Foto: Tobias Sterner / BILDBYRÅN / COP 254 / TS0437
6-foot-1, 174 Pounds, Shoots R
Birth Date: 05/02/2008
Sweden
Despite not reaching the ultimate goal of securing promotion to the SHL with hometown club MoDo, Hermansson’s draft year season is one he can look back on with pride. He played his first full pro season at 17 years old and scored 11 goals, 10 assists in 38 games, good for the most goals scored by an u21 draft eligible player for the HA season. He scored 55 points in 25 games at the u18 international level for Sweden and won gold at the U18 Worlds, earning “Best Forward” and “All-Star” honours to boot. Hermansson has overachieved in hockey since scoring a point per game in the u16 SM and u18 Nationell in his age 14 season, and this year is no different. It is not as easy as he makes it look.
Hermansson is the most dynamically skilled player on the ice at any given moment. He is the guy his teammates are looking to get the puck to so he can make magic happen. He can dangle defencemen and goalies alike out of their jocks, and finish plays with lethal precision. He reads the ice beautifully and can make passing plays that others can only do when playing PlayStation. Coupled with solid straight line skating and excellent control from his edges, Hermansson can both push the pace on the rush and turn neutral situations to dangerous ones off of the cycle. While soft skill is his forte, Hermansson has a good frame and likes to play with a physical edge. It isn’t the driving factor behind his off puck play, it’s more like a shiv to surprise unsuspecting foes with a bang. If it sounds like Hermansson has the total package, it’s because he does… when he can (or chooses to) put it all together consistently.
Hermansson can be a chaotic and frustrating player at times, especially at the junior level. This was perfectly encapsulated at the U18 Worlds, where he barely skated hard, made extremely foolish decisions on and off the puck, and still wound up leading the tournament in points. It seems like if he isn’t adequately challenged, he doesn’t feel the need to play hard. Thankfully, he applies himself much more at the pro level. Although, that was a learning process, too. His effort level on both sides of the puck in the 2nd half of the HA season and in the playoffs was focused and consistent. Although you gotta wonder if he’ll get complacent once he “figures out” the pro level like he has the junior level. Additionally, his defensive zone engagement remains a weak point. Considering the type of pure offensive talent that he is, I’m not sure it’ll ever be very strong. Teams have overlooked passive defensive zone play in favour of potential game-breaking offensive talent countless times before.
Hermansson will be returning to MoDo for the 2026-2027 HockeyAllsvenskan season and will be looking to exert his will offensively. The more play driving experience he gets at the pro level, the better. He’ll also need to add strength to be able to out-muscle defenders and get even better at finishing through hard contact. After some marinating in Sweden (and perhaps a year in the AHL), Hermansson could make an immediate impact in any NHL top 6 and add some serious juice to a team’s top power play unit.
Skating
Hermansson’s skating is an above average tool in his toolkit. As an offensive winger, Hermansson has the necessary straight-line speed and agility to push the pace of play and challenge defenders head on. His mechanics are smooth, and he’s got good quickness to his first 5 steps. He exhibits excellent control from his edges, which allows him to be a shifty puck handler through the neutral zone and control play in the offensive zone. He mixes 10-2s and Mohawks into his stride in tight areas to deceive defenders and is very tough to defend when he gets into a wide stance. The biggest improvement he could make to his skating is to improve his explosiveness and acceleration. That would force defenders to respect his speed and make him an even more potent rush attacker.
On the other side of the puck, Hermansson is more floater than motor. He’s not known as a player who constantly moves his feet or who leverages his speed to get involved in play in all three zones, which can mask how good his skating is. In the HockeyAllsvenskan playoffs, Hermansson has started to use his speed to pressure puck carriers on the forecheck and stifle opposing breakout attempts. If he can continue to learn how to leverage his skating in more situations away from the puck, that would be a welcome improvement.
Straight line speed from Hermansson (#71 White) to beat out an icing call. A bit of chaos after the fact, which is the Hermansson special.
Here’s Hermansson (#17 White) quickly reading the ice and finding a skating lane to make a controlled defensive zone exit and controlled offensive zone entry.
Hermansson (#17) has some great control from his edges and nifty footwork working in tandem with his handling skills. Just look at this clip from the Hlinka.
Hermansson’s (#17 Pink) rush attack game is mostly built on timing rather than raw speed and explosiveness. Here’s an example of that, resulting in a goal.
Grade: 55
Shot
He may be best known for his otherworldly puckhandling, but Hermansson is one of the most lethal finishers in the region, perhaps in the entire draft. The quality and range of his shots are excellent. He can wrist it quickly and accurately, he can snap it hard, and he’s got a big one-timer. His lightning quick hands help him catch and release pucks in an instant, as well as lift pucks up and over the shoulders in-tight. He can rip pucks with speed on the rush. His deception and pre-shot movement makes it really tough for the goaltender to read his intent as well, giving him layers and layers of lethality that few in the draft can match.
