Lias Andersson finding joy in hockey again in Sweden
A few weeks ago we reported that Lias Andersson had signed with his former team HV71. The 21-year old center, who wanted to move back to Sweden for personal reasons, feels comfortable with the team and teammates he was with 3 seasons ago. He was intially expected to make his season debut today, but he surprised everyone by being good to go before the international break in a a resounding victory over Växjö.
He was received with applause and cheers from the homecrowd who fondly remembers the young center from their championship year in 2017, where Lias was an integral part in the play offs. “He did well, I think. He jumped in and played a good game”, HV71 head coach Stephan Lundh told Hockeynews.se. Some guys said he was lifting the team because there is so much energy in the guy.
Andersson’s presence has a positive effect on the team fighting for a spot in this year’s SHL play offs. Currently in 6th in the standings, the team has added a good player for the final stretch, while the Rangers can see their prospect play meaningful minutes. This situation is a win-win short-term.
What the future holds for Lias Andersson remains to be seen, but for now he is contributing with his former team and any Ranger fan should be happy that he is at least back on the ice. Whether he will play for the Rangers again or not, this is a positive development for Jeff Gorton. Worst case scenario, Lias’ trade value goes up and with an off season where the Rangers will be quite busy, it wouldn’t hurt to have Lias as an asset to deal.
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