Ooof!! A Meaty Swedish Rumor Surfaces & Afino-GETNO Love from GM Dudley

EDIT: Luckily, I prefaced my entry with a comment about not posting rumors. Well, THIS is the reason! High-evah! Talks with Fredrik Pettersson's agent are ongoing. So it does appear the Pinstriped Pimp of Puckdom likes what he sees in the feisty little Swede. Or is this the work of that maverick son-of-a-gun, Don Waddell, running wild with the ASG's money again??? Well??? He was spotted spying on undisclosed players during the recently staged World Championships in May. Please, somebody tell me whom to trust!! I can't take it anymore!

While I certainly don't intend on making a habit of posting rumors -- trades, potential UFA signings or otherwise -- things are way too dull these days on the Thrashers news front. So, I give unto you...THIS. What??? You don't speak Swedish!!? Well, the article translates a little something like this (thank you Google, Lord of all internet communication):

"Here is the premier division next star to leave for NHL. According to HockeyExpressen.se is Frölunda Striker Fredrik Pettersson ready for Atlanta? Elite has lost over 30 players to the KHL and NHL, and it ("it" being a contract I assume?) is not yet final. Fredrik Pettersson, who chased by several NHL clubs in recent times, is thus the next player to draw.

"We are long past for documents with an NHL club and it will probably be ready before the day is over", said Petterson's agent, Donald Bodén. Bodén would not say which club it is about but, according to data HockeyExpressen.se is Atlanta as the recently acquired 23-year-old and according to data HockeyExpressen.se transition is also explained.

"Pettersson has a great season behind him, where he impressed big in Frölunda. Among other things, with 20 goals in the regular season and three goals in the playoffs. He was also a member of the Swedish team which took bronze in World Cup Germany."

Not mentioned in this article is the not-so-unimportant nugget that Pettersson is a teammate of Thrashers 2nd round draft pick in 2009, Carl Klingberg, who just signed his ELC (entry-level contract) with Atlanta a few weeks ago despite expressing his desire to play one more year in Sweden to the Swedish press. Perhaps GM Rick Dudley is putting the full-court press on Klingberg in an effort to convince him to eschew the final year on his SEL (Swedish Elite League) deal in favor of coming stateside to play with a familiar face in Atlanta.

According to a scouting report published on the esteemed on-line prospect scouting service, Red Line Report, Pettersson's smallish frame (5' 10", 185 lbs) does not dissaude an affinity for a gritty and relentless hard-checking, high-energy style of play. If you've been paying attention to Dudley and his comments to the local press you would know that such a style of play is very much fancied by the Atlanta GM. At 23 years of age, the former 2005 5th round selection of the Edmonton Oilers may very well get an extended "look" at September's pre-season camp.

In other news, if you can call it that, Chris Vivlamore of the AJC, has posted a new blog with pretty much the same news reported weeks ago in this blog. Basically, Donald Meehan, Afinogenov's agent, is still scratching his head publicly about the Thrashers puzzling one-year contract offer to the pending UFA, who seems to desire a return to the Peachtree City for more than just one more year of NHL hockey. But alas, the one-year offer may be GM code for: "thanks for a great year of service, but we're not sure you fit into our plans beyond this season, even though we may struggle to score goals because we have so many young players assuming larger roles on the team." Or something like that. At any rate, it has sparked a little bit of debate on Vivlamore's current blog entry. Check it out if you want to join the party of yearning and longing for additional information -- something which most often seems quite scarce this time of year...*SIGH*.