On Friday October 2nd, the Kansas City Mavericks agreed to a deal with American forward Rob Bordson. Bordson has played pro hockey all over the world and he spent last season in both Sweden and Finland. His last professional games in North America came in 2015-16, spending time in the ECHL and the AHL.
Last season, Bordson scored 10 goals along with 24 assists for 34 point. He did so in 38 games for Västerviks IK in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan league. He also skated in 10 games for HPK in Finland’s top league.
While there, the veteran recorded four points. With just under 400 AHL games under his belt, the Bordson, 32-years-old, will bring lots of experience and leadership to Kansas City’s roster.
Bordson is a team first guy, an excellent passer with good size and strength and a solid two-way game. Bordson will be the oldest player on the Maverick’s roster by four years, so there is going to be the expectation that he should be a leader for the Mavericks hockey club. As such, I think he will meet that expectation and more. Bordson is another exciting addition to a revamped roster for Kansas City.
Moving onto Dylan Malmquist, who the Mavericks signed on October 7th. Malmquist spent four seasons playing for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish of the NCAA. This past season, he spent his first as a pro with the Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL.
In his senior year with Notre Dame, Malmquist recorded 10 goals along with 20 assists for a total of 30 points. He did so in 40 games games. In 150 games collectively, Malmquist recorded 40 goals along with 51 assists for 91 points. Last season, as a rookie in England, Malmquist recorded eight goals along with 19 assists for 27 points. He did so in 45 games.
Unlike Bordson, Malmquist is still pretty young, currently 24-years-old. The left-winger has a great shot and his playmaking has improved tremendously over the past two years. He’s also got pretty good hands, so Malmquist has all the tools needed in order to be an explosive offensive player.