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Sandman · 06-01-2023, 02:13 AM

More Draft Thoughts (6-foot European Center Edition):

-It seems like every prospect coming out of Europe in this year's Draft is about 6'0" tall and a C, so here's another one. 5'11",170lb C/W Petter Vesterheim is a Norwegian, playing in Sweden's J20, with one of the top teams, Mora IK. He's one of the older prospects in the draft, with a Sept.30th birthday, so he missed last year's draft by 2 weeks. 39 points in 41 games, putting him 27th in league scoring, but his 27 assists were 21st overall. He also was promoted for 12 games to the Allsvenskan, Swedens's second-tier league, where he managed 2 goals, then 1 assist in 7 playoff games there. Vesterheim played in the most recent World Championship for Norway as well, where he got some good reviews for his mature game, and for being able to keep up with men, despite playing mostly 4th-line minutes and getting no points. Vesterheim already demonstrates a polished, cerebral defensive game, and he plays with a high motor. Though he tends to be on the losing end of a lot of the physical battles due to his slight build, he is excellent at moving around, supporting his D along the walls and in front of the net, and has high awareness in this area. He exhibits confidence in carrying on the breakout, or he can be a link to other wingers in transition, and works diligently off-puck. This quality off-puck game helps him be an option in all areas of the ice. Offensively, he has a pretty good shot, and can score from pretty far out, but he's more of a playmaker with above-average IQ and creativity, though he's still growing in this area- scouts would like to see better numbers. They would also like to see him go to the net more, and get a few more goals. Skating-wise, he's very mobile, but needs to improve his technique to get more acceleration and a better top-speed. All in all, Vesterheim has a lot of work to do in many areas, and he will picked in the mid-to late rounds of the draft because of this.

-6'0",181lb LHC Kalle Carlsson was heralded as a potential first-rounder in this draft, but his numbers have slipped, along with his rankings. In the J20 league in 2021-22, as one of the youngest members of Orebro HK, he put up 27 points in just 30 games, for a ppg of 0.9, good enough to rank 3rd (just behind Otto Stenberg) for players under-17 in that league. The next highest-ranking U-17 player was David Edstrom, with 11 points. This year, his ppg slipped to 0.8, with 35 points in 44 games, with no points in 3 games in the SHL. Every description of KC starts the about the same, with the mention that he's a smart, creative, hard-working C with high IQ and top-tier playmaking. Even better, he plays a good 200-ft game. Carlsson is an excellent skater, but perhaps not elite, as there's room to grow- but he is strong on his skates, and agile. He owns a very hard shot with accuracy and deceptiveness, but he perhaps doesn't use it enough. Playmaking seems to be his forte, and he is an expert in finding teammates in open spaces, or finding open ice for himself to pull off plays, and he sees seams that few can. Defensively, he knows where to go to kill plays, intercept passes, and clog lanes- he's highly aware in all areas. He's known to be physical on occasion, to neutralize his opponents, and he will battle in the dirty areas. Dayton Reimer of The Hockey Writers likens his situation to that of Attu Raty, in that Carlsson needs time to "figure out the finer aspects of his game", and will grow in his patience, and creativity. It's hard not to like this kid, and I think he'll be a mid-round pick.

-Can't believe I forgot to do a write-up on 6'0",179lb LHC Tom Leppa. It might be because he looked a bit invisible on a disappointing Team Finland in the U-18 Tournament in the games I watched, despite finishing with 3 points in 5 games. I still like him, despite having a lot of work to do in order to have hope of getting into the NHL. It looks like he's serious about making it though, as he's going to be playing in North America next year, for Fargo of the USHL, and then he's committed to Penn State in 2024-25. This season, he scored 19 goals (tied for 14th in the league) and 31 points in 45 games for Jokerit's U20 team, followed by 9 points in 12 playoff games-losing in the finals. I do wonder though, if Jokerit's defensive style of play (7th out of 12 teams in goals-for, 1st in goals-against) had a bit of an effect on Leppa's numbers. At any rate, Leppa is another smart, 200-ft center with an above average IQ, with a specialty being his defensive duties, and penalty-killing. His work-ethic and compete are some of his best qualities- he never gives up on a play, uses physicality, and he battles hard all over the ice. His defense starts in the neutral zone, where he is in his opponents faces with good reads, limiting time and space, and he uses smart positioning and an active stick to cut off plays. Mobility wise, he has a clunky, choppy stride that gives him ok top-speed, but he needs more power, as well as better edges and acceleration. His main offensive weapon is his willingness to go to the front of the net and battle for tips and rebounds, but he's neither a dynamic playmaker, or scorer at this level. If he doesn't develop a better offensive game, he still has a chance at being a bottom-6 defensive player in the NHL, but he has a ton of work to do in other parts of his game.

