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Thanks to the Supporters "Wiki" returns to help out the Lightning |
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 Fans favourite, Joakim Wiklander has agreed to help out as temporary cover for the Milton Keynes Lightning whilst Finnish forward Andre Smulter is given time to allow his injured jaw to heal properly.
Jo is no stranger to these shores after having been brought in as cover for Al Parez last year and having an immediate impact on the team's fortunes.
On the signing GM Vito Rausa said, "when we bought in Wiki last year he was an immediate success both on and off the ice. His larger than life personality gave the changing room a nice little boost going into the new year and I have no doubt he played a significant role in helping us to get to Coventry". He added, " He was also a huge hit with our fans and they will no doubt recall some of his great goal celebrations, none of which will be more memorable than the one when he scored a goal against Guildford in the play off semi final in Coventry. What people probably won't remember is that it was the fans that made the signing possible by helping to fund his wages and registration costs. This year when Andre got injured we began to make enquiries but Jo said he had commitments in Sweden and couldn't really get away, so we began to make alternative enquiries about other players. Then out of the blue Jo said he was available so we contacted the Supporters club who once again rallied round and in no time at all had covered his registration costs for us again which is absolutely tremendous."
The 25 yr old Forward will join fellow countryman, Monir Kalgoum, to help spearhead the team's attack in the coming weeks before returning to his native Sweden to rejoin his current club. Ironically it was Jo that put the MK Lightning in touch with his friend Monir, whom Nick Poole eventually signed in the summer.
Nick commented on the signing "when Wiki joined us last year we didn't really know what to expect and it was very much a risk bringing a player in mid season. This year things are different as Jo is only coming in as temporary cover although if he wanted to stay for the remainder of the season I'm sure both the team and the fans would be delighted. He's a very tenacious player, with a great eye for the pass as well as being able to score goals for us in key games. As he has been playing for a Swedish club this year he is already match fit which should help to make his transition into the team that much easier". Nick went on to add "he's certainly jumping straight into the fire this weekend with us playing against a strong Slough Jets team on Saturday in Milton Keynes, followed by a tough away game in Basingstoke on Sunday.
Jo arrived in the UK today and will train with the team this evening and once we get his ITC clearance through he should be clear to play on Saturday. |
