Winger prospect won Swedish rookie of the year last season
The Penguins took care of another piece of business on Friday, signing 19-year old Swedish prospect Melvin Fernstrom to a standard three-year entry level contract.
The Penguins have signed forward Melvin Fernstrom to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Details: https://t.co/zrVQJj4TRj pic.twitter.com/W4GgPPFyvy
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 13, 2025
From the team:
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Melvin Fernstrom to a three-year, entry-level contract, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas.
Fernstrom, 19, split the 2024-25 season with Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League, the top professional league in Sweden, and their J20 Nationell team. In 48 games with the SHL team, the 2025 SHL Rookie of the Year scored eight goals, nine assists and 17 points, all of which ranked first among league rookies. Meanwhile, in 12 games with their J20 Nationell team, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound forward scored 11 goals, seven assists and 18 points.
Over the course of two years from 2023-25, the Balsta, Sweden native appeared in 54 SHL games with Örebro HK, tallying 17 points (8G-9A). Additionally, over three years from 2022-25, Fernstrom suited up in 66 games with the J20 Nationell team, scoring 42 goals, 40 assists, 82 points and was a plus-33. Fernstrom appeared in 13 playoff games with the J20 Nationell team, scoring eight goals, nine assists and 17 points. His best season with the J20 Nationell team came during the 2023-24 season, when his 31 goals led the league and helped his team secure a silver medal in the league championship.
Fernstrom has represented his native country on the international stage as well. The forward earned a bronze medal with Sweden at the 2024 World Under-18 Championship, recording eight points (3G-5A) in seven games. He also participated in the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, registering five points (3G-2A) in four games.
Fernstrom was originally selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the third round (93rd overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft. The Penguins acquired the forward from the Canucks on January 31.
Kyle Dubas talked about the SHL rookie of the year a bit in May.
Melvin Fernstrom wins Rookie of the Year in the Swedish Hockey League. The 19-year-old had 17 points in 48 games, including 11 in the last 19.
Pittsburgh acquired the forward from Vancouver in the Marcus Pettersson/Drew O’Connor trade. This is what Kyle Dubas said at the time ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/bZENaivYui
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) May 18, 2025
He’s not mistaken about being an offensive-minded scoring winger. Fernstrom has a wicked shot.
Given Fernstrom’s young age (19), he can still be assigned back to Sweden for 2025-26 and have the start of his entry level contract slide up a season and not begin until 2026-27. That might be the smart play considering Fernstrom still spent time in the Swedish junior league last season and could use a little more seasoning and experience before he will be ready to make a move towards competing for an NHL roster spot.
Fernstrom’s future development will go a long way towards being a sneaky key in determining how well the trade he was involved in pans out from the Pittsburgh perspective. The Pens sent Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor — both impending free agents — to Vancouver for a New York Rangers first round pick and Fernstrom. (Plus Danton Heinen and Vincent Desharnais, the latter two veterans included to offset salary). The Cancuks have re-signed both Pettersson and O’Connor to multi-year contracts. Now the Pens will shift into development mode to try and make something of their futures-based return.