World U-18 Championship: Sweden

Sweden was the most talented team on display at the World U-18's and their defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was the revelation of the tournament. However, as a team the Swedes fifth overall finish was a terrible disappointment. McKeen's director of scouting Max Giese made a habit of catching the Swedes play while in Fargo and filed this report on several of their promising prospects.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson (2009), D, Leksands IF

The Nicklas Lidstrom comparisons are appropriate, as Larsson controls the flow of the game with his dynamic skill, vision, and poise with the puck .. a beautiful player to watch that quarterbacks the play coming out of his own end and has the ability to orchestrate plays through his stellar passing game .. such a smart player and he rarely commits mistakes .. has the 3-D vision to utilize the whole ice, as he sees everything in front, behind, and beside him .. a breathtaking skater that acts as a puppeteer on the point getting the defenses to move to his liking .. a seeking shooter, his wristshot is especially potent and he expertly creates new lanes with his lively stick and striking lateral mobility .. has brilliant puck control all around his body, as he manipulates the puck as if it was on a string while fully extending his reach and then can fluently pull it in tight to protect it .. has deft hands and made it a habit of toe dragging around opponents .. ice water must run through his veins because he likes to draw an opponent to him before making the play .. does a splendid job at making plays under pressure .. a gifted powerplay quarterback that naturally works the line .. sees and moves the puck through lanes most can't .. defensively, Larsson is a rangy player that pressures the puckcarrier with tight gaps and a polished comprehension for angling .. maintains an active stick and plays hard, but he must get stronger because his lack of strength leads to lost puck battles and failed crease coverage .. however, his frame is projectable and it isn't much of a concern .. was on Sweden's top pairing, first powerplay unit, and the key shutdown figure on the penalty kill .. was the best defenseman at the World U-18 Championships and simply put a special player .. Larsson could be a franchise defenseman and deserves a top-five selection.

Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson (2009), LW, Timra IK

A dynamic offensive jet that executes at full-speed .. an absolute rocket on skates, Paajarvi's first two-strides are special and he just explodes out of the gate .. without the puck, Paajarvi's speed backs defenders off and opens the ice for his teammates .. his hands are equally as quick as his feet and this enables him to execute at his blistering top gear .. a creative setup man, Paajarvi's bread and butter was beating defenders wide before dishing off the puck to teammates in scoring positions .. created lots of chances for himself with his speed and work ethic, but he lacked finish and at times, lapsed into operating in a bubble .. orchestrated give and go's on the powerplay, but he didn't seem to process the game or see the ice as quickly as he does move his feet and hands .. strong and was effective generating scoring opportunities from deep within the offensive zone thanks to his ability to accelerate off checks .. his play was overall disappointing and did raise some concerns here .. started off on the wrong foot with a disappointing game against the Czechs and was equally quiet against the Germans.

Jacob Josefson (2009), C, Djurgardens IF Stockholm

A cerebral, two-way playmaking centerman that excels on the cycle .. lacks a separation gear of speed, but his smarts make up for any skating deficiencies and he's quite sturdy on his feet .. that said, his effectiveness dissipated when the game entered a fast, up and down state .. has prodigious in-tight skills and he expertly protects the puck making him a very effective player on the cycle .. few players are better at slipping off checks and attacking the net with the puck .. very intelligent and displayed great poise and patience with the puck, as he can buy time to use secondary and even his third options .. won't beat you in the open ice, but he's absolute money below the hash marks .. has extraordinary vision and creativity making him a deft playmaker from deep within the offensive zone .. a valued penalty-killer and was Sweden's ace in the faceoff circle .. was the first man over the boards to kill 5-on-3's and he seems to always be in position defensively, ready to intercept passes with his active stick .. comes deep to support his defensemen in coverage and boasts a keen sense of anticipation .. doesn't have prototypical size, but he's slippery and strong on the puck with great footwork along the boards .. should be a top-15 pick with an outside chance of going in the top-10.

Robin Lehner (2009), G, Frolunda HC Gothenburg

A big, butterfly goaltender with the size (6-4, 192) to fill the net .. has a similar stance to Henrik Lundqvist, in which he advertises a gaping five-hole and his gloves sit on his pads .. makes shooters commit first with his economical and calm approach .. baits shooters into going five-hole before closing it instantly .. recovers well from the butterfly back to his stance and didn't flop .. the flexibility he exhibits in his groin and hips coupled with his size allows him to cover the entire lower portion of the net while in the butterfly .. does a good job of playing the middle of the net and remaining square and in position .. lateral movement is strong and he nicely slides into his butterfly while finding the post .. has a quick glove hand .. activates his stick to pokecheck and defend his crease area .. also a decent puckhandler .. his reactionary quickness is adequate but snipers were still able to pick corners on him because he began to sink early at times .. guilty of playing too deep in his crease and his rebound control was poor .. started the tournament with a shutout over the Czechs.

