Filip Gustavsson will start the season in Europe.
The 22-year-old goaltender, who has spent the past three years with the club’s AHL affiliate in Belleville, was loaned to Södertälje in HockeyAllsvenskan in Sweden. That’s the second-highest league in the country.
“We commend Filip for joining our growing list of prospects making the decision to pursue opportunities to play games in Europe this fall,” Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion said in a statement Saturday. “This is another good development opportunity and we look forward to tracking Filip’s progress.”
Top prospect Lassi Thomsom, chosen No. 19 overall by the Senators in last year’s draft, is suiting up for his club team Ilves Tampere in Finland while winger Vitaly Abramov started the season in Russia and defenceman Andreas Englund also agreed to a short-term deal in Sweden.
Given the fact there’s no set timetable for the NHL to begin the 2020-21 season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see defencemen Erik Brannstrom, who was in Belleville last season, and Olle Alsing get the opportunity to sign in Sweden as well.
Twitter: @sungarrioch
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