Probably we have heard or read that this is not a strong Swedish class. This statement was probably reinforced when the Swedish U18 Team heavily struggled in the last Hlinka Gretzky Cup and fought until overtime to defeat Switzerland in the fifth place game. But that idea aged badly in a short period of time.
2024 NHL Draft Potential First Round Swedes
In an extraordinarily talented defensive class, Leo Sahlin Wallenius and Noel Fransén are two true contenders to be selected in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft.
Leo Sahlin Wallenius (D)
Apr 10, 2006 (2024 NHL Draft Eligible)
Introduction
Leo is a member of the Växjö Lakers HC J20 and probably was the most outstanding player of the Swedish Team in the last Hlinka Gretzky Cup. This season he has become the most important defenseman of the best team in the J20 Nationell and leads his team in points made by defensemen. He feels comfortable with the role that the team gave him this season and is accomplishing all the merits to be called up to the SHL.
Sahlin Wallenius is one of the best defenders I’ve scouted for this year. He has a high IQ for reading defensive plays. His back skating is really good and has good offensive potential but I would like to see him doing more zone entries and improving his shot. He has great range due to his long arms and his active stick is always making opponents uncomfortable. It would be great to see him in the SHL facing opponents with much more speed and being forced to play a more dynamic game.
Video Scouting Analysis
An essential attribute a defenseman needs to have is a high Hockey IQ. In this play we see how Leo Sahlin Wallenius identifies a possible 3 vs 2, positioning himself in the best place to counter a free zone entry of the Frölunda player who has possession of the puck and also identifying the shortest route to have an effective defense against the player attacking from the left.
Finally Wallenius is able to make contact with the opponent, closing a good shooting angle and forcing him to carry the puck behind the net, killing a possible 3 vs 2. His pressure is constant, always letting the opponent know through his active stick that he has a defender on his back, which eventually ends in a forced error that gives Växjö a chance to counterattack.
Although his teammate’s pass is not effective, Leo comes back at the right time to let the rival attacker (Teodor Forssander / Frölunda‘s top scorer) know that, again, he has a man on him.
When the puck is in a less risky area, Leo scans the ice again and identifies the most significant danger player (Teodor Forssander). Quickly through his physical play he takes him out of play and turns the potential triggerman into a player with no chance of generating clear danger.
At the end of this sequence Leo manages to regain possession of the puck from an opponent who is already determined by Leo’s presence and with an excellent long pass, he opens up the puck to his teammate who ends up scoring a goal.
Leo is not just a defenseman or a player who gets points from long distance passes or rebounds that end up in the net due to the quality of his teammates. This defender is also able to activate himself quickly on attacking possessions and look for the trigger man with the best chance to score.
In this play Sahlin Wallenius attracts the attention of the opponent and clears the position of his teammate and after a precise pass this play ended in a goal.
Noel Fransén (D)
Dec 07, 2005 (2024 NHL Draft Eligible)
Introduction
Noel Fransén is a name that has gone unnoticed by many. This defenseman has not been a part of Sweden’s national teams and until this season has managed to be a full-time J20 Nationell player with Färjestad BK J20. He currently leads the league in points and goals among all defensemen in the league.
Fransén is one of the most talented defenseman in the entire draft. He’s skating, shooting, passing, puck handling and hockey sense are really good and allows him to create danger very often. I honestly don’t see any major flaws in his game other than he needs to be more physical. A potential first rounder and if he falls to the second round he could be a steal for the team that selects him.
Video Scouting Analysis
In this video we can see how agile this defenseman is. Fransén gets free from the Frölunda player by lifting the puck and passing it over the opponent’s blade (a usual move from this player). Once he has space, he attacks the net and finishes with great quality, showing his great variety of tools to impact the game.
Here we can see Noel’s defensive style of play and how quickly he is able to transition to the attack and assist his teammates.
Noel constantly scans the ice and positions himself in a way that attracts the pass to the player he is covering and through anticipation he is able to retrieve the puck and transition to the attack.
Once in the offensive zone, Fransén is not an offensive defenseman who just transitions without a sense of attack, he constantly scans, processes the play and slows down his skating to identify the pass with the better chance of success.
A defenseman with this degree of reading, intelligence, skating and creativity is a prospect that many NHL teams would like to have in their developmental systems.
In this video Fransén shows his great skating agility and how he can solve plays thanks to this skill. He leaves the Frölunda player on the ground with a spin and looks for support from his teammates. Once his teammates end up getting the puck out to the neutral zone, Noel’s offensive mentality makes him jump into the attack.
In the offensive zone Noel receives a pass, cuts to the center of the ice and with three attackers on top of him, he takes a great shot to the right side of the goalie.
Leo Sahlin Wallenius and Noel Fransén are in the perfect stage of development where they need to prove their skill in the SHL. This last test would probably be the most important for them due to the attention that playing in the SHL brings. These two defensemen are, at this moment, the Swedish players with most chances of being selected in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft.