Two-way contract with the Sharks
Gawanke takes big step towards NHL dream
07/06/2023 08:17 am
It is possible that another German ice hockey crack will appear in the NHL in the coming season. Leon Gawanke gets at least one contract that brings him a big step closer to the best league in the world. For the Adler Mannheim from the DEL, however, this is bad news.
Ice hockey vice world champion Leon Gawanke has come a big step closer to his dream of making his debut in the NHL. The San Jose Sharks have signed the German defender to a one-year contract. However, this is a two-way contract. The 24-year-old Gawanke could also be used in the lower-class AHL like last time.
The Sharks had already secured the NHL rights to the 24-year-old in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets earlier this week. However, it was initially unclear whether he would play for the team around his national team colleague Nico Sturm in the coming season. Gawanke only signed a four-year contract with Adler Mannheim in May, and Gawanke’s contract in San Jose is now bad news for the club from the German Ice Hockey League (DEL).
For the defender, on the other hand, it is a second attempt. Gawanke was never considered for the NHL by Winnipeg despite strong performances with farm team Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League (AHL). For the national team, he recently convinced alongside the outstanding Sturm. At the World Championships in Tampere, the selection with top performer Gawanke surprisingly won the silver medal.
Gawanke was selected by Winnipeg in the fifth round of the 2017 NHL draft. Since then, the native of Berlin has played a total of 217 AHL games for Manitoba, scoring 36 goals and providing 83 assists. In the 2020/21 season, Gawanke also played six DEL games for Eisbären Berlin.