American
defenseman T.J. Brennan, 36, has signed a contract to play for HK
Olimpija Ljubljana, the Slovenia-based ICEHL club announced on
Monday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Originally from
Willingboro, N.J., Brennan played in the QMJHL
for the St. John’s Fog Devils and Montreal Juniors. He was taken in
the second round, 31st overall, by the Buffalo
Sabres in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Brennan played 53 NHL
games between 2011 and 2016 for the Sabres, Florida
Panthers and Toronto
Maple Leafs, recording 13 points and 29 penalty minutes.
“T.J.
was a top priority for our coach, who knows and trusts him well from
their time together in Salzburg,” said Olimpija GM Anže Ulčar, referring to
new head coach Ben Cooper, who was an assistant coach of Red Bull
Salzburg and previously and NHL assistant coach for the Vancouver
Canucks and Florida.
“T.J.
himself was looking for a new challenge in the ICE League,
and I’m very happy we reached an agreement,” Ulčar continued.
“We’ve acquired an excellent power-play specialist with a very
high execution rate.”
Rasmus Asplund Leaves Florida Organization For Switzerland
Swedish forward Rasmus Asplund, 27, has signed a
two-year contract with HC Davos, the
National League club announced on Tuesday.
Brennan
played professionally in North America until 2020, mostly in the AHL.
In addition to his NHL stops, he also played in the organizations of
the Nashville
Predators, New
York Islanders, Chicago
Blackhawks and Philadelphia
Flyers.
In
Europe, Brennan
played one season each for HC Thurgau in Switzerland and in Salzburg
in Austria, which was his first tenure in the ICEHL. For the last
three seasons, he has played in Switzerland’s top-tier National
League for HC Ajoie.
In
each of the last two seasons, Olimpija has lost in the play-in round
of the playoffs ahead of the quarterfinals. In addition to Brennan,
this year’s team includes former
NHLer Zach Boychuk and Slovenian
national team captain Robert Sabolič.
The team also had ex-NHLer
Nick Bonino under contract before he suddenly retired
in June to become an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Photo © Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images: Ottawa Senators center Jean-Gabriel Pageau (44) fights against Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman T.J. Brennan (25) during the 2014-15 NHL season.
Ex-NHLer, Social Media Influencer Signs In SloveniaCanadian
forward Zach Boychuk, 35, has signed a one-year
contract to play for HK Olimpija Ljubljana, the Slovenian-based ICEHL
club announced
via social media on Monday.
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