U19 5-Nations: Raising Hellstrom

Despite the absence of marquee players such as Johannes Salmonsson, Oscar Hedman and Nicklas Bergfors, Team Sweden cruised to a remarkably easy victory at the recent Under-19 Five Nations Tournament held in Stockholm, and were led by standout performances from Mattias Hellstrom (MoDo) and Niklas Broms (Leksand).

Work ethic was the deciding factor throughout the event as the Swedes delivered a surprisingly strong team effort and were never really challenged.

Hellstrom and Broms, both overlooked at last summer's draft, played the best hockey of their careers and most certainly bolstered their draft stock in the process.

Mattias Hellstrom (2005), C, MoDo

Hellstrom was very much the heart and soul of this Swedish team .. did everything and did it very well .. he won battles along the boards all over the ice and carried the puck with an effortlessness that he has rarely displayed before .. his skating seemed a notch quicker at this competition as well .. displayed excellent toughness, both mentally and physically, and solid leadership abilities .. also showed that he knows how to run a powerplay as he consistently delivered smart passes .. very aware defensively and strong in the faceoff circle to boot .. led the tournament in assists, points and plus-minus (4-2-6-8, plus-6)

Niklas Broms (2005), LW, Leksand

An unknown on the international stage, Broms stole the spotlight here .. was the best stickhandler in the tournie, aside from the Finnish magicians Korpikoski and Tukonen .. showcased a terrific arsenal of dekes and proved lethal to goalies one-on-one on breakaways .. could be quicker in his first strides, however his top speed is more than adequate .. possesses a good frame and handles himself well physically .. more of a scorer than a playmaker, though he certainly displayed good vision on the ice as well. (4-4-3-7)

Fredrik Pettersson (2005), LW, Frolunda

Pettersson had excelled internationally with the U18 team this season, but didn't enjoy the same success at this event .. did manage to create some offense, but he really had to work for it .. his attitude and work ethic were impeccable as always .. really challenged much bigger opponents and gave them a run for their money as he never stopped skating .. should have perhaps tried to shoot the puck more often instead of trying to cycle the boards all the time as he eventually got tied up by huge defensemen .. played on the fourth line with Ritola and therefore wasn't one of the 'go-to' guys on this team .. overall though this was a fairly good performance against older competition. (4-0-2-2)

Mattias Ritola (2005), RW, Leksand

Ritola has been on fire since he left Frolunda for Leksand in the middle of the season and is currently averaging over a point per game in the junior league .. it did somewhat show, however, that he was a year younger than most of the competition .. very skilled, yet only flashed glimpses of his ability in this tournament .. boasts a good frame, but didn't win many puck battles .. needs to work harder along the boards .. a very good puckhandler at times .. demonstrates good vision on the ice and wants to be creative, though it didn't quite come together for him here .. played on Sweden's fourth line and rarely got a sniff of the powerplay .. would likely have done better with increased icetime. (4-1-0-1)

Marcus Nyberg (2005), D, Lulea

A little surprising that Nyberg was assigned to captain this Swedish team, however he rose to the occasion and delivered a solid performance .. a fast, slick skater with extremely good lateral movement .. possesses good hockey sense and makes the right decisions .. he seemed to hold back a little offensively here though, as he usually likes to join the rush more frequently .. concentrated on his defensive duties, which he did quite capably .. still needs to improve his subpar slapshot in order to be a steadier presence on the powerplay .. plays the body well and is tough to beat one-on-one, yet doesn't exactly deliver the most punishing hits .. improved his stock, but needs to show more of his offensive flair to get drafted. (4-0-1-1)

Niklas Hjalmarsson (2005), D, HV 71

A rearguard who displays some potential, but not likely to the extent believed in other circles .. didn't see that much icetime as his defensive-zone coverage was quite shaky at times .. looked quite unpolished as a puckmover at times, even when put under the slightest pressure .. he wants to make clever and creative outlet passes, but his feeds weren't as crisp as they need to be at this level .. as well, he's still prone to making unnecessary mistakes at the offensive blueline, which caused an opposition breakaway in the game against Finland .. part of the problem is a lack of strength .. he will need to work hard to fill out his frame with more muscle. (4-0-1-1)