Early on in the season talent evaluators are often hyper focused on draft eligible players as they try to determine early rankings and watch lists. But what about the prospects already affiliated with NHL teams? Previously drafted (or signed) players often show off remarkable progression early in the year that is worth discussing as it elevates their projection as NHL players. This piece aims to highlight some of those players; players who have impressed our scouting staff with their improved play this season.
Here are the European-based prospects, Part Two:
Arttu Myllymaki - Finnish Regional Scout
Lasse Boelius, Defense, Assat, Liiga (Anaheim Ducks)
Lasse Boelius is a reliable two-way defenseman whose offensive instincts and overall hockey intelligence continue to stand out. With the puck on his stick, he consistently shows an advanced understanding of spacing and timing, waiting for the right lanes to open rather than forcing rushed decisions. He plays with balance, poise, and strong awareness of his options, making him a steady presence in transition and a dependable breakout initiator.
One of Boelius’ most impressive qualities is how effectively he reads developing plays without the puck. Rather than drifting too close to the action; he anticipates where the next option will be, positioning himself early to influence possession and break up threats. His scanning habits are improving rapidly, and he has begun to recognize pressure earlier and react with confidence. Defensively, he uses an active stick intelligently, closing passing lanes and disrupting cycles while maintaining strong body positioning.
Boelius also competes with consistency, showing quick reactions to loose pucks and a growing urgency in retrieval situations. His mobility supports this, he moves efficiently, covers space well, and transitions smoothly from defense to offense. Though known primarily for his offensive strengths, he has shown the ability to translate them to higher levels through smart puck movement and increasingly confident handling.
With his blend of vision, reliability, and improving detail work, Boelius projects as a steady, modern two-way defender with room to grow into a versatile professional player.
#25 Red
Here’s a good example of Boelius’ ability to control the game while having the puck on his stick, keeping the head up and driving to play fast north-south hockey with a stretch pass to the middle. In this clip it also creates an odd-man rush to his team and a dangerous scoring chance.
#25 White/Red
Boelius has improved his game off the puck which you can see here for example by great scanning of the opponent’s next play and reacting to it even before it happens. This combined with a tight gap and an active stick in the neutral zone he can already make defensive stops even before they turn into anything even nearly dangerous and gain possession back to his team.
Chapin Landvogt - Central European Regional Scout
Ludvig Johnson, Defense - HC Fribourg-Gottéron, NL (Utah Mammoth)
The 2025 NHL draft saw a total of four German players and 2 Swiss players get drafted. As opposed to their German counterparts, both of the Swiss draftees have remained in Europe to entertain top opportunities at the pro level. Most interesting to date has been half Swiss, half Swedish defenseman Ludvig Johnson, who was noticeable at last winter’s WJC and capped off his season with some strong play for Swiss powerhouse EV Zug. He headed to Fribourg-Gotteron this season and has, with some hick-ups along the way, worked his way into roughly a top foru role with his new club, which has minutes and responsibility to entrust him with.
Now, the 10 points in 27 games to date slightly outweigh the 10 points he had in 31 games with a better offense last season, but what has us excited about the Utah Mammoth draft pick (a club that also once took Swiss overager JJ Moser and recently selected German overager Maks Szuber, both defensemen) has been the overall step from depth piece to a regular, uptempo player. His team has been relying on him in multiple scenarios and he brings plenty of aggressiveness in all 3 zones to the table. As is usually the case with developing defensemen, we’ve been wanting to see positive development in the “little things” department. And he’s been delivering.
We expect there to be growing pains but Johnson can do some bad in any given instance and still clean his plate. Here we see him (#33) aggressively entering the opposition zone and getting stumped, but he maintains puck control and allows his team to set up shop.
In this instance we see Johnson following his assignment all the way to the blueline to then thwart a passing opportunity.
There’s nothing flashy to see here but this clip is a prime example of how he plays an oncoming rush a dozen times a game. He’s monitoring gap control (perhaps loosely by some coaches’ standards), helps direct things into the corner, gets his stick active, gathers the puck, and starts pushing everything out of his own zone.
He can take hits too. In this instance (here, wearing gray), he makes sure the puck gets deep after deftly receiving a pass and sidestepping opposition. He then more than holds his own with the ensuing physicality.
But let there be no doubt that he’s a mobile player who most flourishes with his play along the blueline. We can watch plays like this all day long and Johnson brings them most every game.
Lastly, we are liking the shot. He’s not afraid to release and he does so with slappers and wristers that, quite frankly, we’d like to see more often. There’s more here than the stats show to date. But he has gotten powerplay time and there should be more of this to come down the line, if not already later this season. Heck, we’ll be looking for it at the WJC, which Johnson is still eligible for.
