Rangers nab two European defencemen in CHL Import Draft
Posted Jul 2, 2022 01:00:00 PM.
Kitchener Rangers General Manager, Mike McKenzie, is expressing his approval with the results of Friday's CHL Import Draft, as the blueshirts picked up two impressive European defencemen for the club.
Sharing the news on Friday, the Rangers have announced the selection of Czech defenceman Tomáš Hamara and Swedish defenceman Mattias Hävelid.
18-year-old Hamara is described as a six foot, 185-pound left-shot defenceman with experience playing in Finland with the Tappara Battle Axe, recording 25 points in 32 games in the U20 SM-sarja – the premier junior hockey league in Finland.
The Kitchener Rangers also noted in a release that Hamara has played more than 20 professional games for Taparra in the Finnish Elite League, the top men's professional hockey league in Finland, with experience in a 2021-22 Liiga championship win.
Hamara also scored eight points across six games for the Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team at the 2022 IIHF World Under-18 Championships last spring, standing as one of two defencemen to be named to the tournament's All-Star Team.
McKenzie described Hamara as a “solid two-way defenceman that is a good skater and puck mover.”
Hävelid, a five-foot-ten, 172-pound right-shot defenceman, spent his previous season in Sweden playing for Linköping's J20 Nationell team, described as the highest-level junior hockey league in Sweden. Born in Täby, Hävelid scored 19 points including a plus-16 rating across 29 games in J20 Nationell play, also stepping up for 23 professional games in the Swedish Hockey League.
18-year-old Hävelid was also an assistant captain for Sweden at the 2022 IHF World Under-18 Championships, scoring the most goals, assists and points by a defenceman and helping to claim a Gold Medal for his team.
“Mattias is likely to start the year in Sweden this season, but he is another very talented and strong two-way defenceman who had a great Under-18 tournament.” said McKenzie. “He is likely to be a top-two round NHL pick next week, so we were happy to select hm with our second pick.”
The Kitchener Rangers will be back for their 60th anniversary beginning on September 30th at the Aud.
RECAP: #OHLRangers select two European defencemen in #CHLImportDraft Friday.
