Händel is 6-foot-1 and weighs 168 pounds. The right-handed shooting blueliner played both at the J18 and J20 levels last season with the Malmo Redhawks program in Sweden where he combined to who score 23 points in 37 games. He also suited up internationally for Germany at the U17 and U18 levels and provided another 13 points in 23 games.

“We’ve been watching him for the last year-and-a-half,” said General Manager Cam Russell.“We saw him about 18 months ago in Germany and he just dazzled us as an underage player. He’s a heck of a hockey player and he plays a complete game.”

The Mooseheads made the 40th pick in the draft after three teams passed on their picks ahead of them.

“He has an offense flair to his game. He’s an exciting player, he moves the puck extremely well, he defends well. He just plays a complete game,” Russell added.

Händel quickly hopped on a phone call with Russell following the selection and expressed his gratitude to the team and his excitement for the upcoming season. He will join the Mooseheads when training camp begins in August. The training camp schedule will be released to fans later this summer.