The Cranbrook Bucks have been getting a huge offensive boost from one of their international recruits this season.
Forward Rasmus Svartstrom has been consistently lighting the lamp since first suiting up for the Bucks in September, and heads into the final month of the 2024-25 BCHL campaign as the league’s top goal scorer.
As of February 28, Svartstrom’s goal count sits at 35 goals through 43 games, and the hulking forward from Helsinki, Finland, is showing no signs of slowing down.
The talented Fin says he wanted to refine his game in North America to secure a commitment to an NCAA Division 1 program this season. “A couple years ago I decided I wanted to play college hockey,” Svartstrom says. “We thought it would be best to play one year in North America before I go to college. Ryan [Donald] really seemed to want me here.”
He has achieved his goal of inking a commitment as he has signed with University of St. Lawrence, joining teammate Jacob Fletcher in the list of future Bucks alumni set to join that program.
Upon joining the Bucks, head coach Ryan Donald anticipated an immediate impact from Svartstrom as he adjusted to the North American game. “Rasmus has shown an ability to produce offense while also playing a strong game inside the dots and along the walls,” said Donald following Svartstrom’s arrival. “Our staff feels like Rasmus will be able to adjust to the North American game quickly and be able to add size and strength to our forward group.”
A talented forward group this season has given Donald plenty of options for line combinations, but Svartstrom and linemates Jacob Fletcher and Matthew Gilmore have stuck together like glue through the season. This is likely a big reason Fletcher is having the best year of his junior hockey career, with 47 points through 43 games.
As the Bucks begin their push to the playoffs, Svartstrom will be relied upon to continue his record setting scoring pace. He recently passed Ottawa Senators draft pick Tyson Dyck for the club’s single-season goal scoring record, and still has plenty of mileage to go.
The youngster from Finland has enjoyed his time in the East Kootenay so far. “Time’s gone by fast,” Svartstrom explains. “I’m really getting used to it now.” He has embraced his role as a fan-favourite in the community and often takes part in a local beginners hockey program in Cranbrook on Thursday afternoons to help new players learn some tricks to the trade.
Bucks fans should have a lot to be excited about this spring, with one of the most dynamic players in the franchise’s young history leading the way for an offensively gifted group of forwards.
The Bucks are heading into the final month of the season as the sixth-seeded club in the Interior Conference, but still have a realistic shot at securing home ice advantage for the first round of the Fred Page Cup playoffs in April.
