Danish forward Mathias Bau signs with Hershey Bears
Czech forward Robert Kousal (L) vies with Denmark’s forward Mathias Bau during the group A preliminary round game Denmark vs Czech Republic at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Moscow on May 15, 2016. / AFP / YURI KADOBNOV
The Hershey Bears announced Wednesday morning that forward Mathias Bau has signed a contract for the 2017-18 season with the team.
The 6-foot-7-inch forward from Denmark has spent the last three seasons with the Frederikshavn White Hawks of the Danish league. In 102 games, he has scored 107 points.
The 23-year-old, also a member of the Denmark national team, played in the IIHF World Championships earlier this summer, scoring one point in seven games.
The contract is for one season. Full terms were not released by the team.
Press release:
The Hershey Bears announced today that forward Mathias Bau Hansen has agreed to terms on an American Hockey League contract for the 2017-18 season. The announcement was made by Vice President of Hockey Operations Bryan Helmer.
“We have discussed adding more size to our team and Mathias certainly brings that,” said Helmer. “He’s someone our staff watched and identified as a player with a great deal of potential. He moves well for a big man and has a strong skill set, and we look forward to seeing that translate to the North American game. We’re very excited to have Mathias in Hershey for the upcoming season.”
Bau Hansen, 23, is a native of Glostrup, Denmark and stands at 6-foot-7, 238-pounds. The winger has spent the past three seasons playing with the Frederikshavn White Hawks of Metal Ligaen, the top Danish hockey league. In 2016-17, Bau Hansen tied for the team lead with 40 points, and finished first on the team in assists (24) and fourth in goals (16) over 41 games. He posted a team-best 81 penalty minutes, and finished with the second best plus/minus on the team at +14. He tied for the team lead in playoff scoring with 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 15 games.
In 175 career games with Frederikshavn and Rodovre, Bau Hansen has scored 134 points (59 goals, 75 assists) to go along with 234 penalty minutes. He has also represented Denmark in numerous international competitions, including the 2017 IIHF World Championships in Cologne, Germany and Paris, France in May. During the recent World Championships, Bau Hansen registered one assist in seven contests.
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How common is it for AHL teams to sign international players who they seemingly scouted? Or are we to assume the Capitals helped them with the scouting? I’m just curious how this works, as it seems unusual for a Danish player to sign directly from the top Danish league directly with an AHL team. Maybe not.