Lofberg Selection Raises Eyebrows

The Red Wings turned many heads at the draft by drafting Christofer Lofberg in the third round, an under-the-radar talent who was not a member of the Swedish national team. Jante Abrahamsson writes that Detroit's selection surprised even Lofberg himself.

For a draft that had more twists and turns than a Michael Bay film, the post-draft outlook for Sweden wasn't especially surprising with a couple of notable exceptions. The Detroit Red Wings took a flyer on a lesser-known Djurgarden winger Christofer Lofberg in the third round (80th overall), while the Columbus Blue Jackets had the highly rated Kirill Starkov fall into their laps in round six (189th overall).

The Wings have a track record for drafting under-the-radar Swedes who are not established internationally, often not members of the national team, due to keen draft table decisions by European scout Hakan Andersson. The hit-and-miss strategy panned out twice for them in the past with Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall developing into budding stars at the NHL level.

Among those not enjoying much success is the club's 2003 draftee Mikael Johansson. The jury is still out on Andreas Jamtin.

LOFBERG SURPRISED

What the future holds in store for the 19-year old Christofer Lofberg has yet to be determined. Lofberg, never to make an appearance with the Swedish national team, scored an impressive 21 goals in 30 junior league games and was as surprised as anyone when hearing of being taken in the third round.

"My sister told me that I got picked by Detroit. I didn't believe her at first and thought she was kidding me, but then I looked at the computer screen and realized that she hadn't gone mad, as I suspected", said Lofberg, while following the event online from his home in Stockholm.

The big but physically raw winger will battle for a spot on Djurgarden's SEL roster for next season. He was given a try-out contract with the team earlier this summer.

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

The free-fall of Kirill Starkov at the draft was a surprise as the forward's play last year was in many scouts' opinions on par with the likes of Nicklas Bergfors and Morten Madsen. Talent-wise, Starkov had the skill-set to go in the first round, but what leads one to speculate about his draft stock is the fact that he was the only player at the draft without a country to represent internationally. Russian by birth, Starkov grew up in Denmark and yet has played his hockey in Sweden. He has represented none of these three countries at tournaments and remains a Russian citizen.

After first rounders Anze Kopitar and Bergfors, Starkov was the most skilled Swede in the draft class, with game-breaking offensive skills, including an excellent scoring touch.

The Red Wings are counting on Lofberg to make significant strides in his development in the two coming years, considering that they will have to sign him within this period of time to keep his rights. Starkov, a much more tested player, appears to be a safer pick at this stage unlike Lofberg who is a project.

The Red Wings' long-standing strategy of letting European picks develop at their own pace in Europe may begin to backfire if their selections take longer to make their mark than at first anticipated.