Canadian
forward
Charles Hudon, 31, has signed a two-year contract with
Djurgården IF, the Stockholm-based SHL club announced on Wednesday.
“I’m
very excited to go out on the ice and meet all the ‘Djurgårders’,”
Hudon is quoted in the club’s press release.
“An
two-way forward who will be a threat at 5-on-5 and 5-on-4,” said
Djurgården sporting director Niklas Wikegård. “Charles is a
player who wants to attack, who wants to make decisions and who wants
the puck. We know that he produces points year after year and it will
be very exciting to follow him.”
Hudon
was born in Alma, Que. And played junior hockey for the QMJHL’s
Chicoutimi Sanguenéens,
whom
he captained for two seasons. He
was drafted in the fifth round, 122nd
overall, by the Montreal
Canadiens in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
Between
2015 and 2023, Hudon played 134 NHL regular-season games for the
Canadiens and Colorado
Avalanche, recording 41 points and 58 penalty minutes. He also
played two post-season games for Montreal in the 2020 Eastern
Conference bubble in Toronto.
Report: Anton Frondell Will Sign With Blackhawks This Week; Won’t Attend Training Camp
Swedish center Anton Frondell will sign an entry-level contract this
upcoming week with the Chicago Blackhawks, the team that took him
third overall at this year’s NHL Entry Draft, according to Swedish
journalist Gunnar
Nordström.
When
the NHL’s 2020-21 season was delayed by pandemic restrictions,
Hudon got his first taste of European hockey, recording 35 points in
39 National League regular-season playoff games for Lausanne HC in
Switzerland.
The
following season, between his Montreal and Colorado stops, he was
property of the Tampa Bay Lightning but spent the entire 2021-22
season in the AHL.
Likewise, he spent the past two seasons in the Los Angeles Kings
organization, playing exclusively with the Ontario Reign. All told,
Hudon has 440 points in 529 AHL regular-season and playoff games.
The
announcement of the Hudon signing comes two days after Djurgården
introduced Norwegian former Calgary
Flames prospect Mathias Emilio
Pettersen as a new recruit.
Norwegian Former Flames, Stars Prospect Signs In SwedenNorwegian
forward Mathias Emilio Pettersen, 25, has signed a two-year contract
with Djurgården IF, the Stockholm-based SHL club announced on
Monday.
“Compared
to Emilio, Charles is at a slightly different stage in his career,”
said Wikegård. “He has been a professional for many years, played
a number of seasons in the NHL and established himself as a top
player in the AHL.”
Djurgården
was just promoted to the SHL from the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan
but is trying to build a competitive roster. The team will notably
feature two 18-year-old forwards who were chosen in the first round
of this year’s NHL Entry Draft – Victor
Eklund and Anton
Frondell.
In addition to Hudon, Pettersen, Eklund and Frondell, Djurgården’s
lineup for the 2025-26 season also includes veteran center Marcus
Krüger, who was a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago
Blackhawks, Finnish
right winger Jesse Ylönen, Swedish
defenseman Gustav Lindström, and Swedish goaltender Magnus
Hellberg.
Photo © Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images: Los Angeles Kings left wing Charles Hudon (54) skates ahead of Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Lukas Cormier (40) during NHL pre-season action in September 2023.
Islanders Sign Victor Eklund But He’s Probably Returning To Sweden Too
Swedish winger Victor Eklund, 18, has signed a three-year entry-level
contract with the New
York Islanders, the team that drafted him 16th overall
at the recent NHL Entry Draft, the
club announced on Monday.
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