Swedish blue liner Calle Ackered has signed a new 2-year deal with Guildford Flames, following his standout performance last season.

The 27-year-old led all defenceman in goals (20) and was third in defensive scoring, behind teammate Jesse Craige and Cardiff’s Andrew Hotham, after registering 60 points in 56 Elite League games for the Surrey side.

The Stockholm native added a further two goals and seven points in eight Challenge Cup appearances, also picking up three assists during Guildford PredictorBet Playoff Quarter-Final loss to Sheffield.

“I’m very happy and excited to come back to play for Guildford again,” Ackered said. “It is a great opportunity to play in front of the amazing fans and build on the season we had last year, and hopefully take it to next level.

The 2017/18 campaign was Ackered’s first season outside of Sweden, with Flames Head Coach Paul Dixon believing there is more to come from the former Djurgårdens junior:

“Calle had an unbelievable season, and was a highly impactful player. He is exceptionally mobile, and clearly offensively talented. He had a lot of success on the powerplay where he scored a good number of goals, but the most important contribution he made was his ability to collect and distribute the puck to keep us moving forward.”

“He joined some other guys back there in helping us to be a very good puck moving, possession oriented team, and we were often able to minimise time spent in our own zone which is crucial to any team’s success.”

“Calle is a team player and he has a great competitive attitude that we look forward to seeing again in the fall.”

PHOTO: John Uwins