A funny thing happened after Johan Harju‘s demotion to the Norfolk Admirals…
…He was recalled by the Lightning five days later. Yep, Johan is back with the Bolts for the holidays. The press release is below the fold.
LIGHTNING RECALL JOHAN HARJU FROM NORFOLK
TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forward Johan Harju (har-YOO) from the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League today, Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman announced.
Harju, 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, has appeared in seven games with Tampa Bay this season, recording a goal and two points. He notched his first NHL point on December 4 against Colorado with an assist and followed that up with his first NHL goal December 7 at Calgary. Harju has skated in 19 games with the Admirals in his North American debut this season, recording 14 goals and 24 points with a plus-8 rating. He leads Norfolk in goals and is tied for points as well as power-play goals with three. Harju was named the AHL’s Player of the Week for the period ending November 28 after notching six goals and seven points with a plus-5 rating. He also ranks tied for eighth in the league in goals.
A native of Overtornea, Sweden, Harju played in 55 regular season games with the Moscow Dynamo of the Kontinental Hockey League last season, recording four goals and 18 points. He played two playoff games with Moscow, recording a goal and eight penalty minutes.
Harju has represented Sweden at the previous two IIHF World Championships, held in Switzerland and Germany respectively. In 2009 he recorded two goals and four points. This past summer he notched four goals and five points.
He was selected by the Lightning in the sixth round, 167th overall, of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
