Sorry if this has been answered before, but why arent prospects like Logan Brown, Jonathan Davidsson, Josh Norris, Drake Batherson and the like playing in Europe? Would it not be great for confidence and developement to go over, get some reps in and score some points before NHL training camps open?
Not a lot of spots in Europe I guess. As far as I know, Brännström is the only NHL loan without a Swiss license playing in the National League.
Technically there's also McLeod and the Oilers could get him back anytime but the plan is for him to play the entire season for Zug so he's not your standart covid loan.
The Tigers took Brännström because they don't have to pay him, because they have key injuries and because Brännström is exactly what they needed to compete again.
Generally teams:
- asked their players and stuff to accept lower salaries due to covid so the teams can't just sign NHL players
- can only hire a limited amount of players with foreign licenses and most of those spots are gone at the start of the season.
- don't want players who aren't with them for the full season. This is why many nhl loans are forced to play in lower leagues
To summarize: not a lot of spots available and European teams can't or don't want to pay salaries or cover for insurance. If NHL teams want to loan their players, they'll have to cover for all or almost all costs. It's a good option for European teams to get cheap replacements in case of injuries but overall the interest in those loans is pretty low. It's obviously much easier for European players to find a team than for Americans or Canadians who almost always count as foreigners in European leagues.
