The Carolina Hurricanes have lost grip on one of their developing winger prospects. Chicago Wolves forward Noel Gunler has signed a two-year deal with Djugardens IF of Sweden’s SHL per Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey. The deal was confirmed by Djugardens. Gunler will return to his home country after spending four of the last five seasons in Chicago, split by a one-year stint with Karpat in Finland’s Liiga.
Gunler is no stranger to the SHL. The Lulea-native grew through his city’s youth hockey program and debuted with the pro club in the 2018-19 season, at the age of 17. He scored five points in 15 games to kick off his SHL career, enough to cement a full-time spot on Lulea HF for the 2019-20 season.
The reliability of a full-time, pro role earned Gunler high praise headed into the 2020 NHL Draft. He was seen as a dangerous shooter with strong athleticism and finesse. That earned him first-round glimmer on some boards, though he would ultimately fall to Carolina with 41st-overall pick. Gunler spent the two seasons after his draft in the SHL and grew to a stout 23 points in 52 games of the 2021-22 season, spent with Brynas IF. On the heels of that career-high mark, he moved over to the AHL in the Spring of 2022, just in time to join the Wolves for their run to the Calder Cup Championship. Gunler contributed seven points in 21 games at the end of the season.
The young winger seemed to be in the right setting to develop. He grew to 18 points in 31 games of the 2022-23 season – a modest step forward – but rather than climb small steps in the AHL, he sought a bigger role in Finland. That move didn’t go as planned when Gunler finished his sole Liiga season with just eight points in 24 games. He returned to the AHL in 2024 and scored 61 points in 129 games over the last two seasons. He also contributed seven points to the 21 games that Chicago played in their race to a Calder Cup runner-up finish this season.
Four years of AHL experience hasn’t been enough to prop Gunler into Chicago’s top-six. He has struggled with finding his scoring in any one spot and will now seek another spark in his move to Djugardens. He joins a strong contingent of pro talent, including top draft prospects Viggo Bjorck and Marcus Nordmark, and fellow NHL prospects in Boston’s Liam Pettersson and San Jose’s Lucas Carlsson. Djugardens is a young club but that inexperience should push Gunler into a feature, scoring role. He will have two years to earn his keep before facing the tough question of if he can crack the Hurricanes roster once again.