Like the best finishers in the NHL, Hermansson identifies soft ice and drifts there. He also makes well-timed cuts to the slot to make it easy for teammates to set him up for grade A scoring chances. Hermansson isn’t above scoring a greasy goal or two, as his excellent play reading lets him track and put away rebounds and loose pucks around the net. Hermansson is a measured and selective shooter as well. He doesn’t just fling them from anywhere. Most of his shots at the pro level and junior level have come from the “home plate” area.
This is how Hermansson (#17 White) has scored most of his pro goals. Lurking around off puck and making well timed cuts to soft ice. Here he scores his 1st playoff goal by doing just that.
Hermansson (#17 Yellow) has a cannon of a one-timer. Perfect weapon for playing half-wall on the PP.
Hermansson (#17 Red) crashing the net and getting rewarded. They all count the same; every goalscorer knows this.
Hermansson (#17 Red) showing off his finishing ability with speed. Roofs one off the rush.
A nice two-touch release by Hermansson (#17 Red), well located, too. Just above the pad and below the glove.
Grade: 57.5
Skill
If you want a winger with game-breaking puck skills, look no further. Hermansson has the potential to tilt the ice in a given shift and could rank among the elite on-puck players in the NHL. He has flat out dominated junior competition to the point where it has become trivial for him, and that same skill has been percolating at the pro level as well. Just look at how dominant he was at the U18 Worlds! Hermansson is the type of puck handler who can slow the game down and speed it back up seemingly at will. He keeps defenders guessing and manipulates them like a puppet master. His twitchy hands allow him to turn the feet of defenders, make a quick seam pass, or rip a shot in an instant, all from his hip pocket. He’s a triple threat on offence. Any space is too much space, and any commitment is too much commitment.
Hermansson’s passing touch and vision are excellent as well. This may be a cliche, but he can see passes and make plays that other kids his age could only dream of. He can funnel well timed saucers across the ice to trailers or draw in pressure before firing a pass to a teammate in the space he’s created. Not to mention, he’s a high danger scoring chance machine on the powerplay. At the pro level, he’s been mostly an off puck threat. The pace and physicality of the pro level have been a bit of an adjustment and he can’t pick apart defences as easily yet. As a result, he’s had a bit of trouble making highlight reel plays and can get pushed to the outside. His playmaking to the inside has improved a ton since the start of the HockeyAllsvenskan season and I think we’ll see a jump in production and highlight reel moments next season at the pro level.
Let’s start small. Here is an example of Hermansson’s (#17 Red) 1-on-1 skill, undressing the goalie in the shootout.
Here’s Hermansson (#17 Yellow), fresh off the bench, dictating play in the offensive zone. He gets every defenceman’s eyes on him before firing an impeccable pass to a streaking teammate for a goal.
This is a complete bamboozle, maybe my favourite play of the year. Hermansson (#17 Yellow) gives the whole Slovak team the slip and nearly scores. If he had scored this, it would be replayed over and over on every social media outlet for all eternity.
Who could forget this play? Hermansson (#17 Yellow) turns on a dime and dekes out the entire Czech U18 team, which would eventually lead to Bosse Meijer scoring the OT winner.
This is what has worked best for Hermansson (#17 Red) in the pros. A quick move to protect the puck with his hands and frame and firing a pass out wide to a teammate. Nothing too fancy, but it gets the job done.
Hermansson’s (#17 White) skill will play in the pros, he just needs to pick his spots better like so. Also, not throwing a blind spinning pass right on the tape of a defender would be good.
Further evidence that Hermansson’s (#17 White) skill will play in the pros. Here he successfully, albeit not 100% cleanly, dances through the whole opposing team and gets the puck in deep.
Grade: 65
Smarts
Hermansson is very clearly smarter than his peers and reads the game at a very high level, but he is a very chaotic player… both on and off the puck. For starters, Hermansson's brain is wired for offence. He is adept at finding skating lanes through the neutral zone to push the pace away from the puck and at finding soft ice in the offensive zone to finish plays. His timing on cuts to soft ice on said plays and on arrival to rush chances is quite solid as well. He positions himself smartly in forechecking situations and uses his stick well to pressure puck carriers, but outside of that Hermansson shows little interest in contributing to play in the defensive zone. More often than not, Hermansson is the last man back and first man out. More “up” than “up and down” winger. That isn’t too uncommon in players with his profile, but it would be nice to see him learn to chip in a little bit more.
