A report from Sport Bladet in Sweden has indicated that Rockford IceHogs forward Anton Wedin will not re-sign with the Blackhawks organization and has returned to the SHL (Swedish Hockey League) to play with HV71 for 2020-21.
Wedin signed with the Blackhawks May 11, 2019, after a breakout 2018-19 season in the SHL with Timrå IK. During that season he amassed 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists) in 39 total games. He was recruited by a number of NHL teams but his familiarization with Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton seems to have pushed his decision in Chicago’s favor.
Looks like Anton Wedin is following Jacob Nilsson back overseas #Blackhawks https://t.co/s8tQz4reZx
— Puckin’ Hostile (@PuckinHostile) May 3, 2020
With the Blackhawks, this season, he played only four games and had no points. Most of his injury-plagued season was spent with the IceHogs in Rockford, tallying 17 points (7 goals, 10 assists) in 31 games. His veteran leadership will be missed, but with several young forwards like Michal Teply, Andrei Altybarmakyan, and Evan Barratt turning pro the need for 27 year old AHL depth forward became less and less.
With the inevitable youth movement of the organization, there was probably little chance that Wedin was in their plans going forward. Players like defenseman Philip Holm and forward Jacob Nilsson already saw the writing on the wall and each made corresponding moves to Switzerland and SHL, respectively. Last summer, Victor Ejdsell decided to head back to the SHL, as well, with Färjestad BK.