Of prospect-related note:
In the SHL, today’s game between Joe Veleno’s Malmo Redhawks and Lucas Raymond’s Frolunda Indians had a copule of special guests: Elmer Soderblom and Theodor Niederbach made their 2019-2020 season debuts for Frolunda’s men’s team, and these two were in the house as well:
Finbesök på läktaren! Henrik Zetterberg och Niklas Kronwall ?#twittpuck pic.twitter.com/QPcm5XYPaq— C More Sport (@cmoresport) October 20, 2020
Frolunda congratulated Niederbach on his SHL debut…
På isen i detta nu är Theodor Niederbach, som därmed gör tävlingsdebut i A-laget. pic.twitter.com/CpSDMF36Pb— Frölunda Indians (@frolunda_hc) October 20, 2020
Soderblom dangled and deked (per Antonj85)…
Elmer Söderblom inne och snurrar. #SHL #FHC #DRW #LGRW pic.twitter.com/gGGyNVigGl— Anton (@antonj85) October 20, 2020
Veleno stepped up with an assist…
Eric Engstrand med sitt första SHL-mål i karriären ?#twittpuck @Malmo_Redhawks pic.twitter.com/PUDZPLQ0P8— C More Sport (@cmoresport) October 20, 2020
But Raymond got a secondary helper on this goal from Joel Lundqvist, putting the game away:
? Joel Lundqvist – 2nd of the game PP
4-1 Frolunda pic.twitter.com/WHoMFpv8Mm— Here’s Your Replay ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) October 20, 2020
Joel Lundqvists 4:e mål i SHL 2020/21 assisteras av Jan Muršak (5) och Lucas Raymond (2).— Frölunda Indians (@frolunda_hc) October 20, 2020
Though Veleno made things interesting…
MÅL! @jveleno91 prickskjuter in reduceringen i krysset när Redhawks spelar fem mot fyra!#MIFFHC | 2-5 pic.twitter.com/hMd36E4KXS— Malmö Redhawks (@Malmo_Redhawks) October 20, 2020
WHAT A SNIPE!
? Joe Veleno PP
5-2 Frolunda pic.twitter.com/QUhDlYSX2f— Here’s Your Replay ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) October 20, 2020
Klass! Veleno i det bortre krysset. #twittpuck @Malmo_Redhawks pic.twitter.com/ak1TUIPLQd— C More Sport (@cmoresport) October 20, 2020
Ultimately, Frolunda won 6-2. For Frolunda, Raymond had an assist, 4 shots, and finished at even in 15:35 for Frolunda; Soderblom had 1 shot in 9:36 played; Niederbach, playing in his SHL debut, got 6 seconds of ice time; for Malmo, Veleno had a goal and an assist for 2 points, with 2 shots, a -1 and 15:58 played, winning 71% of his faceoffs;
Elsewhere, Albin Grewe got off the bench in Djurgardens IF’s 3-2 OT loss to Leksands IF–Grewe had 2 shots and finished -1 in 16:52 played, which is way more than he’d been playing as the team’s 13th forward.
In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Gustav Lindstrom had 4 shots, finished at +1 and took a penalty in 20:59 played as Almtuna IS beat MODO Hockey 3-0. William Wallinder had 3 shots but finished at -2 in 16:40 for MODO, and Filip Larsson is sidelined for Almtuna with a “hand injury.”
In the Finnish Liiga, Eemil Viro played 17:01 in TPS Turku’s 4-1 loss to Ilves, taking 2 shots;
And in the Belarusian hockey federation, Kirill Tyutyayev took 2 shots in Yunost Minsk’s 4-2 win over Shaktyor-Soligorsk.
Niederbach with SIX SECONDS of ice time?
Wonder what the story is there…
It’s not all that surprising, to be honest. In European hockey, you can dress 13 forwards and 7 defensemen (i.e. 20 skaters) and 2 goalies, so big-league teams will call up players from their junior leagues and give them mere seconds of ice time as the 13th forward or 7th defenseman to allow them to get acclimated to men’s league-level play without being a liability on men’s-league ice.
Sometimes it can be used as a punishment, e.x. Albin Grewe being dressed as the 13th forward for Djurgarden, but most of the time, it’s just a way to give young kids “bench time” before they earn ice time.