SAN JOSE, CA - The
San Jose Sharks (
@SanJoseSharks) general manager Doug Wilson announced today that the club has signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Tony Sund to a one-year contract.
"Tony is a big, smooth-skating defenseman who uses a strong stick to take away passing lanes and to close plays quickly. He has tremendous vision that made him one of the top passers and playmakers from the back-end we saw this season," said Wilson. "He has stepped his game up each of the past few years and really took a leap forward offensively this season. We really like the upside here with Tony, and think that his time spent with the Finnish National team over the past month will only help him grow his game."
Sund, 23, registered a career-high in points (35), goals (8), assists (27) and games played (60) to go along with a plus-three rating with
Sport Vaasa of the
Finnish Elite League during the 2018-19 season. He ranked first on the team in games played, tied for third in assists, fifth in points and 10th in goals, while finishing first among all team defensemen in those categories. Sund's 27 assists were fourth among all league blueliners and he was tied for fourth in points.
Over his Finnish Elite League career, Sund has appeared in 113 games collecting 44 points (10 goals, 34 assists) and a plus-seven rating. Prior to his time with Sport, Sund played for its junior team and recorded five goals and 19 assists in 64 games. The defenseman is representing his native Finland internationally for the first time, having spent the last month with Finland's National team.
The six-foot-three, 195-pound blueliner is a native of Pedersore, Finland.