After finishing the regular season with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL, the franchise revealed on Friday morning that Axel Bergkvist has signed in Sweden.
Checking in on Friday morning with Sean Furfaro from Insjön, Sweden, Bergkvist confirmed that he’s signed a pro contract in Division II hockey with BIK Karlskoga. This comes after just one season on the ice with the Rangers in southeastern Ontario.
Prior to arriving in Canada, Bergkvist played for Leksands IF in the Allsvenskan Swedish League who he’ll face come next season. Bergkvist, 20-years-old, is a seventh-round draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes.
Bergkvist, a left-handed shooter, joined the Kitchener Rangers back in 2019, just five months after having been selected 95th overall in the CHL Import Draft. Looking at the numbers he amassed, the Allsvenskan veteran played in 62 games, scoring just nine goals along with 43 assists. Adding on 23 penalty minutes, Bergkvist, a slick-skating defensemen, compiled a total of 52 points.
This of course came after trailing while patrolling the blue-line with a star-studded lineup. This included Michael Vukojevic, Ville Ottavainen and Donovan Sebrango. As mentioned by Josh Brown of the Waterloo Region Record, Bergkvist started slowly in Kitchener, however, would later find his groove with the Rangers.
Helping Kitchener push for a playoff spot, Bergkvist was later recognized as one of the hockey club’s most valuable defensemen. Offensive minded when it was needed, Bergkvist was a driving force as the Rangers would later finish third in their conference.
Capable of finding the crossbar, Bergkvist, at the end of the season, was named as recipient of the Bob ‘Snowy’ Schlieman Award. As per the Kitchener Rangers, Axel became the first Rangers defensemen to record at least 40 assists and 50 points in a season since Ryan Murphy in 2011-2012.
Speaking of the trust he instilled in Bergkvist, Mike McKenzie later said in a statement, “Axel has shown he can provide offence from the back end and has been a key part of our power-play all season. His shooting and passing ability have helped him lead our defence in scoring this year.”
While Bergkvist was a key player on the ice, he was also a team leader off the ice. Because of that, he was also named as this year’s recipient of the Blueline Club Award. This award is handed out in recognition of the Most Gentlemanly Player.
As cited by the Kitchener Rangers, Axel’s maturity, leadership, and hard-working nature were on full display this season; not only by appearing in 62/63 games but also being heavily involved in team events and appearances.
Speaking of Bergkvist’s mannerisms back in April when the honour was given, general manager Mike McKenzie said, “While managing to still play hard and produce, Axel has found a way to do it while also being a gentlemen on and off the ice.”
Amid the successes he had, this also included a run to the postseason, but due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, the playoffs were cancelled by the league as a precaution. When speaking on the Rangers’ potential and the chemistry formed so smoothly in Kitchener, Bergkvist said of the possibilities, “For sure. Of course. We had something great going on there I think. Like you said, we came together as a group and there’s a special feeling in the locker room when you just know that this is a special team and you can do something good, so yeah, it’s more disappointing when you have had a good chance to go far in the playoffs, so that shook all of us a little extra.”
While his tenure in Kitchener was short, Bergkvist is grateful for the time he was given. Speaking with Furfaro on Friday, Bergkvist said of his one season in Canada, “Yup, well this has been for sure my biggest and most fun year in my life so far, both on and off the ice. I’ve learned a ton of new things, like I said, both on and off the ice, I had so much during this year, so it was just awesome. Coming to a whole new country, that was the first big thing. Learn your culture and the culture of the Kitchener Rangers too, learn the league, get to my know my teammates, the staff, the opponents, all that, so everything was new for me, but I’ve learned a lot. I got so many good experiences from the past year, so it’s been great.”