Just days after signing a two-year contract, there’s another transaction involving Kings winger Carl Grundstrom. The team announced that they’ve loaned him to IF Bjorkloven of the Allsvenskan, the second division in Sweden. (SHL teams aren’t permitted to bring in players on short-term loans.) As is the case with many of these loans, Grundstrom will be recalled once NHL training camps get underway.
The 22-year-old looked to have an inside track at a full-time roster spot this season following a strong stint in 2018-19 after he was acquired from Toronto as part of the Jake Muzzin trade. In that stretch, he picked up five goals in just 13 games. Instead, Grundstrom only had a few brief NHL stints this season, playing in just 13 games while collecting four assists. He spent most of the year with Ontario (AHL) where he fared much better offensively, picking up 12 goals and 16 assists in 40 games before the pandemic ended their season early.
Grundstrom is returning to a program that he has some familiarity with. While he was drafted out of MODO of the SHL, he did spend three years with Bjorkloven’s program from 2010-11 through 2012-13, playing on their U-16 and U-18 squads. As he’s now waiver-eligible, a good showing in Sweden could give Grundstrom a leg up on landing a full-time roster spot with the Kings for next season.