Lucas Wernblom – McKeen's Hockey

McKeens Choice Awards: Sweden

Jimmy Hamrin — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 15:25:08 +0000

Jimmy Hamrin’s Sweden-based Choice Awards

The 2019 NHL Draft is under a month away. What better way to dissect the players available from the Swedish leagues than to compare them through a “best of” article. Here are my selections for the top-rated players across several categories.

Victor Söderström
Photo: Kenta Jönsson / BILDBYRÅN / Cop 210

Best Hockey Sense – Victor Soderstrom, Brynas, SHL

Soderstrom stepped right into the SHL from the junior league and played almost the same game. The more structured game suited him well and he showed consistency in his decision-making and stayed in SHL for the rest of the season. Soderstrom sees the ice well and is a strong zone-exit player as well as zone-entries. He reads the game well on both sides of the ice.

Also Considered: Simon Holmstrom, Albert Johansson, Tobias Bjornfot, Karl Henriksson

Most Skilled – Simon Holmstrom, HV71, SuperElit

Holmstrom is the only forward in this Swedish draft core that both can give you highlight reel stick handling and control the pace of the game. He is a strong playmaker but also has a good release on his shots and skates fast with ease. He has strong zone-entries and can dominate the game in the offensive zone.

Also Considered: Nils Hoglander, Samuel Fagemo, Linus Pettersson, Victor Soderstrom

Nils Höglander
Photo: Jonas Ljungdahl / BILDBYRÅN

Hardest to Play Against – Nils Hoglander, Rogle, SHL

There’s no obvious choice here in the Swedish draft core. Neither Henriksson, Grewe or Hoglander has the size to scare opponents physically but they are all work horses on the ice. Grewe with agitating and offensive hits. Henriksson with hockey sense and “puck hounding”. The one I picked is Hoglander though. Hoglander is an intense player who can combine a hard forecheck with strong balance and slippery turns with the puck. In his cycling game Hoglander can be hard to catch as it’s hard to read his creative moves with the puck.

Also Considered: Albin Grewe, Nils Hoglander, Karl Henriksson, Tobias Bjornfot,

Best Playmaker – Simon Holmstrom, HV71, SuperElit

Holmstrom is a typical playmaking forward. He likes to play drive the play from the left outside seeking a pass (too much sometimes) and from behind the net. His passing is precise, and he sees open lanes and can make creative passes as quickly as he sees them. Holmstrom has some nice power play moves like passing from behind his back from behind the net or to trick the opponents with a faked shot to find an open shooter in the slot.

Also Considered: Victor Soderstrom, Albert Johansson, Karl Henriksson

Best Skater – Philip Broberg, AIK, Allsvenskan

First off, the more unknown prospect Mattias Norlinder gives Broberg a tough match for this title. They are both fast and agile but Broberg’s foot speed and ability to take control over a game is a bit more impressive than Norlinder’s. Broberg’s skating is elite and with the combination of his size, reach and good puck handling is a super weapon in his game. His north-to-south skating is most impressive, but his east-to-west agility is also very good as he can deke and be creative that way.

Also Considered: Mattias Norlinder, Simon Holmstrom, Victor Soderstrom, Tobias Bjornfot, Nicola Pasic

Best Shot – Samuel Fagemo, Frolunda, SHL

Samuel Fagemo had one of the best shots from Sweden last year but has excelled this season. He is clearly the best shooter in this Swedish draft class. A typical goal scorer with a quick release and accurate shooting from all over the offensive zone. He had a tough World Junior’s but showed in the SHL playoffs that he can score in that kind of environment as well.

Also Considered: Lukas Feuk, Lucas Wernblom

Best Stickhandler – Nils Hoglander, Rogle, SHL

Google search “SHL Lacrosse goal”. Hoglander has tremendous puck control. The puck seems glued to his stick. He can get pushed around, fall even, but keep control of the puck. He is elusive, slick and creative. Hoglander is a clear winner but I recommend you google “Linus Pettersson drömmål” as well.

Also Considered: Linus Pettersson, Lucas Edmonds, Simon Holmstrom, Samuel Fagemo, Albin Grewe

Best Body Checker – Albin Grewe, Djurgarden, SuperElit

This year’s Swedish draft class lacks typical physical defensemen with strong open ice hits. Instead it’s a competition between undersized forwards with an edge to their game. Grewe has strong balance on his skates and is good at protecting the puck and whose offensive hits catches defensemen off guard.

Also Considered: Lucas Wernblom, Nils Hoglander

Karl Henriksson
Photo: Simon Eliasson / BILDBYRÅN

Best Defensive Forward – Karl Henriksson, Frolunda, SuperElit

Henriksson plays a 200-foot game. He works hard and smart. He anticipates where the game is going and acts on it. He hounds the puck and is strong winning possession and keeping possession. He never gives up on a play and is fearless in the physical battles even though he is small in size.

Also Considered: Albin Sundsvik, Oscar Lawner, Oscar Bjerselius.

Best Defensive Defender – Tobias Bjornfot, Djurgarden, SuperElit

I can’t find a pure defensive defenseman who is better at defending than the best two-way defenseman. I picked Bjornfot as he is most defensively solid of the top three smartest defensemen. I particularly remembered watching Bjornfot’s SHL debut where he made a mistake early but later in the game he truly showed that he’d learned from that mistake. In the U18 Worlds, he didn’t have a bad game all tournament and seem to be able to do come up on the right side of almost every defensive battle.

Also Considered: Albert Johansson, Victor Soderstrom, Philip Broberg.

Best Offensive Defender – Philip Broberg, AIK, Allsvenskan

At even strength he is clearly the most dangerous defenseman. He can create a scoring chance all by himself from his own end. His skating and puck control are a weapon that few players have. On the power play I wouldn’t say the absolute best in this group, but he still has tools there as well. A good shot and good puck skills.

