Checkers Sign Kasper Lundell, Brother of Panthers Star, to AHL Contract

The Florida Panthers are expanding their talent pool with the addition of a familiar name. On Tuesday, the Charlotte Checkers, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Panthers, announced the signing of 22-year-old forward Kasper Lundell to a one-year, two-way AHL contract.

Kasper is the younger brother of Panthers center Anton Lundell, who has already made a name for himself in the NHL. Over the past three seasons, Kasper has honed his skills with HIFK in Liiga, Finland’s top professional league, where he played in 101 games, registering 16 goals and 26 points, along with 24 penalty minutes and a minus-4 on-ice rating.

The Lundell family has deep ties to HIFK, as it was the same club where Anton played before being drafted by the Panthers in 2020. Their father, Jan Lundell, was celebrated as a goaltender during his career and now serves as HIFK’s Director of Goaltending after a decade as the club’s goaltending coach.

Adding to the family connection, HIFK’s current head coach is former Panthers star forward Olli Jokinen, further enriching the Lundell legacy at the club. Kasper Lundell is expected to join Anton for the start of training camp in Fort Lauderdale, a crucial period that often sees players from the Checkers roster transition to AHL camp.

Note: This recap is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting.