The Detroit Red Wings signed Swedish center Calle Jarnkrok on Wednesday, continuing a run of entry-level signings as the window to sign non-college players drafted in 2010 - particularly those from Sweden - slowly closes.
Five of Jarnkrok's countrymen signed on Tuesday, including Rangers wing prospect Jesper Fast, Islanders wing prospect John Persson, Bruins goaltending prospect Niklas Svedberg, and a pair of Blackhawks prospects, defenseman Klas Dahlbeck and center Joakim Nordstrom. Jarnkrok, however, may be in a different class.
The Red Wings' second-round pick (51st overall) in the 2010 draft, Jarnkrok is listed as Detroit's top prospect at center by prospects website Hockey's Future. In his third season with Brynas IF Gavle of the Swedish Elite League, the 5'11" Gavle native scored 16 goals and assisted on 23 more in 50 games. He also represented Sweden at the 2012 IIHF World Championship, recording one assist in eight games while averaging 12:39 of ice time per game.
Three of the countrymen he played with in Stockholm - Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen and Niklas Kronwall - could be future teammates with the Red Wings if Jarnkrok can make the team. The Red Wings have found great success with Swedish players, becoming the first team with a European captain to win the Stanley Cup in 2008 when Niklas Lidstrom led the team past the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals. Another countryman, Gustav Nyquist, had an auspicious beginning to his pro career with the Red Wings this season, recording a goal and six assists in 17 games at the NHL level while putting up 58 points (22g, 36a) in 56 games for the team's AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids.
It remains to be seen whether Jarnkrok will find his own success in North America. For now, though, he's a Red Wing.