Also Considered: Victor Soderstrom, Albert Johansson, Tobias Bjornfot

Fastest Skater – Philip Broberg, AIK, Allsvenskan

I haven’t clocked them, but my sense is that Broberg is slightly faster than Norlinder, but I’m not certain. Those two are clearly ahead of the rest.

Also Considered: Mattias Norlinder

Top Goalie – Hugo Alnefelt, HV71, SuperElit

Alnefelt had a strong season, maybe not stats wise but if you look at his game there are few flaws. He could get a bit stronger in his upper body and with that he’ll be more stable. At the U18 Worlds he was the best goalie on the ice in every playoff game leading up to the gold medal. He is the best goalie prospect and is only challenged by two second year eligible goalies.

Also Considered: Erik Portillo, August Hedlund

World U18 Team Preview: Sweden

Jimmy Hamrin — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 16:00:55 +0000

As a big hockey country but a small country otherwise, Sweden rarely wins gold at junior level. This age group of 2000-borns has been strong, with many players doing well for themselves at elite senior level already. I haven’t done the math, but I can’t remember an age group with so many players already playing senior hockey at this age in Sweden. Eleven 2000-born players played most of their games at elite senior level (SHL or Allsvenskan) this season.

As a national team they won the U17 WHC and won bronze at the Hlinka tournament. Obviously, they will miss their best player in Rasmus Dahlin who also did not play at the Hlinka or this tournament last year either because he played with men’s national team. They will also miss some other key players like Rasmus Sandin (OHL-playoffs) and Filip Hallander (knee injury).

POPRAD, SLOVAKIA - APRIL 22: Sweden's Jacob Olofsson #27 lets a shot go during semifinal round action against the U.S. at the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship. (Photo by Steve Kingsman/HHOF-IIHF Images)

Absences notwithstanding, this is still a strong team with five returning players from last year’s tournament. The big center Jacob Olofsson impressed in that tournament, especially with his highlight goal versus Canada in the quarterfinal. Adam Boqvist showed his skills that put him in the top of many early draft rankings for this years. The other returnees are big defenseman Adam Ginning and the big centers David Gustafsson and Oskar Back.

What stands out with this year’s Swedish team is the skills on their core of defenseman and the size of the centers. Those assets in the team will make Sweden a hard team to beat. I believe that Sweden will have a good chance of achieving good results at this tournament and probably are the best European team on paper.

The weakness may be in goal, where Olof Lindbom have been the only goalie to continually count on over the three years of international hockey for this age group. His development has been injury prone but he has delivered for the national team. He will most likely be the starter in this tournament. The biggest goalie talent in the roster is the late 2002 born Jesper Wallstedt who has impressed at every level he has faced. This year will probably be more of a see-and-learn experience for him, but who knows?

SPISSKA NOVA VES, SLOVAKIA - APRIL 16: Pavel Azhgirei #23 of Belarus plays the puck while Sweden's Adam Boqvist #3 defends during preliminary round action at the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship. (Photo by Steve Kingsman/HHOF-IIHF Images)

The defensive core has good balance between offensive defensemen, two-way defensemen and defensive defensemen. The standouts in the categories are Boqvist and Nils Lundkvist (offensive), Filip Johansson (two-way) and Ginning (defensively).

This year’s group of forwards have a very strong core of big centremen (Olofsson, Gustafsson, Back and Marcus Westfalt). All four will probably not play center though as they all are good enough to be big contributers. The wingers are speedy and creative (standout: Jonatan Berggren) and with some good goal scorers (standout: Samuel Fagemo and Lucas Wernblom).

TOP 10 to watch:

10. Nils Hoglander FW
- A potential surprise player with his individual skills. He has great balance and puck skills. He struggles a bit with consistency and can also be a non-factor depending on which role he gets.

9. Adam Ginning D
- Big with reach and sound positioning. He needs to be effective defensively for this team to win in the big games. He has mobility and okay puck skills as well.

8. Olof Lindbom G
- Lindbom was the MVP of the J18 playoffs in Sweden but can he deliver in the big games at this stage? He is big and plays a tight game, not a spectacular goalie.

7. Marcus Westfalt C
- Big and smart. He plays responsibly and can deliver both offensively as defensively. He has been a regular for his SHL team a big portion of the season. He has developed his skating this season.

6. David Gustafsson C
- Hard working two-way player that is strong in both power play and PK. He is strong physically and is a dangerous player in front of the goal on the power play.

5. Filip Johansson D
- A very smart and mobile two-way player who is a good puck distributor. He plays well positionally and has good control of the puck. Has been a regular for Leksand in Allsvenskan.

4. Jacob Olofsson C
- Center playing both power play and penalty kill for the best team in Allsvenskan. Steps up in big situations and tries to create offense. Sometimes sloppy and needs to cover the puck better but a very interesting prospect and an important tournament for him.

3. Jonatan Berggren FW
- Speed, creativity and smooth hands. The smallish forward is a very strong junior player that has been a point producer at all junior levels this season. He is the best point producer for this national team and was the top scorer in SuperElit.

2. Nils Lundkvist D
- A very smart player with strong puck control and skills. Has been charming his way into the SHL where he has been able to be an effective puck-mover. He likes to join the attack but rarely gets caught on the wrong side of the puck.

1. Adam Boqvist D
- His lack of defensive awareness has been keeping him out of regular minutes at senior hockey. His puck skills are tremendous though and he absolutely dominates at junior level, both in the Hlnika tournament as well as in the SuperElit. Needs to perform well here to keep his status as a high first round pick. Nobody doubts the potential but how much of a long-term project will he be?