ROMFORD, UK – With a week to go before they finally start their season, Romford Raiders have completed their squad with the signing if Swedish defenceman Pierre Wilhelmsson.
The 6ft tall 25 year-old played his junior hockey with IFK Falkoping in his native Sweden. After progressing into senior hockey he moved to France, where he spent a season with Cholet and a season with Nice in the French third division.
For the past three seasons he has been playing in the Swedish second division with HC Lidkoping and Skara IK. In 57 games he registered two goals and 16 assists.
A Romford spokesman said: “We think Pierre will do a great job for us. We’ve generally accepted that the ENL will produce goals so having a strong defence will be key. We think our British D is as good as any in this league and Pierre will give us even more quality on the blueline. He had a great grounding in the Swedish Junior Elite as well as senior experience in his home country and two seasons in France.
“He’s a smooth skater who’s strong on the puck and his distribution is excellent. Off the ice, he’s fitted in perfectly in the dressing room and he speaks English better than most of his team mates.”
Wilhelmsson is the second Romford import to be announced this week, following the addition of Algimantas Visockas.
The Raiders will finally open their campaign against Bristol Pitbulls on September 19th at Rom Valley Way, after their first three fixtures of the season were rearranged.
The Romford spokesman added: “It’s been a long time coming but the squad couldn’t be more ready for competitive hockey and we intend to start the season with a bang. After all the shenanigans of the last couple of weeks, Danny and his team are just bursting to play and next Sunday can’t come round quickly enough.”
Contact the author dave.lambert@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.