson,
Robert Hägg, Oskar
Lindblom, Michal
Kempný and Christian Djoos.
Delia
is the only healthy goaltender under contract right now, as former
Toronto Maple Leafs
goaltender Erik
Källgren isn’t expected back until
early 2026 after undergoing hip surgery.
“Collin is
well-deserved and we have followed him for a long time,” said
Brynäs sports director Johan Alcén. “He’s a goalie who always gives his
best for the team and knows what is required at the highest level. He
is very well-educated and incredibly good on his skates. It will be
exciting to work with him and see what he can achieve in our
environment.”
Ex-NHL D-Man Moves From Czechia To Sweden
Czech
defenseman Michal Kempný, 34, has signed a
one-year contract with Brynäs IF, the
Gävle-based SHL club announced on Friday.
Born in Rancho
Cucamonga, Cal., Delia played three years of NCAA
hockey at Merrimack College and then signed as a free agent with the
Chicago Blackhawks
in 2017. Between 2017 and 2022, he played 32 NHL games with Chicago,
spending the rest of the time with the AHL’s
Rockford IceHogs.
In 2022, Delia
signed with the Vancouver
Canucks, starting the season in the minors, third in the team’s
goaltending depth chart, but played 20 NHL games that season after
Thatcher Demko was injured and Spencer Martin faltered in the
starting role.
Delia spent the last
two seasons in the minor-league systems of the Winnipeg
Jets and Edmonton
Oilers.
In 52 NHL games,
Delia has a goals-against average of 3.51, a save percentage of .897,
a record of 19-18-7 and no shutouts. This is his first contract to
play in Europe.
Photo © Bob Frid-Imagn Images.
Goalie Spencer Martin Signs In KHL
Canadian goaltender Spencer Martin, 30, has signed a two-year
contract with CSKA Moscow, the KHL club announced on Wednesday.
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