Sweden’s Top 15 Prospects for the 2000 NHL Draft

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List done in association with former Midget AAA Elite coach, and current head coach of the National 18 Team.

1. Martin Samuelsson, Modo, F.

189 cm, 87 kg.

1982 01 25

Shoots: L

Comments: Big strong forward, good ability to score goals. Will get his
hockey education from the top-notched coaching staff in Örnsköldsvik, who
have thaught the Sedin brother´s and Peter Forsberg and all of the other
supreme talent coming up from the ”hockey factory” of the northern part of
Sweden. That factor is a guarantee for success.

2. Tim Eriksson, Västra Frölunda HC, F.

174 cm, 71 kg.

1982 02 05

Shoots: L

Comments: Fast player who can handle the puck. Only weakness is size. Might
have better speed than Samuelsson.

3. Magnus Hedlund, Mora IK, D.

169 cm, 62 kg.

1982 01 02

Shoots: L

Comments: Should had been ranked first if he had been bigger. Strong player
though, who has dominated the Allsvenskan (South) League this
season.Unbelivable player who has everything except size. But size will
come, his body hasn´t start to develop yet, but count on this player. Also a
good hitter despite his size.

4. Niklas Kronwall, Djurgårdens IF, D.

179 cm, 71 kg.

1981 01 12

Shoots: L

Comments: Playing with the big mighty Djurgården team of the Swedish Elite Read more»

Djurgarden prospects

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Djurgarden is using a new system this season, using only one defenseman and four attackers on
each line. Basically, the defenseman’s (called sweeper) job is too take defensive
responsibility. Instead of using two defenseman, Djurgarden has two centers and two forwards
called torpedos. In each formation there is one offensive center and one defensive center,
however both centers participate a lot in the play when the team has the puck. Both the
torpedos have only offensive tasks and quoting the coach Mats Waltin: “We do not want too see
the torpedos in our own zone”. Djurgarden has a very offensive approach and both torpedos on each formation forecheck extremely hard.

Of course, playing with this system also means defensive problems. Teams who specialize in
counter-attacks have so far had great success against Djurgarden and the team often has to
face 1 on 2 or 1 on 3 situations.

An example of a game where such a scenario happend is the
game between Djurgarden and Leksand on Oct.3. Djurgarden outshot Leksand 21-6 in the two first
periods, but were still down 1-3. The final score was 2-5 inspite of Djurgarden having 32
shots on goal and Leksand only 13. One of the keys to success for Djurgarden is that goalie
Tommy Soderstrom (formerly with the Flyers and Islanders) is at his best and ready to face
many odd-man attacks.

So far after 13 games, the result has been satisfying. Djurgarden has scored a league-leading Read more»

Sedin-Sedin-Weinhandl, a great success.

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HV 71 (Home) vs. MoDo (Away)

Before the season many “experts” said that MoDos defense was an uncertain card, before the game against HV 71 MoDo had only let 10 goals past in 7 games! The Sedins line is not only the best offensive line but defensive as well, much because that they almost spend all the time in offensive zone. After 7 games the line has still not let any goals against with even strength.

The first period against HV 71 was quite even; the Sedins line created one big scoring chance but Daniel did not manage to beat Kari Takko in the net. In the second period MoDo played better and 4 minutes into the period Henrik fed Mattias Weihandl with an opening pass.

Weihandl deked Takko but he hit the post. But Weinhandl got his revenge after a disordered situation in front of the net. He picked up the lose puck and fed Henrik with a pass, Henrik with an open net made no mistake. HV tied the game before the period was over.

The third period was, just as the previous two, an open history. Great skating, intensity and goal tending. With 2.24 left of the game, Samuel Pahlsson won a face-off in offensive zone, he was captured by HV 71′s defense and knocked to the ice. But with great strength he manages, lying down, to lift the puck past Kari Takko. MoDo won 3-1 after an EN-goal.

HV 71-MoDo 3-1 (0-0,1-1,0-2)

First Period:

No scoring

Second period:

0-1 (07.27) Henrik Sedin (Mattias Weinhandl)
Read more»

Meet the Sedins new friend, Mattias Weinhandl

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Important players like Per Svartvadet, Hans Jonsson and Frantisek Kaberle have all left MoDo for North America and the NHL. Last season’s best goalie in SHL, Petter Ronnqvist did not want so sign a new contract and chose to play in Europe. But MoDo has signed some interesting players. Andreas Pihl is a big defender (102-kg) and he might fill some of the empty space after Jonsson in the defense. Canadian Joel Bouchard is a rushing defender and will be an important part in MoDos Power Play. But the most interesting rookie in MoDo and SHL this season is winger Mattias Weinhandl. Weinhandl played in the lower divisions last season and 11 out of 12 clubs in the SHL wanted his name on a contract, but he chose MoDo. He was born in 1980, just like the Sedins and was drafted in the middle of the third round by the Islanders.

MoDo has combined a new, very interesting line this season. Mattias Weinhandl has joined the Sedins and they have played great together. Weinhandl fits in superbly. He is an aggressive and very skilled player. He is also a right-shooter, and with that combination it makes him a perfect fit with the twins. Weinhandl is pure goalscorer, in my opinion, MoDos best since Markus Naslund. “The Sedin line” has begun the season very well and will be a big attraction during the winter. The line has actually played together earlier in their careers. The first time they played together was in the WJC’s last Christmas.
Read more»

PROSPECT NIGHT: LULEÅ vs. KÄRPÄT

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With no less than 10 NHL drafted players and a few other interesting names, such as 2000 entry draft top prospect Lasse Kukkonen on the ice, this is one of the first and most important games to report from this season. Reason being that in preseason games such as this one, young promising players often get a chance to show what they are made of. Luleå gave two players from their U20 team a chance, although they weren’t played very much. Defenseman Anders Sundvall hardly played all. Winger Daniel Lundholm only played the first half, in which he was close to scoring for the first time in senior hockey. Kärpät is a team that has an amazing number of good prospects, and many of them really showed why they are prospects in this game. A sad thing, however, was that the Toronto 1997 draft pick Jonathan Hedström wasn’t able to play due to an injury he suffered earlier this week in a charity soccer game. This was supposed to be his first game in the Luleå jersey, but that has been put on the back burner as he recovers. Below is a report from this game. The players whose names are written in bold text are those mentioned in the ”Player comments” section.

Enjoy!

FIRST PERIOD
Luleå started the game with an early goal at the expense of hot 2000 prospect, Lasse Kukkonen. Read more»