Sweden: Kahnberg’s efforts not enough

The SEL giants, Farjestad and Frolunda, faced off this Thursday night in what is perhaps the most heated rivalry in the league. The team’s played each other in the SEL finals this past spring, with Frolunda emerging as the winners, securing their first championship title since 1967. But tonight the outcome would be different as Farjestad managed to win the wide-open and entertaining game 5-4 in overtime, thanks to four goals by ex-Blue Jacket Hannes Hyvonen. Among the many prospects in this game, Frolunda’s Magnus Kahnberg put up the strongest performance.

Par Backer (DET), C, Farjestad

With the acquisition of former NHL-er Mathias Johansson, Backer now finds himself demoted to fourth line duty … saw limited ice time tonight and didn’t provide much offense…plays a smart, two-way game and is a good puckhandler … needs a bigger role to develop further and would probably benefit from a transfer to another SEL team.

Robin Jonsson (STL), D, Farjestad

The 20-year old rookie defenseman is making a comeback after fighting cancer last season …a good skater who moves fluidly over the ice … possesses a solid passing game and constantly makes mature decisions in his own zone … could use some more muscle, although his lack of strength doesn’t hurt his game that much on European rinks.

Calle Steen (DET), LW, Farjestad

Hard-working winger is playing in his first full season in the SEL … plays with a lot of intensity and relies heavily on his quick skating … a decent puckhandler with some scoring touch as well … had a nice assist tonight on Farjestad’s first goal and generally left a solid impression.

Magnus Kahnberg (CAR), RW, Frolunda

The creative winger was the engine behind Frolunda’s offense tonight…scored his team’s first goal of the game with quick deke in front of the net, followed by an equally-quick backhand … he also picked up an assist in the third period … a smooth skater and an amazing stickhandler with a natural scoring touch.

Jari Tolsa (DET), LW, Frolunda

Two-way winger possessess an impeccable work ethic … a good skater with a solid breakaway speed …had a nice assist on his linemate Kahnberg’s goal … handles the puck quite well and also has an impressive wrist shot, although he seemed hesitant to use it in this game though.

Joel Lundqvist (DAL), C, Frolunda

The high-scoring center has started the season in a poor manner … played with Tolsa and Kahnberg the whole game, but still couldn’t get anything going tonight … normally a gifted playmaker with a deadly wrist shot … needs to work on his skating quite a bit based on tonight’s showing, as his legs seemed somewhat paralyzed.

Jens Karlsson (LA), LW, Frolunda

A big and physical winger with consistency problems … showed flashes of skill tonight, but it was all very scattered … must work on improving his first couple of strides … has a good wrist shot and decent puckhandling skills … also has a bit of a mean streak and is certainly not afraid to throw his body around.

Alexander Steen (TOR), C, Frolunda

Young Steen has enjoyed an impressive start to the season, coming to this game after scoring two goals and an assist in the previous contest … has excellent vision on the ice and is very creative with the puck … didn’t give a top-notch performance tonight, however, and wasn’t able to lead his line like he has shown early this season … is very mature defensively though, and played solid in his own end as always.

Loui Eriksson (DAL), LW, Frolunda

The 18-year old rookie is still looking for his first SEL goal … didn’t see much quality icetime tonight, but still worked hard on his shifts and created a couple of decent scoring chances … a good skater who moves smoothly on the ice … a very talented puckhandler … still needs to grow stronger though to make a bigger impact playing against men.