Blue Jackets assign three players to Monsters
Oct 11, 2021The Cleveland Monsters announced Monday that the Blue Jackets assigned forward Kevin Stenlund and defensemen Gabriel Carlsson and Mikko Lehtonen to the Monsters.
A 6’4”, 209 lb. right-shooting native of Stockholm, Sweden, Stenlund, 25, was selected by Columbus in the second round (58th overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. In 68 NHL appearances for the Blue Jackets spanning parts of three seasons from 2018-21, Stenlund posted 11-9-20 with 20 penalty minutes and a -2 rating. In 99 AHL appearances for Cleveland spanning parts of three seasons from 2017-20, Stenlund supplied 21-24-45 with 40 penalty minutes and a -29 rating. Stenlund also registered 22-23-45 with 66 penalty minutes and a +4 rating in 151 SHL appearances for HV71 spanning parts of four seasons from 2014-18, helping the club claim the 2016-17 SHL Championship.
A 6’5”, 192 lb. left-shooting native of Orebro, Sweden, Carlsson, 24, was selected by the Blue Jackets in the first round (29th overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. In 37 NHL appearances for Columbus spanning parts of five seasons from 2016-21, Carlsson contributed 1-6-7 with 12 penalty minutes and a -10 rating. Carlsson added 6-24-30 with 44 penalty minutes and a +13 rating in 144 AHL appearances for the Monsters spanning parts of four seasons from 2016-20. In 92 SHL appearances for Linkoping HC spanning three seasons from 2014-17, Carlsson posted 3-12-15 with eight penalty minutes and a +15 rating. Internationally, Carlsson represented Sweden at the 2015-16 and 2016-17 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships.
A 6’0”, 196 lb. left-shooting native of Turku, Finland, Lehtonen, 27, posted 0-6-6 with eight penalty minutes and a -2 rating in 26 NHL appearances for Columbus and the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2020-21. In 77 KHL appearances for Jokerit spanning parts of two seasons from 2019-21, Lehtonen registered 25-41-66 with 26 penalty minutes and a +30 rating and participated in the 2019-20 KHL All-Star Game. Lehtonen supplied 5-19-24 with 30 penalty minutes and a +9 rating in 61 SHL appearances for HV71 during the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons, helping the team win the 2016-17 SHL title. In 220 Liiga appearances for TPS, KooKoo, and Tappara spanning parts of six seasons from 2011-13 and 2014-18, Lehtonen supplied 30-49-79 with 72 penalty minutes and a -28 rating and helped Tappara claim the 2017-18 Liiga Silver Medal. Internationally, Lehtonen helped Finland claim Gold Medal honors at the 2013-14 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship and the 2018-19 IIHF World Championship. Lehtonen also represented his country at the 2016-17 IIHF World Championship and the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
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