The Toronto Maple Leafs have added a reinforcement for the future. They have signed forward Pontus Holmberg to a two-year. This comes shortly after the team was eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Henrik Sjoberg reported the signing Friday morning.
Sources: Pontus Holmberg has signed a 2-year deal with #LeafsForever
He will be loaned to SHL/Växjö during next season. https://t.co/PgEdAHZaJF— Henrik Sjöberg (@sjobergh) June 4, 2021
Leafs Sign Pontus Holmberg
The 22-year-old Holmberg had a fine season with Vaxjo Lakers HC in Sweden’s SHL in 2020-21. He posted a career-best nine goals and 23 points in 45 games during the regular season. He followed that up by contributing seven goals and 14 points in 14 playoff games. It was easily the young man’s most productive season since he was a teenager in Sweden’s under-16 region back in 2014-15.
The Leafs originally selected Holmberg in the sixth round of the 2018 Draft. He was part of a solid class that included current NHL defender Rasmus Sandin and prospect Semyon Der-Arguchintsev. There isn’t much written about Holmberg specifically, but he’s an average size at 5’10”, 175-pounds with good skating. His future role is probably somewhere in the middle or bottom-six providing energy wherever he is deployed. Holmberg will be in Sweden for another year, but his development is one to watch after the campaign he just had.
What This Means
Toronto fans will need to be patient for Holmberg’s arrival as he won’t reach North America until 2022-23. However, that gives the team plenty of time to decide its next direction. The current roster is very top heavy and chose to supplement its skill players with gritty veterans in 2020-21. Many of those same gritty players are about to hit free agency. It’s hard to know exactly when Holmberg might make an impact with the NHL club, but it’s safe to say that the roster could look very different when he leaves Europe. There may be multiple roster spots open when the Leafs ultimately decide to test Holmberg’s development.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
