The Washington Capitals have loaned forward prospect Ludwig Persson to Finnish team IPK in the Mestis, the country’s second-tier professional league, for the 2023-24 season, per an announcement from the team.
Washington selected the 19-year-old Swede with the 85th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and signed him to an entry-level contract days later. This is the second straight season the Capitals have loaned Persson out to a European club to continue his development.
Persson spent last season on loan with BIK Karlskoga in the HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier pro league. His point totals didn’t jump off the page there, as he recorded four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 45 games, but Karlskoga finished in the middle of the pack in the 14-team league, and it’s rather difficult for a teenager to carve out much of a role for themselves in European pro hockey unless they have an elite trajectory. By moving him to a different environment, Washington hopes there will be more ice time for Persson with IPK and, hopefully, a more fruitful development season.
By loaning him out, Washington also defers the start of Persson’s entry-level contract for a second and final season. His three-year, $2.85MM deal will kick in with the 2024-25 season and run through 2026-27. He’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of the contract.
In their 2022 Draft Guide, Elite Prospects called out Persson’s hockey sense as the most noticeable aspect of his game, saying he “consistently displays an understanding of positioning and spacing on the ice and of how to open up gaps in the opposing coverage with his skating, especially off of the rush.” If he can carve out an NHL role, Persson projects as a bottom-six playmaking winger.
To create room on the roster, IPK mutually terminated the contract of 20-year-old undrafted defenseman Aapo Siivonen, who had signed on with them earlier this summer after completing his tenure in the Finnish junior circuit.