The transfer of American striker Kenny Agostino from the KHL to Skellefteå caused a lot of discussion in Sweden. Local media describe the signing as “controversial” and club CEO Eric Forssell had to explain on two occasions why he did not follow through on his own decision not to sign players playing in the KHL after the dispute broke out. in Ukraine.
Agostino spent the last two seasons with Torpedo, signing his last KHL contract in December 2021.
Skelleftea isn’t the only club with a ban on KHL players:
Three Swedish clubs have imposed a lifetime ban from the game on those who were in the KHL after the start of the NWO
“We know what happened last summer. I couldn’t break the contract.”
“At the annual meeting in June, Skelleftea decided that no player who signed a contract in the KHL after February 24, 2022 will represent the club. Since Agostino played in the KHL last season, the process before signing the contract was different than usual,” the club said in a statement.
“The main condition is the moment of signing the contract. We knew that a year ago he wanted to break the contract and look for a new club, but when this did not happen, we had a dialogue about this situation with Kenny and his agent. After all, we understand his situation. There are explanations as to why he stayed in the KHL last year,” Forssell explained.
“A flurry of criticism hit Skellefteo,” writes Hockey Sverige. The club’s management had to give more explanations to the press about their decision.
“Since we follow the rules established by us, it doesn’t matter if we are first, second or third (who signed the player from the KHL. – Championship note). We try to keep our promises. Yes, the conflict in Ukraine is sad, but we believe that we follow our own rules, ”he told Norran Petter Mikaelsson, the club’s president.
“Yes, we are aware that we have become the first Swedish club to sign a KHL player after the conflict started. We discussed this and decided not to sign players who signed KHL deals after February 24. We will abide by this decision. Kenny extended his contract in December 2021 and we know that he has tried to get rid of this contract, but was unsuccessful. We carried out a thorough investigation, interviewing people who could confirm it. We know what happened last summer. He couldn’t terminate the contract because the club didn’t want to let him go.
How do you personally feel about the fact that you played in Russia after the start of the conflict? He himself must answer such questions, so it will be for the best. Otherwise it will turn out that I attribute some words to it.
What could be the reaction of the fans? At the annual meeting, we understood that the players who signed contracts in the KHL after the conflict began, made their choice. But, as we believe, players who already had contracts could find themselves in a difficult situation. Everyone at the annual meeting agreed with this,” Forssell told Expressen.
The head of the Skellefteo supporters club, Jonas Marklund, was quite faithful to this transition: “I think that everyone would prefer a non-KHL player if they had the right to choose. But I think the club took the situation seriously and the player did everything possible to break the contract.”
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The local media, on the contrary, express their dissatisfaction with the signing.
“The player market is scarce. And Skellefteo signs a top striker from the KHL. Dates here, contract extensions there. But the aftertaste is still unpleasant, ”writes Hockey Sverige.
“I had a better opinion of Skellefteo,” writes Aftonbladet author Hans Abrahamsson.
“I’m surprised this is Skellefteo. Isn’t he running too much risk of tarnishing the excellent reputation of a 31-year-old American from the KHL, who had a rather weak season? Skellefteå was an example in Swedish ice hockey. Partly because of his leadership position, but also because he had the right values. So I’m surprised they chose this path.
We will never know if Agostino went out of his way to break his KHL contract. Or how many millions it would cost. But I can tell that Skellefteo is putting his reputation on the line with this signing.
The question is whether other clubs will start signing KHL players. Hardly. I am not looking forward to the transfer of new players who made money in the KHL last year, ”says Expressen author Sunny Lindström.
“Agostino tried to stay in the KHL”:
Agent Agostino: Kenny in thought, Barys lost interest
In the spring and summer, Agostino’s agent said that the player would like to stay in the KHL, interest was reported from first Barys, then Neftekhimik and other teams. However, now Kenny himself presents the situation in another way: “It was a difficult situation, he was extremely uncomfortable. Of course, I wanted to leave the club, but they rejected me. Everything in our power has been done on my part. It was impossible to break the contract, so I had to work it out, ”he said in an interview with Norran.
