Featured Article
Kristofer Persson improving in Sweden
Written by: Johan Nilsson on 10/23/2004 
If Kristofer Persson hasn't already, he'll want to forget last season. The Calgary fifth round pick in 2002 was with Björklöven in the Swedish 2nd-tier league, but rarely saw any ice time at all. Björklöven’s coach Janne Karlsson had him mostly sitting on the bench as an extra forward. Needless to say, it is not easy for an offensive-minded player to deliver when he is not given much ice time.
To Coach Karlsson’s defense, however, the 6'4 214-pound right winger did not showcase a lot of determination when he played him and Persson’s problems with groin injuries certainly did not help. When the season ended, he had scored 5 goals (3 of them in one game) and an assist in 30 games.
During the summer, Persson signed with 2nd-tier league newcomers Skövde, a team that definitely does not have the same depth as Björklöven. With his new team he gets quality ice time playing on Skövde’s most productive line which also includes Johan Andersson and gritty forward Andreas Elofsson. The 20-year-old Persson leads the team in goals with five in 13 games and is in third place in scoring with six points.
He has throughout his young career been recognized as a gifted offensive forward with a nose for the net and good defensive skills as well, and that has not really changed . Persson still contributes offensively, but is also given quite a bit of ice time on the penalty unit where does a decent job with his great reach trying to stress the defensemen. Being of such a large stature, his skating has been a concern. He does not really accelerate very well, but when he reaches full speed he is fast and very tough to stop. If his acceleration is considered a weakness, then his technical skills are definitely strength. At numerous occasions this season Persson has stickhandled smoothly through heavy traffic and finished plays all by himself. Defensemen have a hard time stopping him not only because of his size, but because of his cleverness when being in control of the puck.
On the downside, Persson does float around from time to time and waits for the puck to come to him, instead of working for it. Having such an advantage in size he could also get involved more physically and work the puck in the corners, but that is something you rarely see Persson do.
Persson is still the same flashy and entertaining player that he was in the juniors, but just like then he sometimes tends to disappear from the games and has some consistency problems.
There’s no question that he has the talent to become a quality SEL player in the future, but then Persson will have to bring his best game every night and improve his overall work ethics. As for the NHL concerned he is a long-shot.
Persson's career statistics
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM |
| 1999-2000 | Björklöven J18 | J18 Allsvenskan | 8 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Västerbotten | TV-Pucken | 8 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 4 | |
| 2000-2001 | MODO J18 | J18 Allsvenskan | 16 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 4 |
| 2001-2002 | MODO J20 | SuperElit | 25 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 2 |
| 2002-2003 | MODO J20 | SuperElit | 24 | 16 | 12 | 28 | 10 |
| Örnsköldsviks SK | Swe-2 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | |
| 2003-2004 | Björklöven | Swe-2 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 12 |
| 2004-2005 | Skövde IK | Swe-2 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
Top 10 drafted prospects in the Swedish 2nd-tier league
| # | Player | SWE | NHL | GP | G | A | TP |
| 1. | David Nyström | HAL | Philadelphia | 10 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| 2. | Tomas Kollar | SKE | Detroit | 9 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 3. | Jimmie Svensson | T/J | Detroit | 13 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| 4. | Daniel Johansson | VÄX | Los Angeles | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| 5. | Kristofer Persson | SKÖ | Calgary | 13 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 6. | Andreas Sundin | MÖR | Detroit | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 7. | Johan Eneqvist | HAM | Montreal | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 8. | Fredrik Johansson | VÄS | Edmonton | 11 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 9. | Pontus Petterström | SKE | NY Rangers | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 10. | Johan Hägglund | HAM | Tampa Bay | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
Copyright 2004 Hockey’s Future. Do not reprint or otherwise duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.
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