The Calgary Flames have announced that they have signed right-shot defenceman Johannes Kinnvall to a two-year entry-level contract. Kinnvall will remain in Sweden next season and will come to North America to join the Flames for the 2021-22 season.
The #Flames have signed defenceman Johannes Kinnvall to a two-year contract – he will remain in Sweden next year and will come to North America following the 2020-21 season. https://t.co/ZRH43dLeCj
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) April 29, 2020
Flames Ink Defenceman Johannes Kinnvall
The 22-year-old native of Galve, Sweden spent last season playing for HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League. In 51 games last season, Kinnvall scored 11 goals and 29 assists for 40 points.
Kinnvall has spent the last three seasons playing in the SHL where he has put up a combined 23 goals and 39 assists for 62 points in 121 games. He came into his own last season almost doubling his production from the previous season in one less game.
His 40 points sat him in eighth in the entire league in scoring and second among defenceman. He also finished tied for second in the league for powerplay goals with eight. Given he was only 22, he was the youngest point producer in the top 10 by three years.
What This Means for the Future
In Kinnvall, the Flames are adding some defensive depth to what can be considered a strong group from last season. However, with so many pending free agents for the coming off-season and the uncertainty of who will be back, along with the ageing Captain Mark Giordano‘s contract soon coming to an end, the Flames need some insurance pieces. Kinnvall will certainly provide that. His offensive abilities are evident given his point totals over the past two seasons for a player in their early 20’s. Kinnvall will bring some much-needed depth on the right side as most of the Flames young defenders are left-shot defenders. He may also be able to help boost the club’s powerplay as he did for HV71 last season. He will join an already young group lead by Noah Hanifin, Juuso Valimaki and Rasmus Andersson.
