Christian Ehrhoff is hoping to pull a Dennis Seidenberg and turn his World Cup performance for Team Europe into a guaranteed NHL contract.
In an odd twist, Ehrhoff will try to do it with the Boston Bruins, the same team that made Seidenberg a free agent when they bought him out in June. Seidenberg then turned his World Cup performance into a contract with the New York Islanders.
Ehrhoff, meanwhile, is with Boston on a professional tryout. During the World Cup, he impressed Bruins head coach Claude Julien, who was on Team Canada’s bench as an assistant coach.
“He’s a good-sized defenseman, skates well and moves the puck well. What I liked about him, and I told them that, was that his compete level was pretty good,” said Julien, per CSN New England. “If he comes here and competes the same way then he’s somebody that could make things interesting for us. I really felt that he was a good addition to our group trying to make the team on a PTO, and we’ll see where we go from there.”
Ehrhoff, 34, had a frustrating 2015-16 campaign. He started with the Kings, but it wasn’t a “style fit” there. He was traded to the Blackhawks in late February, but only played eight games for them. He was a healthy scratch for the playoffs.
In Boston, he joins a defense that many felt would be upgraded this offseason. But that never happened, making room for him to audition.