Liam Crouse - Goaltending Scout
Love Harenstam - G, Södertälje SK, Allsvenskan (St. Louis Blues)
It hasn’t even been a year since Love Harenstam was drafted, yet the development he has seen is completely unprecedented. Jumping from a mediocre U20 Nationell to a great Allsebnekan starter on one of the worst teams in the league isn’t necessarily common. Harenstam has accomplished this feat by playing faster, with more intensity and purpose, and smarter with greatly improved tracking and anticipation. He struggled last year at times with playing with intensity and looked dejected after things didn’t go his way. However, this year, something has flipped a switch mentally for Harenstam. Because even though his new team in the Allsvenskan is worse than his junior team, he is competing much harder, stealing games where he can and giving 100% each game. He’s a smart goalie with incredible vision, but those types of goalies tend to be more laid back, whereas Harenstam is showing that he is fighting and executing his plans with speed when it calls for it, while still being able to slow it down and be calmer in the net. If he can maintain this level of play the entire season as his club continues to struggle, then there shouldn’t be much that could mentally hold him back in the future, which will help immensely in helping him deal with adversity as he makes his way to the NHL.
Here he is aggressively fighting through the screen, and then recovers from the shot with a lot of speed and intensity he didn’t often show last year.
Here he is combining his smarts and athleticism. He deepens, begins to load for the pass he knows is coming, and pushes with a lot of speed and flexibility to make a huge save.
Every move he makes here is controlled, but with purpose and with speed as he is quickly tracking and reacting to each pass being made.
Marek Novotny - Central European Regional Scout
Vojtech Hradec - Center, BK Mladá Boleslav, Czechia (Utah Mammoth)
Vojtech Hradec has emerged this season as one of the most improved NHL affiliated prospects in the region. After being selected late in the 2024 draft by Utah, the tall center chose to continue his development in the Czech Extraliga with BK Mlada Boleslav and that decision is already paying off. He is producing at a pace slightly ahead of last year despite his team’s uneven start in an extremely tight league table.
Hradec has long been viewed as a reliable defensive forward with a big frame and a strong presence around the crease. Offense was always the question. This season he has begun to answer it. His skating looks smoother and he is far more confident carrying the puck into dangerous areas. He drives the middle of the ice with authority and shows the vision to create for his linemates rather than simply finishing plays. The improvement in his agility and decision making has made him a more dynamic two way option. He continues to show that he can lock down the defensive zone as well. His strength along the boards and his long reach allow him to close space quickly and win difficult battles. He reads opposing rotations well and rarely gets caught chasing the puck, which makes him a trusted player in key situations.
After a productive World Junior Championship and a brief look with the senior national team, he is entering a crucial year. His growth suggests that Utah’s late round gamble may develop into something much more valuable. Around the net he remains a major asset. His frame makes it almost impossible for defenders to move him once he establishes position and he has improved at finding loose pucks and finishing at the far post. His ability to hold off opponents on the wall and then cut inside with possession has become far more consistent. While his skating and puck handling once limited his ceiling, he has made visible strides in both areas this season, narrowing gaps that previously held him back.
VIDEO 1:
Shows growing confidence in transition. Accelerates smoothly through the neutral zone and stays connected to the play. Good puck reception at high speed and impressive deke in tight space. The backhand finish suggests strong puck control and improving creativity around the net.
VIDEO 2:
High-effort shift on the penalty kill. Shows increased skating speed and improved mechanics. Protects the puck well despite pressure, fights through multiple opponents, and finishes the play with another controlled backhand.
VIDEO 3:
Demonstrates strong vision on a 2-on-1. Uses a quick, intentional shot off the goalie’s pads to create a rebound opportunity, setting up his linemate for an easy tap-in.
VIDEO 4:
Strong read of the developing play and impressive timing on the rush. Attacks space with purpose and establishes inside positioning. Hands are active and coordinated for a controlled deflection.
Matej Deraj - Central European Regional Scout
Petr Sikora, Center, HC Oceláři Třinec, Czechia (Washington Capitals)
Sikora was a sixth-round pick back in 2024, when he was selected by the Washington Capitals. He wasn´t listed on many boards, but we at McKeen´s had him listed at #150. In his second season after the draft, Sikora is a significantly better player. He´s grown into a true leader in his age group and one of the more hated players in the Czech top tier league, which is a rare occasion for such a young player.
Sikora was known as fearless and energetic, but he has added another layer to his game. He´s a premium pest, who loves to get under the skin of the opponents, playing more physical, despite being 6-foot-0. He´s added a lot more muscle and his checks are much stronger. As shown in the clip, Sikora uses his body well to battle and strip the opponent of the puck.
VIDEO 1
If Sikora makes the NHL, it will be in a bottom-six role, most likely. That projection hasn´t changed, but Sikora is showing more offense to his game and better overall skills. He displays solid playmaking, offensive awareness and can surprise an opponent with a decent shot, as shown in the clip. Sikora has a better offensive toolkit now and became a 0.5 ppg player in one of the most challenging leagues in Europe, again, a rare feat for such a young player. He´s still not a premium offensive threat, but he´s definitely showing there is more to his game.
VIDEO 2