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Finnish defenseman Oliwer Kaski officially signs with Red Wings

23-year-old blue liner chooses Detroit

Oliwer Kaski of Finland during the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship on May 25, 2019 in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Photo by Martin Rose/Getty Images)

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings have signed defenseman Oliwer Kaski to a one-year entry-level contract, the team announced Tuesday.

This is no surprise as the news broke about this a couple of weeks ago. The difference now (other than it being official) is that Kaski just won the 2019 IIHF World Championship with Finland, addding even more to his resume.

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The 23-year-old has been tearing it up in SM-liiga, or the Finnish Elite League, Finland's top pro hockey league. The defenseman scored 19 goals and 32 assists for 51 points in 59 games played this season with the Lahti Pelicans.

Again, he is a defenseman (righthanded), putting up forward-like numbers in Finland's top league. He was undrafted by NHL teams, and now they have been lining up for him.

Kaski spent a season at Western Michigan University, where he put up 12 points in 31 games played. He went back to Europe after just one season, but perhaps his time in Michigan was enough for the Red Wings to have a better chance at landing him as a free agent. He wasn't turning any heads until this past season.

It's a great look for new Detroit GM Steve Yzerman as Kaski could help Detroit's defense right away.



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