Joel Lundqvist's back in Frölunda

Not much going on at the moment, so I have been enjoying the summer. Here are some news though.

Since May, there has been articles now and then about forward Joel Lundqvist and where he will play next season. Lundqvist played for the Dallas Stars last season and had a rough season with injury problems that made him miss half of the season. Dallas ended up not re-signing him, so he became an UFA this summer.

Most have pointed towards Lundqvist going to his old SEL team Frölunda, unless something interesting would come up at the other side of the pond, and now it's official. According to Lundqvist's agent, Lars Cederström, he will play for Frölunda and if the contract wasn't signed yesterday, it will be within the next few days. The contract is on six years with a clause (NHL-out clause I'm guessing) after each season according to the agent.

Frölunda now got 16 forwards under contract and players like Washington's first round pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, Anton Gustafsson, and Atlanta's 34 overall pick in 2009, Carl Klingberg, could be two of the first ones to be loaned out to the affiliated team Borås in HockeyAllsvenskan.
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Sedins update

Yesterday, a lot of websites reported that Mike Gillis, GM of the Vancouver Canucks, was flying to Sweden to talk with the soon-to-be UFAs Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

While the twins seem to have appreciated the gesture by Gillis, it also seems like not much have changed and the Sedins are still planning on testing the market on July 1. At least judging by Henrik Sedin's comment in Aftonbladet.

- It was nice that they flew over to see us. We met and talked a bit. They want to give their view on the whole thing and present what they think.

What happens now?
- We have to wait and see what happens. We have said what we want, but there are some differences of opinion. We will see what happens tomorrow.

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08 Draft: Mr. Irrelevant - Jesper Samuelsson

The 2008 NHL Entry Draft took place this weekend as most people here probably know. Personally I had a very busy weekend in general with both the draft and Midsummer celebrations.

The upcoming week at this blog will probably mean a lot of post-draft news and I will begin it all by translating an article from the newspaper Norrköpings Tidningar about what could be another classic late-round pick by Detroit Red Wings. I'm talking about forward Jesper Samuelsson, who was picked last overall in the draft - Mr. Irrelevant.

This year's Midsummer became something quite out of the ordinary for Jesper Samuelsson. Among the herring and the strawberries, the Norrköping native had time to get drafted by the Stanley Cup Champions Detroit Red Wings.

People have noticed Jesper Samuelsson's successful season in Vita Hästen even outside Sweden's borders.

On Midsummer Day, he was selected as number 211 in this year's NHL Entry Draft. The Detroit Red Wings, with the Norrköping native Jonathan Ericsson in the organization, are hoping to see him on the team one day in the future.

- Really fun! This has been an eventful Midsummer, says Jesper.

He has been in contact with Detroit’s chief European scout, Håkan Andersson, since last fall. At one point, he was on special training in Stockholm to show what he can do.

The Detroit management has obvious been impressed by the 20-year-old's hockey knowledge - to Jesper's big happiness.

- It didn't come totally unexpected, but I was a bit nervous because I had not heard from the club in the last month. I sat by the computer and followed the whole draft, says Jesper.

He ended up having to wait a long time before his name was announced. That he was picked at number 211 has no significance, according to him.

- It doesn't really matter. To be drafted by the best team in the world is big, who wouldn't want that?

Calgary and Ottawa have also showed interest for Jesper, but it ended up being Detroit that got the NHL rights for Jesper in the next couple of years.

There will be no time to rest though as Jesper travels to Detroit on July 5 for a nine-day training camp.

- It's going to be very exciting. A good opportunity to show what you can do and at the same time probably a lot of watching and learning. The training is going to be very hard, he says.

Jesper left Vita Hästen this spring. Next season he will be playing in the SEL with Timrå. He has moved in to a lovely duplex apartment in Sundsvall and has been training with his new team for a month now.

- Everything feels great. The amount of training, two times a day, is a bit different than what I'm used to, but I got into it pretty quick, says Jesper.

When do you think you will play in the NHL?

I've no idea about the time span. I take one step at a time and will have to see when my dream becomes true, says Jesper who has been home and celebrated Midsummer in the archipelago of Östergötland.

Celebrations that became something extra thanks to Detroit.

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08 Draft: Hockeymagasinet's Top 50 part 2

Here is number 1 to 5 in Hockeymagasinet's special top 50 for the 2008 NHL Draft, as promised. If you've missed the rest of the top 50 and want to know what it's all about, check here.

SEL: Swedish Elite League
SWE-2: HockeyAllsvenskan (division under SEL)
U20: The U20 league in Sweden

1. Erik Karlsson, D, Frölunda (U20/SEL)
2. Jacob Markström, G, Brynäs (U20/SEL)
3. Mattias Tedenby, LW, HV71 (SEL)
4. Anton Gustafsson, C, Frölunda (U20)/Bofors (SWE-2)
5. Kristoffer Berglund, D, Björklöven (SWE-2)/Luleå (SEL)

One day left to the draft!
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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)
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