LATEST | Former second-round pick leaves North America after parts of five seasons
After parts of five seasons playing professionally in the American Hockey League, with a brief six game stop in the ECHL, former Montreal Canadiens prospect Josh Brook has decided to head to Europe.
On Friday, Rauman Lukko, a team in Finland's top division, Liiga, has signed Brook to a one-year contract for the 2023-24 season.
Note: the quotes in this story are translated from Finnish.
"I can't wait to play in front of Lukko supporters and of course to get to know the city. See you soon!" Brook said.
Meanwhile, Rauman Lukko Sports Director Kalle Sahlstedt is very much looking forward to Brook's arrival to the team and had nothing but good things to say about the 23-year-old defenceman.
"A player of good age and size for us. We get a third right from him in addition to Pak's Ervast and Stenqvist. It always gives opportunities when lefts and rights are balanced in the pack. Brook is a very strong promise: you have to remember that he is, after all, a reservation for the second round of the NHL. Injuries have slowed down the beginning of his career a bit and because of that the number of games has been small. However, if there had been no injuries and he would have been able to play normally, there would have been no chance of getting a player of his caliber to Europe. At the end of the year, Josh played in the Spengler Cup, where Grégoire also played.
Brook is a really interesting case, a versatile kit in both directions. In his short career, he played all roles: underpowered, overpowered, and so on. We believe that we will get a multi-purpose player from him, who can put the ice in any situation. In that sense, Josh is a bit of the same type of player as Niclas Almari. We have high expectations for him - I believe that the man will take steps forward for us. This player has great potential." Sahlstedt said.
Brook, a native of Roblin (Manitoba), was selected 56th overall by the Montreal Canadiens during the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He played parts of four seasons in the Canadiens' system before moving on to the AHL's Calgary Wranglers for the 2022-23 campaign.
In 13 games with the Wranglers this season, Brook had six points (one goal, five assists), ten penalty minutes and was a plus-ten. He also appeared in two games during the Calder Cup Playoffs, but failed to record any points.
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