Canucks Sign Ronalds Ķēniņš, Who Has A Cool Name, Some Interesting Ties

We all know that the Vancouver Canucks find themselves in a cap bind, and therefore, are unable to bring in any players that would qualify as making a big splash. So with that in mind, it’s all about housekeeping these days; they re-signed restricted free agents Jordan Schroeder, Dale Weise, and Yann Sauve. They also brought in the likes of Colin Stuart and Gilbert Brule Zach Hamill, who will more than likely serve as depth players in Utica.

On Tuesday morning, they made another move that likely won’t do anything to whet the appetite of the fans: Latvian forward Ronalds Ķēniņš was signed, with the deal’s exact terms yet to be released.

Read on past the jump to get to know Ķēniņš a little better.

What do we know about Ķēniņš? Not that much, to be honest. I mostly just deceived you with that little tease above, in the hopes that you’d click the link and read ahead. If you’re reading this right now, then you’ve fallen into my trap.

He played in the Swiss-A league last season, for Zurich, which is interesting for a few reasons. This particular league was actually a relative hot spot during the NHL’s lockout, with a handful of guys you may have heard of (Dustin Brown, Damien Brunner, Michael Del Zotto, Logan Couture, Matt Duchene, Joe Thornton, Patrick Kane, and Tyler Seguin, to name a few) heading over to get some burn.

Last season, Zurich had themselves some Canucks ties. They were coached by Marc Crawford, with Ryan Shannon, Gilbert Brule, and Jeff Tambellini on the roster. Dustin Brown also played 16 games for them during the lockout.

As for Ķēniņš himself, he had 17 points in 45 games, with only 3 goals to his name. He has represented Latvia in the past at the World Juniors, and the World Championships, but I’m not necessarily sure that tells you anything really. There’s nothing particularly interesting to see here. He has a cool name, and some interesting connections from his past, but that’s about it.

Feel free to carry on with your day.