06-01-2023, 02:13 AM	#1273
Sandman Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Calgary Exp:	More Draft Thoughts (6-foot European Center Edition): -It seems like every prospect coming out of Europe in this year's Draft is about 6'0" tall and a C, so here's another one. 5'11",170lb C/W Petter Vesterheim is a Norwegian, playing in Sweden's J20, with one of the top teams, Mora IK. He's one of the older prospects in the draft, with a Sept.30th birthday, so he missed last year's draft by 2 weeks. 39 points in 41 games, putting him 27th in league scoring, but his 27 assists were 21st overall. He also was promoted for 12 games to the Allsvenskan, Swedens's second-tier league, where he managed 2 goals, then 1 assist in 7 playoff games there. Vesterheim played in the most recent World Championship for Norway as well, where he got some good reviews for his mature game, and for being able to keep up with men, despite playing mostly 4th-line minutes and getting no points. Vesterheim already demonstrates a polished, cerebral defensive game, and he plays with a high motor. Though he tends to be on the losing end of a lot of the physical battles due to his slight build, he is excellent at moving around, supporting his D along the walls and in front of the net, and has high awareness in this area. He exhibits confidence in carrying on the breakout, or he can be a link to other wingers in transition, and works diligently off-puck. This quality off-puck game helps him be an option in all areas of the ice. Offensively, he has a pretty good shot, and can score from pretty far out, but he's more of a playmaker with above-average IQ and creativity, though he's still growing in this area- scouts would like to see better numbers. They would also like to see him go to the net more, and get a few more goals. Skating-wise, he's very mobile, but needs to improve his technique to get more acceleration and a better top-speed. All in all, Vesterheim has a lot of work to do in many areas, and he will picked in the mid-to late rounds of the draft because of this. -6'0",181lb LHC Kalle Carlsson was heralded as a potential first-rounder in this draft, but his numbers have slipped, along with his rankings. In the J20 league in 2021-22, as one of the youngest members of Orebro HK, he put up 27 points in just 30 games, for a ppg of 0.9, good enough to rank 3rd (just behind Otto Stenberg) for players under-17 in that league. The next highest-ranking U-17 player was David Edstrom, with 11 points. This year, his ppg slipped to 0.8, with 35 points in 44 games, with no points in 3 games in the SHL. Every description of KC starts the about the same, with the mention that he's a smart, creative, hard-working C with high IQ and top-tier playmaking. Even better, he plays a good 200-ft game. Carlsson is an excellent skater, but perhaps not elite, as there's room to grow- but he is strong on his skates, and agile. He owns a very hard shot with accuracy and deceptiveness, but he perhaps doesn't use it enough. Playmaking seems to be his forte, and he is an expert in finding teammates in open spaces, or finding open ice for himself to pull off plays, and he sees seams that few can. Defensively, he knows where to go to kill plays, intercept passes, and clog lanes- he's highly aware in all areas. He's known to be physical on occasion, to neutralize his opponents, and he will battle in the dirty areas. Dayton Reimer of The Hockey Writers likens his situation to that of Attu Raty, in that Carlsson needs time to "figure out the finer aspects of his game", and will grow in his patience, and creativity. It's hard not to like this kid, and I think he'll be a mid-round pick. -Can't believe I forgot to do a write-up on 6'0",179lb LHC Tom Leppa. It might be because he looked a bit invisible on a disappointing Team Finland in the U-18 Tournament in the games I watched, despite finishing with 3 points in 5 games. I still like him, despite having a lot of work to do in order to have hope of getting into the NHL. It looks like he's serious about making it though, as he's going to be playing in North America next year, for Fargo of the USHL, and then he's committed to Penn State in 2024-25. This season, he scored 19 goals (tied for 14th in the league) and 31 points in 45 games for Jokerit's U20 team, followed by 9 points in 12 playoff games-losing in the finals. I do wonder though, if Jokerit's defensive style of play (7th out of 12 teams in goals-for, 1st in goals-against) had a bit of an effect on Leppa's numbers. At any rate, Leppa is another smart, 200-ft center with an above average IQ, with a specialty being his defensive duties, and penalty-killing. His work-ethic and compete are some of his best qualities- he never gives up on a play, uses physicality, and he battles hard all over the ice. His defense starts in the neutral zone, where he is in his opponents faces with good reads, limiting time and space, and he uses smart positioning and an active stick to cut off plays. Mobility wise, he has a clunky, choppy stride that gives him ok top-speed, but he needs more power, as well as better edges and acceleration. His main offensive weapon is his willingness to go to the front of the net and battle for tips and rebounds, but he's neither a dynamic playmaker, or scorer at this level. If he doesn't develop a better offensive game, he still has a chance at being a bottom-6 defensive player in the NHL, but he has a ton of work to do in other parts of his game.