The Washington Capitals announced on Monday afternoon that they have loaned forward prospect Axel Jonsson-Fjallby to Vastervik IK of the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan League.
FROM THE WASHINGTON CAPITALS
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have loaned left wing Axel Jonsson-Fjallby to Vastervik IK of the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan League to begin the 2020-21 season, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today. It is expected that the Capitals will recall Jonsson-Fjallby to North America upon the commencement of the Capitals’ 2020-21 training camp.
The Capitals selected Jonsson-Fjallby with their fifth-round pick, 147th overall, in the 2016 NHL Draft.
Jonsson-Fjallby, 22, recorded 23 points (12g, 11a) in 61 games with Hershey in 2019-20. The 6’1”, 194-pound forward was tied for first on the team in shorthanded points (1g, 2a), ranked fifth in plus/minus (9) and tied for sixth in goals.
During the 2018-19 season, the Stockholm, Sweden, native recorded three points (2g, 1a) before he was loaned to Djurgardens IF in the Swedish Hockey League, where he would record 10 points (1g, 9a) in 36 games. Jonsson-Fjallby added another 12 points (7g, 5a) in 19 playoff games with Djurgadens IF.
In 102 career games in the Swedish Hockey League, Jonsson-Fjallby has recorded 27 points (8g, 19a). Jonsson-Fjallby has yet to participate in the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan League.
The COVID-19 pandemic essentially stopped the hockey world cold during the first week of March. Since then, playing time for all of the Washington Capitals prospects has been scarce, with little guarantee of when league play will return to play.
The extended closings have therefore created a significant need for teams and prospects looking for competitive games to continue prospect development. As a result, general managers are looking for alternative opportunities for their prospects, and have begun loaning (re-assigning) players on a temporary basis.
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby has not played a game since March 8. Vastervik’s first game is set for October 2.
Here is the latest playing time chart for each prospect.
Several Capitals prospects have found teams to take them in for the near term, but for the most part playing time is at a premium, and varies widely among the prospects.
INTERIM WORK
Most of the Capitals top tier prospects participated in the Capitals two-week summer training camp held in July, with all but Shane Gersich and Garrett Pilon traveling with the team to Toronto.
In addition, several prospects have been officially loaned to teams in Europe, who are already beginning their seasons.
Alex Alexeyev – The Washington Capitals confirmed last week that defensive prospect Alexander Alexeyev has been loaned to Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
Aliaksei Protas – KHL (Dinamo Minsk) – The Capitals announced that Aliaksei Protas has been loaned to Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Protas has played in four exhibition games so far, centering the fourth line in his last two games. His first regular season game with Dinamo is September 3.
Damien Riat – SNL (Geneve-Servette) – The Capitals confirmed various earlier reports that forward Damien Riat would return to the Swiss National League. Riat played for Geneve-Servette for three seasons from 2015-2018. Riat and Geneve-Servette had their first tune-up game on Saturday. Although Riat did not attend the Capitals return to play training camp last month, he did participate in the Swiss National teams training camp.
Tobias Geisser – SNL (EV-Zug) – The Capitals also confirmed that defenseman Tobias Geisser would start the 2020-21 season in the Swiss National League. Geisser transferred from Hershey to EV-Zug after the start of last season to find more playing time. It is expected that the Capitals will recall Geisser to North America when the organization’s 2020-21 training camps open.
Damien Riat (Switzerland) and Martin Hugo Has (Czech Republic) have been somewhat fortunate in that they are already participating in training camps and scrimmage games with their respective national teams.
VIK’s sports director Emil Georgsson about Jonsson Fjällby:
“We are of course very happy to have Axel with us at the start of this season. Before, we were only 13 forwards, which made us very vulnerable to injuries and illnesses. With Axel, we both lead and broaden the squad. Axel is mainly known for its strong skating but has a much broader register than that. Also useful in many game modes. We feel that his player-type profile fits well into our way of playing and it will be fun to follow him closely. ”
We at Västerviks IK send a big thank you to Slottsholmen hotell & restaurang AB who has been involved in making this recruitment possible.
Leif Karlsson COO at Slottsholmen explains why they chose to help us with this recruitment:
“We at Slottsholmen are proud to be part of a unique opportunity to have access to a talented hockey player for Västerviks IK. Furthermore, we are honored to be asked and we hope we can fulfill the need you need from us. Slottsholmen’s attitude is to be an active player in developing Västervik at all levels and for everyone.We want to create meeting places and be accessible to everyone.We also know that together you get where you want with a good and good collaboration.Slotsholmen wants all companies, associations and the attraction for the city in general must be developed, and we all benefit from this, regardless of activity.
We at Slottsholmen want to take our responsibility and be helpful with our resources. This fits in very well with our policy and therefore we are very excited to be a part of it. When we were asked, there was never any doubt! With this investment, we wish Västerviks IK a good start to the 20/21 season to reach their set goals. We hope the interest and attraction for the team increases and we especially think that it is fun for young people to see this type of player up close. We wish great luck on Slottsholmen with the Ulvaeus family at the helm, via Leif Karlsson COO Slottsholmen hotell & restaurang AB. ”
Axel Jonsson-Fjllby statistics:
