U-18 Junior Cup: Sweden

The Swedish team at the U-18 Junior Cup consisted of a number of key names for the 2006 NHL Entry draft. Amongst those having breakthrough performances were Jhonas Enroth, Robin Figren and Jimmy Jensen. Robert has all the details and scouting including notes on top Swedes Niclas Andersen and Tony Lagerstrom.

Top performers

Jhonas Enroth (2006), G

Notes: ranked fifth among tournament goaltenders in save percentage (.922) .. ranked fourth in goals against average (2.35) .. stood between the pipes for 178:41 minutes .. stood on his head in the opener and for much of the tournament .. aside from some puck-moving misadventures Enroth was rock-solid.

Scouting: butterfly-style netminder .. fast reflexes; quick nimble limbs close gaps apparent in his stance .. good skater is agile in the crease .. quick to recover when dropping to a butterfly .. decent foot speed .. tough to beat down low .. impressive resilience and athleticism .. doesn't flop around but still must upgrade his approach fundamentally .. adequate blocker, lively glove hand .. tough to beat on the initial shot .. good balance and coordination in the crease .. confidently goes behind the net to handle the puck, though can be at times too bold in moving it, with a handful of wild feeds going astray.

Erik Moe (2006), D

Notes: tops amongst Swedish rearguards with two points (one goal) .. fifth in team scoring and 11th in overall defensive scoring .. complemented the defensive-minded Niclas Andersen, providing a solid two-way presence .. somewhat inconsistent offensively, but was at times a force such as in the game against Switzerland .. lost some steal late into the tournament.

Scouting: okay skater has deceptive turns and lateral movement .. moves adequately straightaway but needs to work on his lower-body strength to stay strong on his feet .. a puck rushing type with a good sense for playmaking though he does not have elite passing instincts at long distance .. fluent puck skills, accurate slap shot that he does not use nearly enough .. pinches deceptively well .. his vision sometimes limits him at the defensive end when he fails to read the developing play quickly enough .. shows some toughness and can throw a solid hit when required, but won't go out of his way .. surprised with some smart body positioning on the attacker .. not tough enough on forwards in front of his own net .. shoots right.

Niclas Andersen (2006), D

Notes: a defensive rock on the Swedish blueline (+/- of 2 for the tournament) .. stay-at-home and stabilizing .. provided mature and steady play .. cemented his status as the top Swedish 2006 draft-eligible defenseman yet again.

Scouting: shows considerable progress in his skating stills .. much more fluid stride and better acceleration .. stronger on his feet and more balanced .. nice agility and lateral movement .. sharp turns but doesn't have great speed .. conservative approach but will occasionally join the rush .. his timing on pinching is raw as he hasn't developed the sense as to when to aid a linemate without causing positional chaos .. doesn't have great hands but doesn't do anything fancy with them either .. safe, easy passes at short distance mostly .. shows some crispness on the slap shot but doesn't fire it very often .. quick and determined one-on-one .. threw some good hits and has an aura of self-confidence .. will occasionally provoke the opponent .. a bit of a mean streak but could be meaner .. body has the potential to fill out and manhandle the opposition at the highest level.

Jimmy Jensen (2006), LW

Notes: three points tied him with Figren and Lagerstrom for team lead .. two goals tied him with Lagerstrom (both on the powerplay) .. diligent warrior was a factor at both ends .. valuable combative force for the duration of the tournament.

Scouting: a well-balanced skater with a strong lower body .. able to absorb open ice hits very well .. powerful stride .. doesn't have great acceleration; needs to work on moving his feet better .. decent hands but isn't very stealthy with the puck .. can shot and pass equally well .. finds the open man accurately with a pass and has a hard snap shot .. defensively conscious, able to limit the options of opposing forwards and block passing lanes effectively .. throws his weight around with some jam; belligerent, uncompromising and consistent .. shows up in traffic regularly and is willing to go after bigger players .. played on both special teams units.

Robin Figren (2006), RW

Notes: amassed three goals (three points) to lead Swedish players - tied with the likes of Alexander Vasyunov (Russia), Patrik Prokop (Czech Republic) and Jan-Mikael Juutilainen (Finland) for seventh overall in the category .. consistently the most dangerous Swede in the offensive zone .. impressed as a passer and as a finisher, despite garnering no helpers .. stock is rising gradually.

