DRAFTED: who plays in the SHL?
An article in parts by @ABritOnThinIce1
PART 2: Young Swedes on their way out of the country
First, we can see the younger Swedes who are looking forward to a possible career in North America in the near future.
These can be players that have already been drafted or will shortly be drafted. These could include Frölunda Indians 22 year old forward, Victor Olofsson who was drafted in 2014 by the Buffalo Sabres. This year he finished 8th in Total Points and was the league's top Goal scorer and got the most goals during the Power Play. Last year he was part of the team that won the Champions Hockey League.
But also the 19 year old, Elias Pettersson. The Växjö Lakers' forward was the regular season and playoffs' Top Points getter and was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in 2017 in the first round.
It goes without saying that the much touted Rasmus Dahlin is also in this group. The 18 year old will surely be chosen in the first round as the top three to be chosen in the draft. Although, he has not put in the highest numbers on the board at either end of the ice, it is partly Dahlin's ability to compete with people significantly older than the D-man from Trollhättan.
He first turned heads when as a 16 year old he played in Sweden's Junior World Championship team in 2016-7. As well as appearing in this Under 20s competition he also started playing with the senior team at Gothenburg Frölunda where he had moved only a year before to play with their under 16s team.
Dahlin is typical of this group of younger Swedes. They are generally speaking drafted on the basis of their performances on the international stage, primarily the Junior World Championships. The annual World Championships and the four-yearly Winter Games, of course, are also a window in which individuals can showcase their talents to prospective future employees.
The Swedish Olympic team chose not to take along it's talented youngsters to Korea - apart from Dahlin, who was benched for most of the tournament. When he was finally brought onto the ice in the third period of the Quarter Final match against Germany he managed to only get 2.59 of ice time - but still found time to get an assist on Anton Lander's goal.
In Part 3 we will looked the older Swedes who returning to the SHL after a time in the North American leagues.
@ABritOnThinIce1
