Report: Maple Leafs to sign Swedish defenceman Philip Holm?

A report out of Sweden suggests that 25-year-old Swedish defenceman Philip Holm is “rumoured” to be signing with the Maple Leafs after the World Championships.

The language is different than the reports about the expected Calle Rosen signing in that Aftonbladet.se describes it as a rumour. A source in Sweden had not heard of the report as of Thursday morning.

In his sit down with Darren Dreger on Monday, Mike Babcock indicated that the Maple Leafs will be announcing more than one signing out of Europe in the coming weeks.

Turning 26 in December, Holm finished at the top of the SHL in plus/minus at +24 while playing alongside another soon-to-be Leaf (according to reports out of Sweden), Calle Rosen, for Vaxjo HC. The pairing — both left-handed shots, but Rosen played the right — was viewed as one of the most reliable defence partnerships in the league on the best regular season team in the SHL.

Holm’s numbers took a significant jump with Vaxjo this season, recording 21 points in 52 games. The rearguard posted just seven points in 43 games the season previous in Djurgårdens, where he spent the first five years of his professional career, the first two of which were in the Allsvenskan (Sweden’s second highest division). Holm’s 21 points ranked him ninth in the SHL in 2016-17 defence scoring.

A 6’1, 196-pound lefthanded shot, Holm is described in this HockeySverige.se article as a mobile defenceman who is tough to play against. In comparison to Rosen, Uffe Bodin described Holm as, “more of a defensive type of defenceman, but very mobile. He’s got some grit to his game and is solid in his own end.”

Holm is currently competing at the World Championships, where he is expected to appear in his first game of the tournament against Team Latvia this afternoon (2:15 p.m. EST).

Philip Holm Statistics