Mar.16th: "A" rated RW Elton Hermansson (6'1",181lbs) was another player I liked at the Hlinka, tying for second in scoring with 6 goals and 11 points in 5 games- second only to teammate Marcus Nordmark. In league play this season, his production in the J20 has been rather pedestrian for a player with his profile (only 9 points in 13 games), but his numbers in the Allsvenskan with MoDo are stellar, with 21 points in 38 games- which ranks as the 4th-most points by a U-18 player in a season in league history. Central Scouting has him #4 for European Skaters in their Mid-Term Rankings.
While he lacks any meaningful physicality, and plays too much on the perimeter at times, Hermansson is one of the most skilled players in this draft class. Few players have the kind of elite stickhandling skills that he has, and even fewer can steal the puck from him when he is weaving through small-spaces. He can deke and dangle through triangles and between feet, and plies sublime deception to manipulate defenders in to making them miss their checks- he also shields the puck well from enemy sticks when in close-quarters. His puck-control is exemplary, and he maintains tight possession while at top-speed, when changing direction and pace, and even when under physical pressure. Though he's not a speedster per se, he skates well enough to push pace, and the agility he gets from his smooth edges gives him an extra layer of elusiveness in traffic- at only 181lbs, he is obviously physically underdeveloped, and should become more explosive and faster in a straight-line as he develops his lower-body strength.
Hermansson's high-end puck-skill gives him a soft-touch in his passing, and he can thread the needle through bodies at times to teammates across the ice, showing acute vision and awareness, with a proficiency in making plays from the wall to the slot. While he understands how to open space by playing keep-away to shift defenses, and can slow the game down to wait patiently for options, he isn't really a dynamically creative playmaker, and gets into trouble when trying to get too cute with the puck. At most levels that he's played at, he has historically had more goals than assists, and I think it would be safe to say that he's more of a sniper than a facilitator; he displays a lethal shot that he can pick corners with, and owns soft mitts to beat goalies in-tight, but needs to get to the middle more often. From what I've read, Hermansson has increased his battle-level, is learning contact-skills, and is playing with a bit more physicality- even finishing his checks at times, which is encouraging. He gets involved defensively, and works hard in this area, but his impact varies- he must work to shore up this area of his game. High-end offensive potential- look for him in the top-20 this summer.
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