AHL Cleveland Monsters

CLEVELAND MONSTERS: Blue Jackets Recall Forsberg, Assign

Published on February 10, 2017 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Monsters News Release


BLUE JACKETS RECALL FORSBERG, ASSIGN BJORKSTRAND, KORPISALO TO CLEVELAND

Monsters receive top-goal scorer from Columbus as Forsberg recalled for fourth time.

CLEVELAND - The AHL's defending Calder Cup Champions, the Cleveland Monsters, proudly powered by Constellation, announced Friday that the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets recalled fourth-year goaltender Anton Forsberg for the fourth time this season and assigned right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand and Joonas Korpisalo to Cleveland. A 2017 AHL All-Star, Forsberg posted a 14-10-2 record with one shutout, a 2.23 goals-against average (GAA) and a .927 save percentage (S%) in 28 appearances for Cleveland this year and notched a record of 0-1-0 with a 4.07 GAA and a .852 S% in one appearance for Columbus this season.

In 10 career NHL appearances spanning each of the past three seasons for the Blue Jackets, Forsberg, 23, supplied a record of 1-8-0 with a 4.02 GAA and a .879 S%. A seventh-round selection by Columbus (188th overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Forsberg, a 6'2", 191 lb. native of Harnosand, Sweden, has a career AHL record of 60-28-8 with six shutouts, a 2.19 GAA and a .923 S% in 103 appearances for the Monsters and Springfield Falcons spanning parts of the past four seasons. In ten postseason appearances for Cleveland last season, Forsberg posted a 9-0 record with two shutouts, a 1.34 GAA and a .949 S%, helping the Monsters claim the 2016 Calder Cup as AHL Playoff Champions.

Selected by Columbus in the third round (89th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Bjorkstrand currently leads the Monsters with 14 goals this season and ranks tied for third on the team with 23 points in 35 appearances for Cleveland. In five appearances for Columbus this season, Bjorkstrand has 0-1-1 with six penalty minutes and a -1 rating to his credit and posted 4-5-9 with six penalty minutes and a +5 rating in 17 career NHL games played, all for the Blue Jackets, spanning the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. A 6'0", 175 lb. right-handed native of Herning, Denmark, Bjorkstrand, 21, supplied 31-21-52 with 16 penalty minutes and a -3 rating in 86 career AHL appearances, all for the Monsters, spanning parts of the past two seasons.

In 17 postseason appearances for the Monsters last year, Bjorkstrand posted 10-6-16 with two penalty minutes and a +9 rating, helping the Monsters claim the Calder Cup as AHL Playoff Champions. Bjorkstrand scored the Cup-clinching goal with 1.9 seconds remaining in the first overtime of game four of the Calder Cup Finals vs. the Hershey Bears at Quicken Loans Arena on June 11, 2016, delivering the Monsters a 1-0 victory in the game, a 4-games-to-none sweep in the series and the city of Cleveland its tenth Calder Cup and first in 52 years. Bjorkstrand's AHL-record three overtime goals in the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs and his record-tying six game-winning postseason goals additionally earned Bjorkstrand the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the AHL's Playoff MVP.

A 6'3", 190 lb. native of Pori, Finland, Korpisalo, 22, was selected by the Blue Jackets in the third round (62nd overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and supplied a record of 6-5-2 with a 2.89 GAA and a .902 S% in 13 appearances for Cleveland this season. In 34 career AHL appearances for the Monsters and Springfield spanning the 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, Korpisalo contributed a 14-15-4 record with two shutouts, a 2.63 GAA and a .906 S%. In five NHL appearances for Columbus this year, Korpisalo is 3-1-0 with a 3.57 GAA and a .893 S% and in 36 career NHL games played spanning each of the past two seasons, all for the Blue Jackets, Korpisalo is 19-12-4 with a 2.71 GAA and a .916 S%.

Next up for the Monsters, it's a Friday home clash vs. the Manitoba Moose with full coverage, live from The Q, underway at 7:00 pm on 99X and the Monsters Hockey Network.

Tickets for every Monsters home game start at just $10 and are on sale now! Full and partial season ticket memberships are also available and provide you with the best seat locations, custom member benefits and the lowest ticket prices. Group outing and birthday bash packages for 10 or more people are also on sale now. All tickets can be purchased by visiting ClevelandMonsters.com, calling (216) 420-0000, visiting The Q Box Office or any Northern Ohio Discount Drug Mart. Be sure to follow the Monsters on Twitter @monstershockey, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/clevelandmonsters, and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/monstershockey .

The Cleveland Monsters are part of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena organization and also owned by a group led by Cavaliers Majority Owner and Quicken Loans Founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert. The group also owns and operates the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League playing at Quicken Loans Arena and the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League playing in nearby Canton, Ohio at the Canton Civic Center.

- ClevelandMonsters.com -

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American Hockey League Stories from February 10, 2017


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