By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter @BlackAndGold277
This afternoon the National Hockey League Boston Bruins announced that the team has signed defenseman Kai Wissmann to a one-year, entry-level contract worth a reported NHL cap hit of $825,000. The 25-year-old German native is a 6′-4″ 207-pound blueliner who spent the last several seasons playing in the German DEL league. Last season with, Eisbaren Berlin Wissman appeared in 55 games and posted 4-16-20 numbers which was a career-high.
Wissmann has played eight years in the DEL, appearing in 285 games and posting 6-62-68 totals. Kai was also one of Germany’s better players in this year’s World Championships, where he contributed 2-5-7 numbers in eight tournament games. Black N’ Gold Productions friend Rob on Twitter (@IvanIvanIvan) has some interesting details below and a little bit of confusion about where he’ll play as he recently signed a new deal overseas.
This entry-level signing, to me, is another solid low, risk, high-reward deal to add to the depth of this Bruins organization’s backend. The 2022-23 Providence Bruins blue line is going to have some changes in the upcoming season. Who knows what will happen with defensemen Jack Ahcan and Nick Wolff, who are both restricted free agents and carry arbitration rights at the official end of this hockey year. The addition of Wissmann might be an insurance policy in case one or both Ahcan and Wolff depart the Boston organization for better NHL opportunities elsewhere.
I’m looking forward to learning more about this defenseman and watching his games in Providence next season. Kai seems like a mobile defenseman who can contribute with and without the puck, but it’s going to be interesting to see how he translates that game to the smaller North American professional sheets of ice. I also hope he’s invited to this year’s development camp held annually at the Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton, Massachusetts. If the Bruins can make the appropriate deals with Achan and Wolff to retain them for future looks, the Providence defense is already looking sharp.
Under entry-level contracts are blueliners Michael Callahan (LD), Victor Berglund (RD), and newly acquired Wissmann (RD). Providence Captain and former Calder Cup Champion Josiah Didier is signed to lead the way next season along with other veterans that are signed in free agency over the off-season. Veteran defenseman Kodie Curran is rumored to be heading overseas, and steady bulldog Aaron Ness remains unsigned after free agency on July 13, 2022. Things can change as the dog days of summer continue as we count down the days as Boston Bruins fans to the early days of this October.
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