According to a report out of Latvia Winnipeg Jets prospect Arturs Kulda will joining the big club after winding up his KHL season.
Here is a snippet of the Google Translated report:
Latvian hockey player Arthur KULDE plan to return to the National Hockey League, today informed the Continental Hockey League club in Novosibirsk “Sibirj.”
As reported by club-guard by mutual agreement terminated the contract with “Sibirj team. Contract guard came to an end this year’s 30th April.
In the near future a 24-year-old defender will join the NHL club Winnipeg “Jets”, which is holding the season continues.
The official website for Novosibirsk Sibir also had this to say (again Google translate):
Culdi back in the NHL
Hockey club “Siberia” by mutual agreement terminated the contract with the Latvian defender Arthur Culdi (agreement with him should have ended 04/30/2013)
shortly Arthur Culdi join NHL “Winnipeg Jets”, in which to hold the end of the season.
They also thanked him for his time with the team.
This is an interesting and somewhat surprising development for the Winnipeg Jets. Many fans assumed that Kulda's move to the KHL meant his time in the NHL was done, but the Jets never removed his name from the official website.
Arturs Kulda plays a physical, stay at home brand of hockey similar to fan favorite Mark Stuart. He won’t be brought in for his offensive contributions, but he should add some nice depth to a depleted defense group. His game will definitely be a change of pace compared to the glut of puck moving shooters that are currently holding roster spots.
It is also interesting what this could mean moving forward. Kulda is a left handed shot, so he may have a tough time cracking the active roster right away, but by all accounts he had a successful season for Novosibirsk Sibir and he played big minutes including penalty kill.
Could this mean Tobias Enstrom will be out longer than suspected? Could this make a potential Ron Hainsey trade easier to handle? Could somebody be in Chevy’s ear about Mark Stuart or Grant Clitsome?
Do you think this is a sign of things to come or is it simply the Jets beefing up their defensive depth?
We will keep you updated as this story develops.
