Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Oliver Wahlstrom is headed to the Boston Bruins.
The Bruins claimed the 24-year-old right winger off NHL waivers from the New York Islanders on Saturday. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported the news, while Wahlstrom’s NHL.com player page now sports Bruins branding.
Wahlstrom grew up in Maine watching the Bruins and went to Boston College before the Islanders drafted him.
The Islanders placed Wahlstrom on waivers with left winger Pierre Engvall on Friday after Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech are expected to return to the lineup on Sunday. Engvall cleared and heads back to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, where he started the season.
Wahlstrom, the 11th pick of the 2018 NHL draft, had two goals and two assists for four points in 27 games with the Islanders this season. Last year, he had two goals and six points in 32 games, and his career-high 24 points in 73 games came in 2021-22.
Averaging a career-low 10:04 of ice time, Wahlstrom joins the Bruins, which lost 8-1 to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday and 5-1 to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
Tyler Johnson, 34, and 26-year-old Cole Koepke are their third- and fourth-line right wingers at the moment. Johnson has two assists in nine games, while Koepke has five goals and 10 points in 30 games. Where Wahlstrom slots in the lineup remains to be seen.
Remember Me?
Wahlstrom caught the hockey world’s attention as a nine-year-old in 2009 at TD Garden. Before a Bruins game, Wahlstrom was on the ice for a shootout contest, where he scooped up the puck Michigan-style, spun clockwise and whipped the puck past the goaltender for a highlight-reel goal.
Fifteen years later, he’s now with the Bruins for now on a one-year, $1-million contract. He’ll be a pending RFA after the season unless he and the Bruins sign a contract extension beforehand.
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