Lucas Wallmark

History

2010-11: Lucas Wallmark moved from Bjorkloven to Skelleftea — skating for the club’s U18 team — appeared in three games with Sweden’s U17 team, and played in his second TV-Pucken tournament for Sweden’s high school players. He scored 18 goals with 49 assists and had 18 penalty minutes in 36 games for Skelleftea. Wallmark had one assist with Sweden’s U17 team. He was a team captain for bronze medal-winning Vasterbotten, scoring 5 goals with 11 assists and 12 penalty minutes in eight TV-Pucken games.

2011-12: Wallmark skated for Skelleftea’s U20 team as a a 16-year-old and represented Sweden at the U18 and U17 levels. He had 1 assist and was -1 in five games for Sweden at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August before returning to Skelleftea. In 40 games (including three playoff contests) he scored 12 goals with 28 assists and was +16 with 18 penalty minutes. He played eight games for Sweden’s U18 team, with 4 assists and 6 penalty minutes, and was +2 with 2 assists and 2 penalty minutes in six games for the Sweden U17 team.

2012-13: Wallmark dressed for two Elitserien games with Skelleftea as a 17-year-old and split the year between the club’s U20 team and Karlskrona’s men’s team in Allsvenskan. He played in his second Ivan Hlinka Tournament and and at the 2013 World Junior Championship in Sochi with Sweden’s U18 team. Wallmark had no points nor penalty minutes in Elitserien play. He scored 5 goals with 10 assists and was -4 with 6 penalty minutes in 23 Allsvenskan games (including seven playoff contests). He was an assistant captain and was +5 with 18 penalty minutes, scoring 5 goals with 11 assists, in 16 SuperElit games for Skelleftea’s U20 team. He scored 4 goals with 3 assists and was +4 with 2 penalty minutes in five games at the Ivan Hlinka tournament and scored 2 goals with 3 assists and 2 penalty minutes in five games at the WJC. Wallmark was ranked 16th amongst International skaters in Central Scouting’s final rankings prior to the 2013 NHL Draft but was not selected.

2013-14: Wallmark skated for Lulea in the re-christened SHL after signing a two-year contract with the club in May 2013. He spent time with Asploven in Allsvenskan and played for Sweden’s silver medal U20 squad at the 2014 World Junior Championship. Wallmark scored 3 goals with 7 assists and was minus-4 with 2 penalty minutes in 42 games for Lulea, including one SHL playoff contest. He scored 1 goal with 7 assists and was plus-4 with 6 penalty minutes in 11 games with Asploven. He scored 3 goals with 5 assists in seven games at the WJC and was plus-5 with 2 penalty minutes. Sweden lost to Finland, 3-2 in overtime in the gold medal game. Wallmark was ranked 20th amongst European skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings and was selected by Carolina in the fourth round (97th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft.

2014-15: Wallmark returned to Lulea for his second SHL season and skated for the Sweden U20 team in the 2015 World Junior Championship. He scored 5 goals with 13 assists and was -8 with 14 penalty minutes in 50 regular season games for eighth-place Lulea. He led the club in scoring in the playoffs, recording 5 assists and finishing +1 with 2 penalty minutes in seven games. Walllmark scored 4 goals with 2 assists and was +3 with 8 penalty minutes in seven games for Sweden at the WJC. Sweden finished fourth, falling 4-2 to Slovakia in the bronze medal game. The Hurricanes signed Wallmark to a three-year entry-level contract in June 2015.

Talent Analysis

Wallmark was surprisingly passed over at the 2013 draft, but Carolina’s decision to draft him in 2014 will seemingly pay dividends. Wallmark is very smart on the ice, making him good in all three zones. He’s not a prolific scorer, but he’s able to contribute as a complementary point producer, and his faceoff skills and defensive responsibility make him the type you can play in every situation.

Future

Wallmark will return to the SHL for the 2015-16 season, but should make the move to North America next year. Like countryman and current Hurricane Victor Rask, Wallmark could be a sleeper at center down the road for Carolina.