Seattle Kraken president and general manager Ron Francis announced Wednesday that the club has agreed to terms with goaltender Victor Östman on a two-year, entry-level contract. The contract will have an average annual value (AAV) of $950,000 beginning in the 2024-25 season.
Östman spent the 2023-24 season with the University of Maine in the NCAA where he compiled a 13-6-1 record, a 2.80 goals against average and a .892 save percentage in 21 games. The 23-year-old spent four years at Maine where he put together a career 35-38-7 record 2.82 goals against average and a .905 save percentage through 86 games. During the 2022-23 campaign, Östman earned NCAA Hockey East Second All-Star Team and NCAA New England D1 All-Stars honors, he was also a finalist for the Mike Richter Award.
Prior to his NCAA tenure, the Swedish netminder spent one season with the Chicago Steel in the United States Hockey League (USHL) and put together a 25-4-0 record a 2.30 goals against average and a .913 save percentage in 30 games. During the 2017-18 season, Östman captured the J20 SM Gold Medal with HV71 J20.
Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis had this to say about Östman in his Top 10 NCAA UFAs to watch article last month, “Östman has become a fan favorite in Maine over the past few years, especially after registering five shutouts as a junior a year ago,” Ellis said. “His numbers have fallen a bit this season, but he’s 6-foot-4 and doesn’t have any glaring technical deficiencies in his game. If you give him a fresh start with a defensively responsible team, I can see Ostman putting in a few good years in the AHL before earning some backup gigs down the line.”
More must-reads: