According to the website for Swedish team AIK, Calgary Flames draft pick Oliver Kylington has been given permission to play in North America for the 2015-16 season.
“Oliver did a very good camp and it opened the doors for him to reach the NHL right now,” AIK GM Anders Gozzi told the team’s website in Swedish. “We wish Oliver all the best as he moves on in his career and hope that we will see him in AIK again!”
Kylington, who was projected to go in the first round of the NHL draft through most of the 2014-15 season, saw his draft stock fall near the end of the year. The Calgary Flames ended up selecting the smooth-skating defenceman 60th overall.
“I want to thank the team and the club because they took me into the club that I love,” Kylington told the team’s website. “I would like to extend a special thanks to all AIK fans who have supported me. I hope I get to put on the black and yellow jersey sometime in the future again.”
LISTEN: Kylington: Want to play in NHL next season
In Sportsnet’s pre-draft writeup on Kylington, Jeff Marek described the defenceman:
“You have to love the skating, you have to love the offense but what scouts grouse about with Kylington is his consistency. Some nights it’s just not there. Wonderfully gifted skater, one of the best in the draft but is that enough right now to risk a high selection?”
According to the Calgary Herald, Kylington signed a two-year contract with AIK in the spring so he was contractually obligated to remain with the club.
So now attention will turn to where Kylington will play for his first season in North America. The WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings own his junior rights, but since he was drafted out of Sweden, Kylington could go straight to the Flames’ AHL affiliate, the Stockton Heat. He could also join the NHL team, although that would appear unlikely.