Swedish Sensations

Sweden's golden generation of players born in the early 1970's, captured the Olympic Gold last year in Torino. Now, players 20 years their junior are starting to emerge as the new "top crop" of Swedish hockey talent. McKeen's correspondent Jante Abrahamsson reviews four blue-chip prospects eligible for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, led by defenseman Victor Hedman.

Victor Hedman, D, Modo (2009)

Has all the tools to make NHL scouts literally drool .. for a kid his size, Hedman is an incredibly fluid skater .. he is generally quick on his feet and one even fails to notice the common sluggishness in lateral movements, which plagues many young and sizeable defensemen .. do not be fooled by his stature though, as Hedman is primarily an offensive-minded defenseman .. likes to carry the puck up ice and has a very strong passing game .. his shooting is still raw, as he needs to work on his precision .. defensively, he still make errors in judgement playing against men, as he occasionally loses coverage on his man in his own end but overall his hockey sense is very strong .. is almost impossible to beat 1-on-1, when playing against junior players and he holds his own in the elite league as well, thanks to his great reach, size and mobility.

Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi, RW, Timrå (2009)

Svensson is the younger brother of the former WHL player Bjorn Svensson and the son of Henrik Zetterberg's and Nicklas Backstrom's agent .. the young winger combines skill and size in a way few Swedish prospects have since Mats Sundin .. Svensson has tremendous skill with the puck and displays elite vision on the ice, which combined with his soft hands, allows him to control the pace on the ice .. his projectable size enables him to cover the puck quite well and to hold his own physically against players old enough to be his father .. can also dish out a hit or two, but does not have an aggressive approach to the game .. Svenssons's skating is smooth, with a nice and polished stride, as he has no problems accelerating up to his top gear, although his breakthrough speed is not yet blistering.

Tim Erixon, D, Skellefteå (2009)

Son of former New York Rangers' centre Jan Erixon .. just like Svensson and Hedman, Erixon was a part of the Swedish team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial as an underage player .. Erixon is not the same type of immense raw talent as Victor Hedman, but has all the tools to become a great player in his own right .. is a mobile and apt skater and is very skilled all around, as he likes to get involved in everything all over the ice .. has soft hands and is very poised with puck .. delivers strong outlet passes and possesses an accurate and hard pointshot .. Erixon is not a smallish player, but still needs to gain quite a bit of upper-body strength .. reads the game very well defensively, but could still be overpowered by older and stronger opponents in the junior league.

William Wallen, LW, Djurgarden (2009)

A smallish package, but filled with a great amount of energy and skill .. has the mindset of a winner and tends to come through in big games .. very mobile on his skates, as he is quite shifty and extremely difficult to contain .. can turn on a dime and instantly accelerate into full speed .. his best ability however, is his playmaking ... he sees the ice in a way that very few players can and will routinely set-up teammates in scoring areas with ease while playing in the junior league .. Wallén has a good wristshot, with a quick release, but needs to work on his velocity to become an even bigger threat .. his stickhandling ability and hands are top notch, as he could dangle out of a phone booth .. Deadly to play against 1-on-1 and in small spaces .. handles the physical abuse fairly well, but is not the type to dish anything out himself.