Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE
After a stellar rookie campaign, Philadelphia Flyers RW Matt Read was ready to prove that his first season in the NHLwas no fluke. However, with the NHL lockout full in effect, Read decided to look for work overseas. According to a press release from their website, the 26 year old has signed with Södertälje SK of HockeyAllsvenskan, a 2nd division Swedish hockey team. The Google translation of the story said this:
SK strengthen the squad further. Today we are happy to announce that Philadelphia player Matt Read will play for the CCF during the ongoing lockout.
Matt Read that this past season was his first year in the NHL stood for fine 47 (24 +23) points, which placed him in seventh place in the Philadelphia Flyers internal Scoring leaders and fourth best scorer overall among rookies in the NHL.
Over the years, the College played friends Matt Read and Emil Billberg all four years at the same college. Read arrive in Södertälje in the coming week.
Södertälje was founded in 1902, but started playing in 1925. When the Elisterien was first founded in 1975, Södertälje was one of the league’s original clubs. The team had recently spent time in Sweden’s top tier from 2007-2011, but a poor season last year relegated them to HockeyAllsvenkan. Joining Read in Sweden will be Carl Hagelin of the New York Rangers, who signed with the team just yesterday. Read’s former teammate at Bemidji State College, Emil Billberg, has been with the team since 2011, and has played a total of 55 games for the club.
With Read signing overseas, the Flyers now have a total of five players overseas, Ilya Bryzgalov, Wayne Simmonds, Ruslan Fedetonko, Jakub Voracek, and now Read.
However, there could be more. According to Flyers writer Bill Meltzer, Nicklas Grossmann has been tied to Read’s new team. Grossmann got his start with Södertälje from 2003-2005, before joining the Dallas Stars system.
Jake Pavorsky is a contributor for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JakePavorsky.
