Blichfeld of Sharks' AHL affiliate signs with Swedish team
Joachim Blichfeld, the leading scorer of the Sharks' AHL affiliate each of the last two seasons, is joining the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League.
Växjö made the announcement on its website Wednesday.
Blichfeld, a winger, was set to become a restricted free agent this offseason after he was given a one-year contract extension by the Sharks last July.
“Växjö Lakers feels like a good club for me to be able to take the next step in my career,” Blichfeld was quoted as saying on the team's website.
Blichfeld, 23, had a combined 36 goals and 67 points over the last two years with the Barracuda, including 45 points in 61 games this season.
Blichfeld played a combined eight games for the Sharks during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons, scoring one goal. In March 2021, he was suspended for two games by the NHL for an illegal check to the head of Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon.
But Blichfeld had fallen down the organizational depth chart, as he did not play an NHL game this past year while a handful of other Barracuda forwards such as Noah Gregor, Sasha Chmelevski, and Scott Reedy were recalled by the Sharks at one point or another.
Blichfeld, a native of Denmark, was a Sharks' seventh-round draft choice in 2016 before he starred for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL for three seasons. Prior to being drafted, Blichfeld played one full season with Malmo Jr. of the Swedish Jr. Hockey League in 2015-16.
The Sharks have several other RFA's who playes in the AHL this past season, including forwards Zach Gallant, Jake McGrew, Antione Morand, defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk and goalie Zach Sawchenko.