Also worth mentioning is that Hermansson has been known to take some dumb/lazy penalties away from the puck. Usually stick infractions and penalties in the offensive zone… the kind of thing that drives coaches mad. This has been more typical of him at lower levels of play rather than at the pro level, for what it’s worth.
Hermansson has been the most skilled player on the ice at every level he’s played at and it shows, for better or for worse. At the pro level, he is learning what he can and cannot get away with and mistakes are a part of the process. At the junior level, he takes a ton of risks and can sometimes underestimate his opponents with the puck on his stick. That can lead to some outstanding moments when his ideas work… and some baffling, frustrating moments when they don’t. He is the guy you want with the puck taking those risks, so you live with the mistakes - at least, at his current level you do. However, sometimes he is just downright careless. He gets away with it because he’s “the guy”. Will he still be “the guy” at the NHL level? Personally, I think he will be, but not all NHL teams might not see it that way. You need to hope the carelessness can be coached out of him while still nurturing his creativity. He’s a young man, and a lot can change in 3-5 years time mentally speaking.
Here is Hermansson (#17 Red) giving the opposing team’s defence conniptions with his off puck movement. He’s lurking, sneaking around, making cuts to the net, and nearly scores a wraparound.
A rare defensive contribution from Hermansson (#17 White). The fact that he has it within him to back check is encouraging, but it likely won’t be a key part of his game.
Some absurd vision and skill on display by Hermansson (#17 Red) on this behind the back slot pass from Gretzky’s office. How many 17 year olds have the confidence to do that at the pro level?
The flip side of that confidence with the puck is overconfidence. Hermansson (#17 red) is better off just getting this puck in deep rather than trying to take on two defenders at the same time.
Hermansson (#17 Yellow) turns the puck over and then takes a brain dead penalty in a very tight game. A bit too common for him at the junior level.
From earlier in the season. Hermansson (#17 White) makes a poor decision with the puck and just dumps it without gaining the red line. He had time and space in front of him to take those extra steps and make sure he doesn’t ice it.
Grade: 52.5
Physicality/Compete
Hermansson’s compete level has been called into question long before his draft year due to his on-puck dominant playstyle and half-assed effort in games he feels are beneath his level. He was often just given the puck and didn’t have to learn how to get it for himself until he got to the pro level. The learning curve is steep, but Hermansson has progressed very well in that regard. His forechecking has gone from non-existent to decent, but isn’t going to speed up the decision making of the posing puck carrier. Still makes you wish he took that extra couple steps and finished his checks. His engagement along the boards has been noticeably better since the start of his HockeyAllsvenskan career, as in, he actually gets his hands dirty now. He’ll raise his floor significantly if he continues to progress in this regard.
Hermansson has always known how to be physical and throw his weight around, but most often to catch unsuspecting opponents off guard. He’s got a good enough frame to where he could be an intimidating presence on the forecheck if he wanted to be. Especially once he adds some more muscle. Adding that harder edge to a high-skill toolset like Hermansson’s could make him an extremely valuable player in more situations and will definitely boost his ice time. However, that is far from a guarantee, and mental maturation will need to happen. Best case scenario is that he mirrors his progress in the HockeyAllsvenskan, realizing a coach won’t play him if he doesn’t play hard on both sides of the puck. This is doubly true at the NHL level. It would be a welcome surprise if Hermansson displayed anything more than an NHL average level of compete.
Here’s that frustrating part of Hermansson’s (#67 White) off puck game, or lack thereof, at the junior level. One could argue they have numbers in the d zone so he doesn’t have much to do, but he doesn’t contest any passes and barely gets his stick on the ice at all. Frustrating.
Hermansson (#17 Red) going through the motions of forechecking from earlier on in the HockeyAllsvenskan season. His heart isn’t quite in it, but you gotta start somewhere.
From later in the season. Very encouraging to see Hermansson (#17 Red) getting after it and actually wanting, needing, to get that puck. This is what skeptics need to see more of.
Hermansson (#17 White) has understood that if he doesn’t give a solid effort away from the puck, he won’t get to play with it. This is doubly true for the playoffs. Here he is pressuring puck carriers up and down the ice. More of this please!
Some sneaky physicality by Hermansson (#17 Yellow). Keaton Verhoeff has 3 inches and 30 lbs on him, but he still catches him by surprise. Once Hermansson fills out, he could be a force to be reckoned with.
Again, Hermansson (#17 Red) takes a foolish penalty in a high stakes game, this time at the pro level. Could he have simply taken a few more steps and tied him up physically? Is this a symptom of being young? Is it just laziness? Can it be coached out of him? These are questions talent evaluators will be asking themselves when weighing the pros and the cons of Hermansson.
Grade: 50
OFP: 56.25
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.