The Oilers have agreed to terms on a contract with one of their goaltending prospects. The team announced that they’ve signed Samuel Jonsson to a three-year, entry-level deal. He’ll earn a base salary of $775K, a signing bonus of $80K, and a minors salary of $82.5K each season for a cap hit of $855K, per PuckPedia. While the release didn’t specify when the agreement begins, it’s likely that it won’t start until next season.
The 21-year-old was picked in the fifth round back in 2022, going 158th overall. At that point, the highest level he had played at was Sweden’s Under-20 league and was coming off a rather pedestrian season. However, Jonsson stands 6’5 and many teams around the league have taken late-round dart throws on taller goaltenders.
This particular throw could still pan out for the Oilers. While Jonsson has yet to play at the SHL level, he had an impressive season with BIK Karlskoga of the second-tier Allsvenskan. He played in 24 games this year, posting a 1.88 GAA and a .922 SV% along with six shutouts, earning himself Goalie of the Year honors.
It will be interesting to see what Edmonton’s plans for Jonsson are next season. They have Connor Ungar and Nathaniel Day under contract already, while Olivier Rodrigue will be a restricted free agent and seems likely to be retained. With that in mind, will the Oilers look to bring Jonsson over to North America and potentially play him in the ECHL or might they decide to leave him in Sweden and hope that he lands with an SHL team to continue his development closer to home? They’ll at least have a few months to determine the best course of action on that front.