Scouting: not a great skater but has deceptive agility and nice bursts of speed .. okay foot speed and is pretty strong on his feet .. crafty moves with the puck with nifty dekes in tight space .. plays with his head up .. can turn the defender inside out .. recognizes passing lanes quickly and can dish out an accurate pass without hesitation .. nice patience with the puck .. snappy wrister with accuracy .. slapper is seldom used but he can get it on the net .. surprises with some defensive awareness, willing to come back to help out in his own end .. not soft and is willing to execute in traffic .. dug for loose pucks in the corners .. worked diligently in all three zones but intensity occasionally wane .. shoots right.

Tony Lagerstrom (2006), C

Notes: amassed two goals and his three points tied him with teammates Figren and Jensen .. only returnee from last year's team, he centred the top line .. dependable with sound passing skills and mature all-around play, including diligence in traffic .. lacked elite speed to be truly explosive, but got better as the tournament went on with solid showings against Slovakia and Switzerland .. scored all points on the powerplay .. a bit of a disappointment but he may be the safest bet on the team.

Scouting: not particularly fast but has underrated agility and good lower-body strength and balance for his age .. smooth and firmly in control of his body when making plays with the puck, though he at times stops moving his feet while making a play .. tight forechecker knows how to stick with his man .. good vision and has a playmaker's approach on offense .. looks comfortable performing in traffic and executing in the slot .. would like to see him shoot the puck more .. has a nice, hard snap shot; under-utilizes the slapper .. looks for loose pucks around the goal area .. really progressing in his own end and will throw the occasional hit .. can play both centre and right wing.

Other players

Stefan Ridderwall (2006), G

Notes: backup goalie started two round robin games and was solid .. withstood a difficult test against Canada and was calm and collected in a nervous match against Switzerland.

Scouting: athletic and dexterous .. decent skater can move from side to side very well .. sound positionally and has polished a pretty economical style .. tough to beat on the initial shot .. does not allow many rebounds and recovers quickly .. strong down low .. okay leg quickness .. vulnerable blocker side .. goes down too early at times and leaves the upper shelf yawning .. acceptable glove hand .. impressive poise and confidence .. should handle the puck more often .. pressure doesn't seem to get to him much.

Kristofer Berglund (2006), D

Notes: stay-at-home rearguard on the elite pairing with offense-minded Dennis Persson .. skating did not impress and should also learn to use his size to better advantage .. adequately filled his role but did not stand out.

Scouting: decent skater makes solid cuts and is mobile laterally .. lower body strength is adequate; first step is okay .. did not show a lot of top-end speed .. must learn to move his feet better .. defense-minded and fairly diligent along the boards and in front of the crease .. can use his body to his advantage but has not learned to intimidate with it quite yet .. kept onrushing attackers to the outside .. very limited offensively as he lacks vision and imagination .. handles the puck acceptably and can corral the puck at high tempo .. heavy slapshot with average accuracy .. played on the pk and was consistent.

Dennis Persson (2006), D

Notes: provided forward teammates with quality feeds .. showed two-way savvy against the Czech Republic .. really struggled against the pesky Swiss where he was shaky and undisciplined .. still solid and has promise.

Scouting: decent skater who lacks great top-end speed, though that is not really hurting him .. moves quite well laterally with good turns and adequate acceleration .. mobile enough that forwards aren't able to burn him to the outside .. quite poised and level-headed .. has creativity on offense but at times gets careless .. smooth and confident on the puck .. quick release on slap shot but is inaccurate .. shows no real aggressiveness in his own zone where he relies more on smarts and vision.

Magnus Svanberg (2006), D

Notes: much–anticipated showing did not turn heads in the early stages .. was asked to play conservatively and did little for the duration of the round robin, but gradually improved .. play against Slovakia stood out.

Scouting: defense-minded .. must work on gaining lower-body strength .. rough in terms of lateral movement and first step quickness .. decent backwards mobility .. works hard down low and looks comfortable when keeping things simple in a defensive manner .. takes his man out of the play; finishes his checks occasionally but not consistently .. strong but lacks the kind of meanness or character expected of him .. very limited offensively, lacking creativity and much passing ability .. hands are good enough to make the simple plays .. doesn't make glaring mistakes with the puck .. point shot has some zip on it, but nothing to get excited about.

