SEATTLE, Wash. — April 3, 2024 — Today, the Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) announced that they have signed college free agent Victor Östman, a goaltender out of the University of Maine, to an entry-level contract. The two-year, two-way contract ($950,000 AAV) is set to begin next season, and he is expected to report to Seattle’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, on an amateur tryout contract for the remainder of the year.
"We are excited to have Victor join our organization after a strong performance over his college career,” said Seattle Kraken General Manager Ron Francis. "Victor adds to our goaltending depth and we look forward to working with him as he continues to develop."
Östman, a six-foot-four, 205-pound goaltender, posted a 13-6-1 record with a 2.80 goals-against average and an .892 save percentage in 21 games this season for the University of Maine Black Bears. He recorded five consecutive wins from Dec. 3 to 20, 2023, helping the Black Bears to defeat UConn, Union, Bentley, RIT and Dartmouth by a combined score of 23-9. The netminder began the streak by making a season-high 38 saves on Dec. 3 against UConn, an eventual 7-3 Maine win.
Östman finished his collegiate career having posted a 35-38-7 record with a .905 save percentage and a 2.82 goals-against average in 87 games for the Black Bears from 2020-21 to 2023-24. The goaltender had a career year in 2022-23, setting NCAA career bests in wins (14), shutouts (five), save percentage (.918) and goals-against average (2.21). His efforts that season earned him several accolades: He was a semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award, which is presented to the top NCAA men’s goaltender each season, named to Hockey East’s Second All-Star Team, named the Hockey East Goaltender of the Month in December, the Hockey East Player of the Week on Jan. 30 and the Hockey East Goaltender of the Week on Feb. 27. In addition to his on-ice performance, Östman earned Hockey East All-Academic honors in both 2022 and 2023.
Prior to his collegiate career, Östman, a native of Danderyd, Sweden, played one season for the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL), posting a 25-4-0 record with a .913 save percentage and a 2.34 goals-against average. Östman attended the Kraken’s development camp this past summer at Kraken Community Iceplex.