The Blackhawks brought a pair of prospects into the fold by signing forward Tim Söderlund and Mikael Hakkarainen to three-year entry-level contracts Monday. The deals, which start in the fall and run through the 2021-22 season, include maximum annual cap hits of $925,000 for each player.
Söderlund and Hakkarainen were mid-round picks by the Blackhawks in recent years.
The Hawks selected Söderlund, an undersized but shifty winger out of Sweden, with their fourth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. The 21-year-old made two appearances with Team Sweden at the World Junior Championships in 2017-18 and spent the previous three seasons playing for Skellefteå AIK and Frölunda HC in Sweden’s top league.
Last season, the 5-foot-9, 163-pound forward recorded a combined six goals and eight assists in 48 games.
Hakkarainen, 21, was the Blackhawks’ fifth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. He opened the 2018-19 season with Providence College but left after just one game to return to the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks. In his third USHL season, the 6-foot, 183-pound center recorded 19 goals and 28 assists in 42 games.
It wouldn’t be surprising if both Söderlund and Hakkarainen start the upcoming season with Rockford in the AHL. According to Cap Friendly, other young forwards under contract for 2019-20 include Jacob Nilsson, Brandon Hagel, MacKenzie Entwistle, Matthew Highmore, Alexandre Fortin, Phillipp Kurashev, Reese Johnson, Nathan Noel and Graham Knott.
