Former Maple Leafs Player Signs Deal Overseas

If an NHL player can't crack it in the world's largest professional hockey league, there are only a few options left. There's always the option to stick with the junior circuit and play in the AHL or ECHL, or take your talents overseas for a chance to shine.

That's what former Maple Leafs draft pick Jeremy Bracco did, and has made another big change in his career. Bracco has officially signed with HC TWK Innsbruck of the Austrian ICE Hockey League.

Bracco moved to the Austrian club after spending time with HKM Zvolen; a professional team based out of Zvolen, Slovakia. HKM Zvolen currently sits at a 9-10-5 record, and is hoping Bracco can help bring them the offensive spark they need.

The Maple Leafs drafted Bracco 61st overall from the Kitchener Rangers, after he originally decided to try an NCAA career but that quickly ended. Never making an impact with the team in his time, Bracco has recorded no NHL statistics as of yet, and has spent the majority of his career in Europe.

Besides time in Slovakia and now Austria, Bracco has played in the KHL for Nur-Sultan Barys (Kazakhstan) and Sochi (Russia) as well as at KalPa (Finland), and Krefield (Germany).

His time with the Toronto Marlies was a fairly solid display, as he put together 32 goals and 113 assists in 169 games including a 72-assist outburst back in 2018-19.

After leaving Toronto, he signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes but terminated his deal after receiving a better one overseas (KalPa).

So far this season with Zvolen, he registered seven assists in six games before making the transition from Slovakia to Innsbruck, Austria; a roughly 7 hour journey that takes Bracco from through the heart of both countries.