Former Vancouver Canucks Forward Finds New Home, Signing Contract Overseas
Photo credit: Sportsnet
A former Vancouver Canucks forward is staying overseas in Europe for at least another season and has found a new home for the 2025-26 campaign.
For the most part, the offseason is in full swing across North America and Europe and teams are beginning to prepare their rosters for the 2025-26 season by signing free agents.
While teams in the National Hockey League aren't able to sign free agents in North America until July 1st, we've seen a handful of former Vancouver Canucks head overseas including Mark Friedman, who inked a multi-year deal with Rogle BK in Sweden.
Former Vancouver Canucks forward finds new home in Europe
In the summer of 2023, former Vancouver Canucks forward Jayce Hawryluk decided it was time for a change and he headed to Europe for the second time in his career, this time though he signed in the Czech Extraliga with Liberec.
After two seasons in Europe, which included time in Slovakia and Switzerland for the 2024-25 campaign, many were wondering if the 29-year-old was going to return to North America for potentially an AHL opportunity or an NHL PTO this fall, but that won't be the case, at least not this year.
In a press release on their official team website on Friday, Slovak Extraliga club HKM Zvolen announced that they've agreed to terms on a one-year contract for the 2025-26 season with Jayce Hawryluk.
HKM Zvolen Team Manager Patrik Ryba commented on the signing yesterday, saying that the club is excited to bring Hawryluk aboard and believes he can be effective offensively at both 5-on-5 and on the power play.
Note: the following is translated from Slovak.
"Jayce is a player we already know well from our rinks. He is a hockey player who can play on the wing and as a center. He is extremely creative and extremely creative. Of course, he can be used both in the five-on-five game and in power plays, while he has a quality shot and can finish well when necessary. He is a complex offensive player who, in my opinion, should be among the best players not only on our team, but also in the entire competition. He is also a former teammate of Tanner Kaspick from the junior WHL, where they won the championship title together, and the two of them know each other very well." Ryba said.
"Jayce is a player we already know well from our rinks. He is a hockey player who can play on the wing and as a center. He is extremely creative and extremely creative. Of course, he can be used both in the five-on-five game and in power plays, while he has a quality shot and can finish well when necessary. He is a complex offensive player who, in my opinion, should be among the best players not only on our team, but also in the entire competition. He is also a former teammate of Tanner Kaspick from the junior WHL, where they won the championship title together, and the two of them know each other very well." Ryba said.
Hawryluk, a native of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, was signed by the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent in 2020 and appeared in 30 games for them during the Covid-shortened 2021 campaign, registering five points (two goals, three assists), nine penalty minutes and was a minus-seven.
The 2021 season marked Hawryluk's last appearance in the National Hockey League as he headed to Sweden for the following year, followed by the 2022-23 campaign in the American Hockey League for Belleville and Utica.
We'll have to wait and see what the future holds for Jayce Hawryluk, but a return to North America for the 2026-27 season can't be ruled out at this point.
Source: HKM Zvolen
Another offensive reinforcement is Jayce Hawryluk
Another offensive reinforcement is Jayce Hawryluk
| POLL | ||
JUIN 7 | 1308 ANSWERS Former Vancouver Canucks Forward Finds New Home, Signing Contract Overseas Do you think Jayce Hawryluk will return to North America following the 2025-26 season? | ||
| Yes | 296 | 22.6 % |
| No | 1012 | 77.4 % |
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