Hayton, Kirk now playing Scandinavian pro hockey
Loaned by the NHL’s Coyotes to teams in Finland and Sweden until games resume in North America
Barrett Hayton and Liam Kirk are playing in Scandinavia until hockey resumes in North America.
Hayton, a Peterborough native, and Kirk, who is eligible to return to the Pet es as an overage player, were loaned to European teams by the Arizona Coyotes. Hayton left Monday to join Ilves in Finland’s top pro league Liiga, while Kirk is with Hanhals IF in Sweden’s third division.
Kirk, 20, a British native, said he expects to play in games until either the Coyotes training camp starts or the Petes start up. Petes training camp is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 15.
“I should be playing games once all transfer agreements are done,” said Kirk, the Coyotes seventhround pick in 2018, by email on Tuesday.
“I want to play. It was mostly my decision though Arizona obviously want me playing. I think everyone right now just wants to play. There wasn’t going to be any hockey in England for a while, so I needed to find somewhere for the meantime especially with the OHL up in the air.”
Kirk’s goal is to earn a contract at Coyotes camp and play pro this season in Arizona’s system. If that doesn’t happen, the Coyotes still have until 2022 to sign him and Kirk confirmed he’d like to return to the Petes. If the OHL does not go ahead, he’s prepared to play the full season in Sweden.
“I’m really enjoying it so far. The team has been great to me and the city is incredible,” he said.
Hayton joins Ilves on an open-ended loan agreement. The 20-year-old centre captained Canada to the world junior hockey championship in January.
The Coyotes’ first-round pick in the 2018 NHL draft, fifth overall, has played 20 games in the NHL, tallying one goal and three assists. He also played five games in the AHL with the Tucson Roadrunners.
“Barrett is exceptionally talented, versatile and reliable hockey player who is able to play his two-way style of game in every situation,” stated Ilves sports director Timo Koskela, in a press release.
“He puts his team first and leads teammates by his example. This is great news for both Ilves and the Liiga as players of this level are currently playing in Finland.
“We would like to thank the Arizona Coyotes, Hayton and his representative for making this type of a contract possible. We are extremely excited for this collaboration where everyone involved can be considered as a winner.”
Hayton will join the team after a quarantine and he is expected to debut for Ilves on Nov. 11.
Petes GM Mike Oke said they support Kirk’s decision.
“Liam is anxious to get going,” Oke said. “Being in England it was difficult for him to get proper training. I know he and his agent were looking for an opportunity where he could go to at least get on the ice.” NOTES: Petes grad and Minnesota Wild goalie prospect Hunter Jones will be the guest for the Petes fifth Thursday Night Live online episode at 6 p.m. Fans can now access the stream on the Petes Facebook page. Fans can preregister to submit questions and become eligible for prizes at eventbrite.com/d/online/petes/. The first intermission will feature Petes trivia to win a gameworn jersey. The musical guest is country artist Valley Mountain. ... The Petes and Emterra Environmental have teamed up for the Emterra Clean Community Cup. It’s an opportunity for family units in the city and county to participate in a community cleanup contest. To enter participants share creative photos and videos of their cleanup efforts on social media using# Clean Community Cup. Emterra and the Petes will pick weekly and monthly winners. One family will take home the Cup and a $1,000 Visa gift card. For more details, follow #Clean Community Cup on social media and visit emterra.ca/ and go pet es go. com/ cleancommunity-cup.