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+---- Thread: Elias Svensson, the Swedish Tower (First Article) (/showthread.php?tid=81224)
- Kmichael - 11-27-2017
SMJHL's New Swedish Star
Relatively new to some scouts radars, 6'6" smooth skating Swedish defenseman Elias Svensson looks to make a name for himself. Nephew of 2x Doris winner Merrick Farlsson of the MHL (Meh Hockey League) has been highly touted by teams who have taken the time to observe the young developing star in his homeland of Sweden. As a young boy Elias has always found a home at the rink, learning to skate at the ripe age of 4 he's spent more time in CCM footwear than he has his Gucci flipflops, his signature pre-game footwear choice. Growing into his very large frame of 6'6" 223 lbs at around 17 years old Elias has dominated all levels of play in his own zone due to his physical superiority. Hoping to transition to the SMJHL successfully, Elias plays a very stay at home brand of hockey whilst in his own zone. Some teams have elected to completely avoid challenging him on the boards and deemed a complete terror in his own zone for opposing wings and players who attempt to create a net front presence. Elias always has his head up with the puck and looking to make that stretch pass through the neutral zone for the perfect transition. From that description you might think hey, what are these scouts thinking? Labeling him as a two-way defenseman when he sounds completely defensive. Elias's play and ice vision exceeds expectations once in the offensive zone and whilst QBing the power play. For an example of this play Elias maintained a .55 point per game pace in the minors WITHOUT power play time and always playing the toughest minutes. This was in a minor league with highly talented prospects such as Coston Catthews, Pidney Dosby and even Ballexander Larkov. For anyone who pays attention to the minor hockey league Elias hails from, these are blue chip minor prospects who have been watched since the age of 7. Once Elias showed interest in the offensive playmaking side of the power play his coach Bike Goodcock, a top 5 coach all time in this talent filled minor league, couldn't have been happier to see him step into this role.
"It's absolutely a blessing to watch such a young player develop under your watch" Goodcock was quoted saying. For a soft spoken coach, this speaks volumes as to the ceiling Elias has.
He looks to impress the SHJHL players, coaches and all levels of management whilst adapting to the American lifestyle and smaller rink. In terms of the maximum capacity Elias could possibly provide I'm not sure if there's enough words to put that into perspective. He's spent all summer leading up to this draft working on his conditioning to play longer, tougher, physically demanding minutes that the SMJHL requires you to play to be impactful. Couple this with his ability to be a complete stud in his own end and ability to play make on the power play and at even strength and you've got a solid base to work with. His skating could definitely use some work going forward but, with the mindset Elias has shown throughout his minor hockey career I think you could expect criticism to be received well and improved upon throughout his time in Juniors. Also, for those who are more into the analytical side of things, Elias has posted a consistent 55+ Corsi For percentage his entire junior career and a 60% point share scored at even strength despite his power play capabilities. Not afraid to carry the puck through the neutral zone and always looking to pass first and create high danger scoring chances for his teammates.
Hopefully this article has provided a bit more of an indepth look into defensive prospect Elias Svensson for future GMs and coaches looking to bolster the defensive end of their squad and this Thursday the draft will be exciting to see where he is placed relative to the other rookies looking to make a splash.
- Mack - 11-27-2017
Awesome article man!
When you have some time you should link your player build and update page in your signature so it's easier to scout your player after reading a great article like this.
How to create a signature
- DeletedAtUserRequest - 11-27-2017
the kid looks like a good one.
- CFJ - 11-27-2017
Welcome to the league!
- Samsung virtual assistant - 11-27-2017
- Beaver - 11-27-2017
Nice article my man. The first article you write pays double so it's worth considering adding some stuff to maximize that.
In any case, good luck in the upcoming draft.
- vbottas17 - 11-27-2017
Great start! Good luck in Thursday nights draft.