On Tuesday afternoon, the Chicago Blackhawks announced they had signed defenseman Philip Holm to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2019–20 season. The deal is reportedly worth $700,000 at the NHL level and $300,000 at the AHL level with the Rockford IceHogs. Holm played last season with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL.
Blackhawks sign Holm for 2019–20 season
The Chicago Blackhawks’ depth at defenseman is a mish-mash of high-level prospects and mid-to-low-level NHL players. The addition of Holm seemingly only muddles the waters of the depth pool.
At 27 years old, Holm has bounced around Europe in his professional career with one stop in North America during the 2017–18 season. From 2011–2017, Holm played in the Swedish SHL and Allsvenskan leagues with Djurgårdens IF and Växjö Lakers HC. Skating in 197 SHL games and 90 Allsvenskan games, he tallied 61 points and finished the 2016–17 season with the SHL’s best plus-minus rating with Växjö.
Defenseman Philip Holm skates in an international game with Sweden. (Photograph courtesy of the IIHF)
Holm, who clocks in at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, was part of the 2017 Swedish World Championship squad that took home the gold medal. Following that, he made the jump to North America to play with the Vancouver Canucks. He skated in just one game in the NHL with Vancouver, playing the rest of the season with the Utica Comets in the AHL before being dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights and finishing the 2017–18 season with the Chicago Wolves. Holm’s 2017–18 AHL season totaled 63 games played with 38 points tallied.
Last season, Holm transitioned to the KHL in Russia, playing for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. In his only KHL season, Holm played in 61 regular season games with 29 points and seven KHL playoff games with five points, as his club was eliminated in the first round. Holm was named a KHL All Star last season.
The Blackhawks open training camp on Sunday, Sept. 15 at the United Center with their annual Training Camp Festival. Look for Holm to make his team debut then.