- Hudson Fasching signed a one-year deal with SHL champion Skellefteå AIK
- The 31-year-old winger is leaving North America for the first time in a 10-year pro career
- Read below for what Fasching and Skellefteå’s GM said about the move
Hudson Fasching is leaving North America for the first time.
The 31-year-old winger signed a one-year contract with Skellefteå AIK, the reigning Swedish champion. He spent all of last season with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, and the SHL will be the first stop outside North America in a 10-year pro career.
Fasching spoke about the jump in the club’s release:
“I’m really excited to join the team in Skellefteå. I’ve heard a lot of good things about both the squad and the club, and I’m really looking forward to getting started.”
Here’s Skellefteå announcing him from the arena during the team’s first skate:
Sweden is a family decision as much as a hockey one. “My family and I are really looking forward to coming to Sweden and Skellefteå. It feels like an exciting next step for us, both on and off the ice,” he said.
General manager Erik Forssell explained what the club likes about the fit.
“Hudson is a good player with a lot of experience from hockey life in North America who will now play his first season in Europe. In North America he has tried a lot of different roles on his teams, which makes him versatile here.”
Los Angeles drafted Fasching and then flipped him to Buffalo in 2014, a deal that sent Brayden McNabb, Jonathan Parker and two second-round picks the other way. He wound up playing 185 NHL games across stops with the Sabres, Coyotes and Islanders.
His best run came on Long Island in 2022-23, when he put up 10 goals and 19 points in 49 games. Production fell off after that, and the Islanders let him hit the market in 2025.
Cleveland handed him an assistant captaincy last season and he answered with 18 points in 65 games, plus seven more in nine playoff games.
Skellefteå won the SM-gold in the spring and still has former NHL forwards Oscar Lindberg and Pär Lindholm in the room. Hurricanes prospects Viggo Nordlund and Oskar Vuollet are in the lineup too.
Take a look at the party Fasching is signing up to chase:
Julien Gauthier made a similar jump to Brynäs last month, and the SHL keeps pulling NHL fringe forwards across the Atlantic every summer.
There is already a target attached to the year.
“I’m looking forward to meeting the team and getting to know my new teammates. Hopefully I can contribute experience, hard work, and aim for a new gold along with the team.”
