Malmo's New Faces

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During the S93 off-season, the Malmo Nighthawks made a trio of key acquisitions that should help extend the team's competitive window.

 

Two of those pickups will feature in their opening-night lineup, with Gregger McKeggegger jumping right into the lineup to replace Henry Eagles, now in Seattle due to salary cap constraints. Acquired in a three-way trade with Riga and Prague that saw a number of draft picks shuffled around, McKeggegger is a former first-round pick who has 96 points over the past two seasons with Riga. He's a 6'5, 205 pound forward who's main weakness is skating but is strong on the puck with a good shot, and he is terrific in his own end of the ice.

 

The Nighthawks also picked up Eric Queefson, who will fill the spot vacated by the departing Jebediah Big Ol Doinks in Amish. The second overall pick in S89, Queefson put up 49 points in 72 games with LA last season. He is a talented two-way defensemen, but Malmo will be his fourth team in five VHL seasons. The Nighthawks are hoping this will be a more permanent place for him.

 

The third acquisition will have to wait a year to make his Malmo debut, but Jorgen Lovstrom is the likely goalie of the future in Malmo. With captain Ash Sparks on the back nine of his career, likely two seasons away from retirement, the Nighthawks have also been seeking the eventual heir to the throne between the pipes. Having spent a lot of draft capital on goalies over the past few seasons - beginning with Karl Herzlich in S89, who will finally make his VHL debut as Sparks' backup this year - then Shaunca in the third round of S91 and Olafur Gunnleifsson in the first round of S92, both of whom have stagnated in development - the club hopes to have finally locked down the position with the selection of Lovstrom 7th overall in the S93 draft. The S93 draft had three talented netminders, of whom Lovstrom was clearly the head of the class. Lovstrom was simply dominant in S92 in the VHLM, going 48-8-4 with a .918 SV% and capturing the Benoit Devereux, Mitch Higgins, and Skylar Rift Trophies as the VHLM's Top Goalie, MVP, and Playoff MVP.