Simon Bertilsson (2009), D, Brynas IF Gavle

Partnering with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Bertilsson quietly went about his business and simply did his job without drawing much attention to him in either a negative or positive light .. for one to truly appreciate the subtleties his game possesses you need to watch him closely .. his hockey sense is his top attribute, as he's an intelligent player both with and without the puck .. an all-access skater with clean pivots and athletic feet .. boasts marked vision and he consistently finds the open man with an accurate pass .. occasionally flashed some creativity by working well off the puck to exploit developing seams in the offensive zone .. deceptively skilled and executed a pretty play near the net, but he doesn't like to skate far with the puck, instead he elects to move it quickly .. such a smart puck mover and never stretched himself into a mistake .. an undersized, but proactive defender that suffocates the puckcarriers' options with his stout positioning .. was on the first powerplay, penalty kill, and on the top defensive pairing .. his lack of size is the only glaring concern.

Tim Erixon (2009), D, Skelleftea AIK

A steadying two-way defender and a polished all-around player .. a mobile and rangy skater that has the lateral agility to work the point .. was occasionally caught flatfooted in defensive postures, but this was more of a tactical flaw than a skating issue .. logged a lot of minutes on the point for the powerplay where he kept things simple by patiently awaiting for traffic to develop around the net and then finding the open seam to get the puck through .. poised with the puck but nothing flashy, Erixon is a safe puck mover that doesn't have high-end offensive creativity .. defensively, he did a nice job getting his shoulders square to the puckcarrier, extending his long reach and angling off his man .. was guilty of watching the puck at times and needs to take the body more .. is gangly and will need to get stronger .. overall, his stock should be on the rise after this tournament.

Carl Klingberg (2009), RW, Frolunda HC Gothenburg

A big, hardnosed energy player with an outside gear of speed .. has buoyant feet and the ability to rapidly accelerate into his fast top gear that enables him to beat defenders wide with striking consistency .. has a knack for slipping around defenders and once he has a step on you, he's gone to the net .. his skill level is in the embryonic stage right now, as while there is something there, it hasn't fully materialized yet .. has a good release and he astutely makes one move to the net and then finishes .. plays a bull in a china shop style and vigorously attacks the net each and every shift .. a competitive, hardnosed player with great energy and makes a living playing along the boards .. strong along the wall and his quick burst leads to great scoring opportunities or to him drawing penalties .. was on the penalty kill and worked equally hard in both zones .. didn't look out of place on the top line and showcased his ability to play with good players .. stock should definitely rise after this tournament and he could go in the first round.

Anton Lander (2009), C/LW, Timra IK

An orderly, bow-legged skater with a low center of gravity and decent core strength .. doesn't have dynamic wheels or size, but he's an intelligent player with nice hands .. the bottom line is he gets to where he needs to be so who cares how he gets there .. his nifty mitts enable him to thread the needle while passing the puck through congested areas .. a methodical, support player that is also a creative playmaker .. shields the puck well and acted more as a distributor than a finisher here .. has deceptive strength and was able to rub some guys off the puck .. should be selected within the early rounds of the draft, although he isn't dynamic enough to be a lock for the first round.

Mattias Lindstrom (2009), LW, Skelleftea AIK

At 6-foot-4 and 192 pounds, Lindstrom has the size that gets noticed by scouts and it's a check in the plus column that can't be coached .. was just okay at this tournament, but nothing special .. willingly planted his big frame in front of the net on the powerplay and he was difficult to move once there .. applied decent pressure on the forecheck and played a fairly heavy game .. his skating is decent for his size, but one wishes he was quicker .. a solid defensive presence that killed penalties .. nothing dynamic here, but a solid prospect nonetheless.

Adam Larsson (2011), D, Skelleftea AIK

If there is one word that would properly describe Larsson it would be skill, as he was the youngest player on the team and he has high-end potential .. while taking notes and describing each compartment of his game, the word skill constantly came to mind .. an agile, accomplished puckcarrier with quick feet .. a proficient offensive defenseman with skilled puck movement that just needs to work on his shot .. does a nice job jumping into the rush and identifying open seams in the offensive zone to pinch into .. sees the ice well and exhibited the ability to send passes through the opponents penalty-kill box .. on the powerplay, Larsson would often sink to the half wall and station himself there .. is already 6-foot-2 and will be a sizable man once he grows into his body, but right now his defensive play suffers from physical immaturity and he was overpowered by opponents .. overall, he's still figuring it out and wasn't a consistent force, but he did flash brilliance time to time.

Gabriel Landeskog (2011), LW, Djurgardens IF Stockholm

A player to watch for the 2011 draft, Landeskog made a noticeable impression with limited icetime .. because of the abundance of experience and talent the Sweden roster enjoyed, Landeskog didn't receive a lot of minutes .. impressed with his pure skill and skating ability, as well as his willingness to get his nose dirty along the boards .. also was a capable scorer with the ability to finish with pretty moves in alone on the goaltender.