In a bit of news today that should have the NHL’s league office taking notice, Pierre LeBrun of ESPN is reporting that Swedish second-division team AIK Stockholm have agreed to join Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League starting in 2010-11.

"The acceptance of the invitation by AIK Hockey Club to join the KHL is very important for us," KHL president Alexander Medvedev said in a news release. "It confirms the positive dynamics in the development of hockey and the good chances to get off the ground the project of setting up the Pan-European Championship."

In September, Medvedev proposed at an IIHF council meeting that club teams from other European leagues join the KHL in future years.

"Yes, I made a presentation during the [IIHF] council meeting in Tunisia with the idea to have a pan-European league, with involvement of Scandinavian and Central European hockey clubs," Medvedev told ESPN.com in an October interview. "I believe it's the only way not to stagnate and to better develop European hockey."

This announcement is made doubly interesting by the fact that you may remember AIK from an incident last season. Former AIK player Jan Huokko had his cell phone stolen in the summer before last, and a video from the phone, featuring Huokko, his girlfriend, and a sex toy not being used on her made its way onto the internet. When he returned with his new club, Leksand, the AIK fans littered the ice with sex toys, and held up a banner—complete with inflatable penis—that read: “Bend over bitch!”