Swe: David no Goliath
Niklas Hjalmarsson (2005), D, HV 71
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Heavily-hyped rearguard for the upcoming draft does not stand out the same way to us as the much more skilled Alex Ribbenstrand .. rather plain in his approach and skills are not exceptional .. plays consistently on the pp, but lacks crispness on his feeds and needs a better shot from the point .. a puckhandler by nature but not a very polished one; loses the puck just about as often as he makes a decent play with it .. average defensive zone coverage .. decent frame, but no evidence of strong physical traits .. quite fair positionally .. we're not sold.
David Fredriksson (STL), RW, HV 71
It is difficult to understand exactly what persuaded the Blues to draft him this summer .. an awful skater and offensive skills are little more than average .. not far from duties in the SEL, but still technically a mess .. first few strides and lateral move it to his advantage .. gets knocked off the puck with surprising ease in the offensive zone by guys he should be flattening .. handles the puck respectably when given enough time and space though this will be meager when he gets promoted .. passing game, vision are slightly above average.
Vadim Matitsyn (2005), LW/C, Skelleftea
Off-the-radar player on the newly promoted Skelleftea which has not been getting a lot of press .. son of the longtime Latvian national team defenseman Andrei Matitsin, whose Soviet-trained moves seem to have rubbed off on the kid .. very slick and confident with the puck .. buys time for himself when in possession; manipulates space effectively .. not an explosive skater, but is smooth and feet move effortlessly .. prefers passing to shooting, which makes his on-ice decisions a tad predictable after a while .. pretty thin at this time, hence would benefit greatly by adding bulk over the course of the season.
Tobias Kisum (2005), C/RW, Leksand
Gifted Dane is in his second year of draft eligibility .. made little to no impact in the Swedish junior league and internationally last year, but is making a name for himself so far this fall as the team's (U-20) offensive leader .. a good skater; quick cuts and turns with nice balance .. impressive creativity and savvy, but also drives the net .. defensively responsible, although his preferences lie in the opponent's end .. all pieces are coming together.
Petter Lindberg (2005), D, Lulea
A relative afterthought in scouting circles despite dominating in Lulea's quest for U18 championship last season (lost in the final) .. has a broad range of tools; a fluid skater with nice vision and strong passing instincts .. an effective power play presence due to a dangerous shooting arsenal .. unloads a booming slapshot mixing in a quick and accurate wrister .. there is a mean side to his game; finishes checks and works hard .. shows no glowing weaknesses that cannot be polished as he grows and matures.
