The Coquitlam Express have their second European player.
Dan Harkimo, of Sipoo, Finland, will join the team at training camp in September, the junior 'A' hockey club announced on Monday (July 17).
The 19-year-old forward is not unfamiliar with North American hockey though; he's spent the last three seasons playing at the South Kent School hockey academy, a top prep school program in Connecticut.
Harkimo scored 55 points in 37 games for the school's under-16 team in his first year there, and amassed 96 more points in 119 games over two seasons with South Kent's under-18 squad.
Prior to taking his game to the United States, Harkimo was part of the youth hockey program at Jokerit, a top professional team in Helsinki that’s owned by his father, Harry, a Finnish businessman, parliamentarian and candidate for his Movement Now party in the country's 2024 presidential election.
Express general manager Tali Campbell said Harkimo's 6'2", 190-pound stature makes him a "dominant presence" at both ends of the ice.
"His talent and skill will undoubtedly make an impact on our team's performance," Campbell said in a news release.
"We see him as a power forward with an incredible shot."
Harkimo's signing fills the complement of roster spots BC Hockey League (BCHL) teams are now allowed for non-North American players after it broke away from Hockey Canada to become an independent entity on June 1.
Later that month, the Express signed Kasper Walther-Sneve, a 19-year-old forward from Oslo, Norway.
