One of leaders in Kontinetal Hockey League (KHL) CSKA Moscow has boosted their already impressive offensive depth with a new signing. The club has announced that they have an agreement with Swedish forward Simon Hjalmarsson and that the contract will be officially signed within next few days.
The 25-year-old played on the Swedish national team, and has spent the last two seasons in the Swedish Hockey League with Linkoping. In 110 regular season games he has scored 39 goals and 61 assists for 100 points. Following both seasons Hjalmarsson played for Team Sweden at the IIHF World Championships where he helped the team win Gold and Bronze medals.
In the 2007 NHL Draft, Hjalmarsson was selected by the St.Louis Blues in the 2nd round, 39th overall. He didn’t seem to be able to be interested in playing in North America until this summer, when he signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He couldn’t crack the lineup and was sent to Springfield of the AHL. CSKA Moscow would acquire his rights from Novosibrisk Sibir just a few weeks later and made inquiries about bringing Simon Hjalmarsson into the KHL.
With 52 points in 21 games, CSKA Moscow are currently second in the KHL. They have a strong offense, but the main reason for their success has been their strong defense. In 21 games CSKA Moscow has allowed only 31 goal, and are leading KHL in goals against. Obviously the team cannot complain about their offense, Alexander Radulov (12+19) Stefan DaCosta (16+14) and Jan Mursak (9+12) are leading the way. Radulov and DaCosta are 2nd and 3rd in the league for points.
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