June 16, 2008

08 Draft: Hockeymagasinet's Top 50

Anders Östberg over at Hockeymagasinet is presenting his own top 50 for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. What makes the list different from other mock drafts etc is that it's his top 50 list of Swedish players (foreign players playing in Sweden are also included) available for the draft.

He mentions in the introduction text to the list, that it's not just about who will turn into the best player. Instead he takes the NHL into consideration (style of playing, small rinks etc) and sees if the player would be able to fill a role there one day. So a player that has the potential to become a great SEL player one day, might still end up lower on the list because he would never fit in the NHL. Also being passed over in earlier drafts will affect the player's ranking.

The list is now down to the top 5, so I thought I would present player 6 to 50. There are names on the list that not even me as a Swede has heard of, so don't be scared. Maybe you now, thanks to the list, have heard of the unknown Swede, Detroit ends up picking in the third round. ;-)

I should also mention that Östberg has written scouting reports about every player in the list. Since I don't have the time to translate all that though, I might instead eventually post what he said about the top 5 and/or the drafted players. I've on the other hand added links to every player's Elite Prospects profile, so you can still read some about the players.

On to the list - 6 to 50!

SEL: Swedish Elite League
SWE-2: HockeyAllsvenskan (division under SEL)
SWE-3: Division 1 (division under SWE-2)
U18 and U20: The U18/U20 leagues in Sweden
NCAA: National Collegiate Athletic Association
USHS: United States High School

6. André Petersson, LW, HV71 (U20)
7. Nicklas Lasu, RW, Frölunda (U20)/Bofors (SWE-2)
8. Johan Motin, D, Färjestad (SEL)/Bofors (SWE-2)
9. Daniel Despotovic, RW, Södertälje (U20)
10. Mats Frøshaug, C/RW, Linköping (U20/SEL) -
Norwegian
11. Tim Bränholm, LW, Frölunda (U20)
12. Dennis Bozic, D, Linköping (SEL)
13. David Ullström, C, HV71 (U20)/Borås (SWE-2)
14. Henrik Eriksson, C, Djurgården (U20)
15. Mattias Ekholm, D, Mora (SWE-2)
16. Jens Westin, D, MODO (SEL)
17. Emil Bejmo, C, Skåre (SWE-3)/Färjestad (SEL)/Bofors (SWE-2)
18. Anton Blomqvist, D, Malmö (U20)
19. Johan Erkgärds, C, Skåre (SWE-3)/Färjestad (SEL)/Bofors (SWE-2)
20. Simon Cederborg-Nilsson, LW, MODO (U20)
21. Joacim Eriksson, G, Brynäs (U20)
22. Tobias Forsberg, RW, MODO (SEL)
23. Martin Lundberg, C, Skellefteå (U20)
24. Henrik Thegel, RW, Brynäs (U20)
25. Philip Larsen, D, Frölunda (SEL)/Borås (SWE-2) -
Danish
26. Sebastian Erixon, D, Sundsvall (SWE-2)/Timrå (SEL)
27. Stefan Espeland, D, MODO (U20) -
Norwegian
28. Victor Änilane, LW, Rögle (SWE-2)
29. Gustav Nyquist, LW, Malmö (U20)/University Of Maine (NCAA)
30. Robert Johansson, LW, Västerås (U20)
31. Lucas Sandström, RW, Mora (U20)
32. Magnus Nygren, D, Färjestad (U18)
33. Alexander Fällström, RW, Shattuck St. Mary's (USHS)/Djurgården (U20)
34. Erik Gustafsson, D, Northern Michigan Univ. (NCAA)
35. Kenny Källström, D, Leksand (SWE-2)
36. Blaz Gregorc, D, Södertälje (U20) -
Slovenian
37. Robin Olsson, D, Luleå (SEL)
38. Stefan Warg, D, Västerås (U20)
39. Dennis Rasmussen, C, Västerås (U20)
40. Anders Nilsson, G, Luleå (U20)
41. Martin Johansson, C, Västerås (U20)
42. Eddie Läck, G, Leksand (SWE-2)
43. Robin Sterner, C, Färjestad (U18)
44. Thomas Larsson, C, Skellefteå (SEL)
45. Oscar Eklund, Djurgården (SEL)
46. Anders Lindbäck, G, Almtuna (SWE-2)/Brynäs (SEL)
47. Johannes Tornberg, LW, Luleå (U20)
48. Jonathan Johansson, RW, MODO (U20)
49. Markus Hebrant, D, Huddinge (U20)
50. Niclas Lehmann, C, AIK (U20)
.

2 comments:

Kyle said...

i'm definitely saving this link for saturday. i'll need ytu to translate some stuff from me.. i better just memorize 30-50 on that list because those are the players detroit will draft. haha

Anonymous said...

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Thanks