Penguins prospect Kasper Bjorkqvist loaned to KooKoo in Finland
Penguins forward prospect Kasper Bjorkqvist has been loaned for the 2020-21 season to KooKoo of Finland’s Liiga.
According to a release from KooKoo (translated from Finnish), the agreement will be a “year-long loan.”
#KooKoo #Liiga #yksijoukkue #montatarinaa #Kouvola pic.twitter.com/VJ25Y5TI9B
— Kouvolan KooKoo (@KouvolanKooKoo) August 24, 2020
A second-round pick (No. 61 overall) of the Penguins in 2016, the Finnish-born Bjorkqvist spent three seasons with Providence College before turning professional and debuting with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2019-20.
Bjorkqvist’s first professional season did not go as hoped as he suffered a knee injury in October and was limited to six games and one goal.
The 6-foot-1, 198-pound Bjorkqvist, 21, is entering the second year of a two-year entry-level contract he signed in May of 2019.
He is the second Penguins prospect to be loaned to a European team. Forward Radim Zahorna was loaned to BK Mlada Boleslav in his native Czech Republic earlier this month.
With the AHL and ECHL seasons not slated to open before Dec. 4 because of the coronavirus pandemic, several NHL teams have loaned their European prospects to teams on that continent.
The Liiga, Finland’s top league, is already playing preseason games for the 2020-21 campaign. KooKoo’s next game is scheduled for Friday against HPK.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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