Sweden: Under-18 Junior Cup Coverage
August 10-15, 2004; Czech Republic/Slovakia
Sweden (Bronze Medal)
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Finishing a satisfying third, team Sweden had a positive showing despite missing top prospects Nicklas Bergfors, Alexander Sundstrom and Tom Wandell. The Swedes did form a solid unit as the likes of Fredrik Pettersson and Mattias Ritola stepped up in place of the aforementioned blue chippers.
Top performers
Led Sweden in points (5-3-1-4) and goals .. tops among the Swedes in shots on goal (15) - Zackrisson was second with only seven .. solid skater with very quick feet and good acceleration .. skates sharply on his turns and demonstrates nice balance .. most impressive trait was his ability to make plays at top speed and draw defenders out of position .. a tenacious forechecker who loves to stick his nose into traffic .. not big, but loves to take the body .. has a hard, accurate slap shot .. great attitude, combativeness and competitiveness .. a budding leader .. defensive game requires some polishing .. from the looks of things, it looks like he can be effective despite his small frame.
Third in Sweden's scoring (5-1-2-3) .. agile skater is light on his feet .. fluid puck skills to complement his creativity and playmaking savvy .. showed elusive one-on-one skills .. sees the ice very well .. does not show a natural finishing ability; does not attack the net hard enough mostly due to a minor lack in confidence .. has to shoot more .. fared well physically in traffic areas, but is not particularly physical.
Collected one goal (5-1-0-1) .. a decent skater, but a bit stiff on his twists and turns .. good straightaway speed .. an offensive-minded rearguard .. possesses strong passing skills, making hard, accurate feeds regardless of the distance .. excellent stickhandler and was the club's key powerplay qb .. decent slapper from the point, but not very hard .. at times passive in his own end, needs to be more responsible with his body and more polished in man-on-man situations .. lacks intensity in front of the crease.
Finished as the fourth best scoring defenseman at the tournament (4-2-1-3) .. above-average skater with good size .. agile and swift laterally .. acceleration and first-step quickness require further work .. tends to take care of defensive duties first prior to joining the rush .. did not make glaring positional mistakes .. pretty tough and used his size along the boards, but could be feistier .. at times stopped moving his feet when he had to make a play with the puck .. does not tend to look for long passing lanes, instead preferring the safe play .. has a strong, accurate shot from the point.
Other players
Demonstrated above-average skating skills with decent speed, but a lack of good balance on his skates .. good stickhandler and an intelligent playmaker .. prefers passing to shooting .. mostly absent in traffic; prefers a finesse style.
Average skater with nice balance, but lacks smoothness in his stride and needs to develop better first-step quickness .. most often not fast enough to keep flashy opposition in front of him .. pretty defensive-minded .. a diligent combatant along the boards and in front of the crease .. uses his body diligently .. average vision and limited puck moving upside .. sup-par puck skills .. tends to mostly dump the puck under pressure, but seems to know his limitations .. has a heavy point shot; not much accuracy.
Diminutive late 87-born rearguard with nice wheels .. good accleration and sharp agility .. struggles positionally and his ability read players is rough, but skating tends to save his bacon .. joins the rush, but not consistently .. only average hands and puck skills .. has an accurate, but not strong, shot from the point .. has trouble handling physically mature opposition .. showed no real aspects that stood out.
Skating is a little rough, but has good balance and fair straightaway speed .. has to improve his acceleration .. a belligerent type .. aggressive; likes to play the body and hits hard along the boards .. not the softest hands on the puck .. willing to drop the gloves .. surprised with a deceptively explosive slapper, but lacks accuracy .. raw defensively, but went back to help the defense .. plays with a North American approach.
Joel Gistedt, G
A smallish goalie .. makes up somewhat for his lack of size with quickness, but does not have the fastest legs nor the best glove hand .. good athleticism .. adequate laterally .. has to get up and down quicker as he plays a butterfly style .. rough rebound control, but responded well in traffic, not getting intimidated .. late 87-born.
Good skater with a quick pivot step and fluid agility .. accelerates freely .. strong positionally and works hard along the boards .. made hard hits, but his timing on bodychecks is rather off .. reluctant to shoot the puck .. did not show much creativity nor vision with the puck on his stick .. could not seem to find a groove as he tended to follow a few good shifts with a poor one .. failed to separate himself from other defensemen.
Skates with a fluid stride and nice quickness .. has not developed strong agility as of yet .. fast release on the wrist shot .. does not mark his man diligently .. an okay passer .. late 87-born .. served as a third line center for most of the tournament.
A fluid, dangerous skater .. has a deceptively sharp first step and decent agility .. very slick with the puck and carries it very well at top speed .. forechecks tightly and frustrates defenders with his dedication .. good vision and above-average passing skills .. does not show much finishing savvy and there is a lack of know-how to drive the net .. plays both center and right wing.
Footspeed and first-step quickness are rough and a bit stiff .. works hard in all of the three zones .. a good stickhandler .. releases crisp, accurate feeds .. would like to see more persistence out of his near the goal area .. mostly looks for the pass; does not seem to like to fire the puck a lot .. plays confidently, but not physically .. floats a little and has to show more involvement in traffic areas.
Not speedy, but top speed is acceptable .. average puck skills seem to hold him back from being a really good prospect .. utilized on both the PP and PK units .. very good vision and impressive hockey sense .. a crafty playmaker who does not drive the net enough in search of scoring chances .. looked too layed back in the tournament for one's liking.
Agile, lively skater .. manoeuvers very lightly and elusively .. crafty and with a nice stickhandling range .. possesses a quick wrister and a hardy slap shot .. tends to overhandle the puck and does not show enough of his playmaking skills .. decent in traffic, but does not play the body .. fairly one-dimentional .. intensity wanes off the puck .. with the puck, he's usually silky smooth, but this is not figure skating.
Nice frame, but slow wheels .. average acceleration and sub-par top-end speed .. consistently gets beaten wide .. has a hard slap shot with accuracy .. does not make long range passes, opting for a teammate nearby .. made mistakes in his own end, both physically and with the puck, leading to numerous turnovers .. a poor showing all-around.
Acceleration and footspeed did not impress; stride is a bit stiff .. a playmaking type with decent puck skills .. sees the ice well and knows how to play an effective positional game .. does not show much of his shooting game .. Late 87-born .. shows a fair work ethic .. not much productivity.
Has a powerful stride and excellent acceleration .. agility is so-so .. strong in traffic and digs for the puck in the corners .. strong on the puck .. defensively aware; comes back and gets his body to block open lanes .. played on the PK .. good vision and a solid array of shots .. mostly teased onlookers with raw potential, but never showed real offensive prowess .. rarely shows desperation and aggressiveness.