Sports

Former Bruins Big Forward Signs Overseas After Penguins Stint

Nairavoice · Jun 9, 2026 · 1 min read

A former Boston Bruins prospect is continuing his professional career overseas.

Lulea HF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) has announced that they have signed former Bruins forward Joona Koppanen for the 2026-27 season.

Koppanen heading overseas comes after he spent each of the last three seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. The 6-foot-5 forward played in 28 games for Pittsburgh over that span, where he recorded one goal, one assist, and 54 hits. In 13 games this season with Pittsburgh, the former Bruins forward had one assist.

Koppanen spent most of the last three seasons in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, however. Due to this, it is understandable that the former Bruin is now heading home to play in Sweden.

Koppanen was selected by the Bruins with the 135th overall pick of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. In five games with Boston during the 2022-23 season, he recorded one assist, four penalty minutes, and eight hits. He also played in six seasons for the Providence Bruins, where he posted 39 goals and 93 points in 245 games.

It will now be interesting to see how much of an impact Koppanen can make with Lulea HF from here.