Jonathan Dahlén returns to SHL

A few months after being traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Linus Karlsson, former top prospect Jonathan Dahlén is heading back to Sweden.

The 21-year-old Dahlén, who was originally acquired from the Ottawa Senators in the Alex Burrows trade, struggled to find his footing in North America. After being selected 42nd overall in the 2016 draft by the Sens, Dahlén put up 44 points in 45 games in the SHL. He played his 2017-18 season in the SHL again before coming over to North America for the 2018-19 season. Dahlén would score just 29 points in 50 games for the Utica Comets.

The Canucks moved on from Dahlén at this year’s trade deadline, sending him to San Jose in the aforementioned swap that netted them Linus Karlsson. While Dahlén appeared to have major upside when he was acquired by the Canucks a couple of years ago, things didn’t work out, so it was good work by Jim Benning to manage to swap him for another younger prospect before he ultimately returned to play in Sweden.