This morning the Markham Thunder announced another free agent signing, this time of forward Karolina Urban.

Urban previously played two seasons in the CWHL with Toronto and Calgary. She had three goals and two assists in 26 games with the Furies in 2012-13 and managed one assist through 27 matches with the Inferno in 2013-14.

After leaving the CWHL, Urban played the 2015-16 season with Aisulu Almaty in Kazakhstan, scoring five goals and four assists in 20 contests, playing alongside current Thunder GM Chelsea Purcell. She also suited up for Aisulu in two games last year.

This is a somewhat puzzling signing for the Thunder, who have lost several players over the offseason and will have some holes due to Olympic centralization, but also had a very strong draft. Urban has participated in PR for the league before (notably a panel at Puck Talks), and was slated to cover the CWHL for the Toronto branch of The Athletic this season.

It will be interesting to see how the Thunder’s new free agents and draftees will be used in the upcoming pre-season games.

Women's HockeyCanadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL)