Calgary Flames sign F Yasin Ehliz and D Marcus Hogstrom
By Ramina Shlah
The Calgary Flames have signed two European skaters, Yasin Ehliz and Marcus Hogstrom, to one-year two-way contracts.
Blockbuster signings alert. The Calgary Flames have signed German forward Yasin Ehliz and Swedish defenceman Marcus Hogstrom each to one-year, two-way contracts. Ehliz was signed to an entry-level contract with an AAV of $650,000 while Hogstrom was signed with an AAV of $700,000.
Originally undrafted, Ehliz (25) has spent the last eight seasons playing for the Nurnberg Ice Tigers of the DEL. This past season, he finished tied for fourth on the team with 31 points and scored ten goals in 46 games.
Ehliz has also played in four World Championships for Germany, most recently this year, without medalling. He had three goals and five points this May. He also played for Germany at the Olympics this year which was his first Olympic games. Ehliz had three assists in seven games to help Germany win a silver medal. This was the men’s ice hockey team’s first medal at the Olympics since 1976 and just their third ever medal. Silver was also the highest they’ve ever placed, which is a great feat seeing how they didn’t qualify for the Olympics in 2014.
Ehliz will come play for Stockton which is the fourth German to come play in North America this year. He also played under new Calgary Flames assistant coach, Geoff Ward, for Germany, primarily acting as the powerplay coach.
Marcus Hogstrom (29), also undrafted, has played in the SHL for the last few years, except in 2016-17 when he split his time in the KHL as well. This past season, he had three goals and 23 points in 50 games for the Djurgardens IF. Hogstrom primarily spent his time on the top defensive pairing alongside Linus Hultstrom.
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Both of these signings seem like low-risk, average-reward signings. Although they’re most likely getting paid less than they were in their respective teams, this could be one of their only chances to play in North America and have a chance a the NHL level.