Victoria, BC ~ the Victoria Grizzlies announced on Wednesday afternoon that they have signed 20 year old Swedish Defenseman; Oscar Pantzare for the 2024-25 season.
Pantzare lead the Swedish U20 league in goals by a defenseman last year with 17 and comes to Victoria with high hopes as Victoria continues to announce moves to bolster their defense.
“He is another experienced d-man,” said Geoff Grimwood Grizzlies Director of Player Personnel, “He comes from a top program in Sweden in Frolunda and he is a good two way player with great hockey sense. We expect leadership and the ability to log a lot of minutes for us.”
He certainly does come from a high program, as Frolunda is consistently seen as the top European program for hockey development. Last season Oscar wore the “A” and lead all team defenseman in scoring with 25 points. What is most impressive about that however is that that Frolunda team that Pantzare lead had seven NHL draft picks play games for it.
Victoria announced yesterday that they have traded for Brady Smith from the Trail Smoke Eaters. The University of Connecticut commit is expect the join the Grizzlies immediately.
