One of San Jose's Top Prospects Just Signed a Five-Year Deal to Play in Swedish Elite League
Jonathan Dahlen, formerly a 2nd round pick of the Ottawa Senators, is a highly touted NHL prospect who looked just about ready to make an impact. Or so we thought...
After posting 22 points and a -25 rating in 65 games for the Sharks in '21-22, Dahlen was not submitted a qualifying offer and subsequently walked to free agency. However, it was not an NHL team who would secure the talented young Swede. Rather, the club for whom he has played the most in his career locked Dahlen up to a five-year contract to play in the Swedish Elite League:
In 241 games for Timrå, Dahlen has scored 124 goals, 141 assists for 265 points, which is seriously impressive given that the league is -- generally -- low scoring. Dahlen is a classic case of a gifted European player who struggles to generate the time and space necessary to score on the smaller North American ice. He is not the biggest guy at 5'11'' and 180 pounds, so fending off NHL defenders has proven to be a challenge for the gifted forward. Still, it is hard to fathom that not one NHL team could utilize this player:
Dahlen, 24, is certainly a project, especially as it pertains to NHL ice, but his offensive skillset is simply too strong to ignore. Between 2019 and 2021, Dahlen scored 148 points in 96 games for Timrå (1.54 points per game), and given the number of NHL teams tight to the salary cap who could use affordable offensive depth, I wonder if there is more to the story that sent him back to Sweden...
| POLL | ||
AOÛT 31 | 135 ANSWERS One of San Jose's Top Prospects Just Signed a Five-Year Deal to Play in Swedish Elite League Will Dahlen make a return to the NHL? | ||
| Yes | 68 | 50.4 % |
| No | 67 | 49.6 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Michael Bunting | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Drew Helleson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Morrissey | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Perfetti | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bryan Rust | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Scheifele | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Trevor Zegras | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Noel Acciari | - | - | - | |
| Mason Appleton | - | - | - | |
| Nicolas Aube-Kubel | - | - | - | |
| Morgan Barron | - | - | - | |
| Anthony Beauvillier | - | - | - | |
| Zach Benson | - | - | - | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||