The Calgary Hitmen struck gold with Swedish defenceman Axel Hurtig.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s their (and the Flames\u2019) hope that another Calgary prospect – big-bodied blueliner Jakob Leander – follows the same path.<\/p>\n
Leander, like Hurtig, was a seventh-round pick of the Flames and last month, the 2025 NHL draftee saw his name called by the Hitmen in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft.<\/p>\n
Hurtig\u2019s two seasons in Calgary culminated in a 2025-26 campaign that saw the former R\u00f6gle BK man earn both the Hitmen captaincy and his first NHL contract.<\/p>\n
For Leander, who\u2019s set to venture overseas after four seasons with his local side, HV71\u2019s junior programs, Hurtig\u2019s WHL journey offers a path forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a call with Axel at Christmas,\u201d Leander said during a quick conversation at Flames Development Camp earlier this month. \u201cHe chatted to me about what it\u2019s like to live in Canada compared to Sweden, and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leander loves the city, his second go-round at Calgary\u2019s summer camp offering an extra level of comfort he admits he didn\u2019t have in 2025. And the thought of starting his North American hockey journey in the Stampede City is – to say the least – exciting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m really excited to play in the WHL,\u201d Leander said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little rink compared to Sweden, where it\u2019s kind of bigger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it’s probably a much tougher game, and I think it’s going to fit me more.\u201d<\/p>\n
That toughness is something the 19-year-old product of J\u00f6nk\u00f6ping takes pride in. Leander says he\u2019s about seven kilos heavier than a year ago, his 6\u20194\u201d frame suited perfectly for a physical, shutdown role.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where he says he saw the most growth in his game compared to a season ago, a year he admits was challenging as HV71 finished ninth in the southern division of Sweden\u2019s U20 circuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a tough season, like as a team, but for me, I think I have developed my hits,\u201d Leander said, describing a seek-and-destroy attitude that saw him take out many an opposing forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s what I did well this season.\u201d<\/p>\n
And you can forgive Leander for letting his mind wander a bit. A year on from being drafted by the Flames, he\u2019ll be part of the Scotiabank Saddledome\u2019s farewell season as a Hitmen defender this winter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But each time he arrives at the rink, across the street at the Scotia Place construction site lies a vision of his NHL dream.<\/p>\n
Like Hurtig before him, Leander\u2019s hoping to be a fan favourite in Calgary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both now, and for years to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be really fun,\u201d he said of the upcoming campaign. \u201cI\u2019ve heard it’s a lot of fans attending the games.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited to play in front of them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Calgary Hitmen struck gold with Swedish defenceman Axel Hurtig. And it\u2019s their (and the Flames\u2019) hope that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":799563,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[49,2798,48],"class_list":["post-799562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-ca","tag-calgary","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=799562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/799563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=799562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=799562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=799562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}