Mathias Sjoberg (2006), D

Notes: depth player did not impress .. focused on defensive responsibilities and struggled to stand his ground physically .. Canadian players gave him a tough time, outmuscling him consistently to the puck .. very ordinary.

Scouting: smallish and slight .. does not have great wheels for his size .. decent lateral movement and agility .. not very strong on his feet at all and gets knocked off his feet often .. joins the rush but lacks vision and creativity .. not able to stay with his man all the way, partly due to a lack of focus and in part to his failure to move his feet effectively .. all shots lack hardness .. lacks toughness and does not have the strength to keep the bigger guys at bay .. must work harder down low .. must work on the timing of his pinches.

Thomas Larsson (2006), LW

Notes: arguably the toughest Swede filled a conscientious two-way role .. battled in the slot regularly and payed the price to succeed .. doesn't have great speed which cost him at times .. a valuable team player with an average skill set.

Scouting: has to work on his foot speed and first step quickness .. acceptable top speed and agility; good balance .. does good work in all three zones .. has a keen eye for the developing plays, effectively blocking passing lanes on defense .. decent hands and can find the linemate's stick with a tape-to-tape pass .. looks to pass more than to shoot .. average in-close finishing skills .. sticks his nose into traffic and is never scared .. not really a big hitter but he can lay a guy out when necessary .. regular on pk units .. winning attitude though he could use more energy on offense.

Mikael Ahlen (2006), RW

Notes: diligent worker used his quickness to disturb the opposition in the offensive zone .. best effort was against Switzerland .. was an effective passer in powerplay situations .. has limitations but did not disappoint.

Scouting: quick, short stride but doesn't have great top speed .. sharp cuts and turns and good foot speed .. adequate balance .. lacks elite puck skills and doesn't make a lot of nifty moves in possession .. fluent playmaking skills; recognizes passing lanes quickly .. not persistent enough around the goal area .. quick, crisp wrist shot .. underutilizes the slap shot and has to upgrade its accuracy .. willing to sacrifice his body to block shots .. defensive aware and comes back to mark his man quickly .. not mean but has some toughness .. shoots right.

Johan Valitalo (2006), LW

Notes: third liner stood out with excellent skating skills but didn't make much use of his speed .. left most of defensive work to linemates Berglund and Forsberg .. one-dimensional and too selfish to be productive.

Scouting: agile and fast .. can beat the defender to the outside with an explosive first step .. nifty dekes and cuts .. does not have a good shot array; too soft and telegraphed .. made some nice passes but tends to overhandle the puck .. not aggressive but did okay in traffic .. lacks a mean streak .. intensity wanes off the puck .. slow at marking his man .. played on the powerplay .. often had poor shifts where he floated and did not look interested.

Patrik Berglund (2006), C

Notes: clutch performer alongside wingers Valitalo and Forsberg .. showed a creative playmaking side to his game .. better linemates would have probably led to more points .. solid but still didn't stand out enough to get a high rating.

Scouting: decent skater is not fast but is deceptively agile .. vision and playmaking skills are strengths .. nice stickhandling trickery at times .. not very dangerous one-on-one .. heavy wrist shot with a sharp release .. hard working and has some surprising meanness .. inconsistent checker; not always in the mood to finish a hit, as he needs to be properly coached .. willing to come back on defense but is still mostly confused in this respect.

Tobias Forsberg (2006), RW

Notes: mucker fought and battled all tournament long .. worked hard in all three zones .. does not possess any offensive potential to speak of .. honest character guy won't excite many North American scouts anytime soon.

Scouting: average speed and needs to get stronger on his feet .. uses a short stick to stickhandle but still struggles to do much with the puck in traffic .. competitive and always gets into the corners .. battles in front of the opposing goal, where he looks for rebounds .. mainstay on pk units .. defensively aware but could be quicker to mark his man .. adequate vision with some moments of playmaking adequacy, but he is limited .. not a finisher .. shoots right.