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badsleepover · 06-25-2019, 10:38 PM

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UNDER THE RADAR
Swedish winger Jastik Janörkssön expected to sign in SMJHL tomorrow

            The Season 48 SMJHL draft has come and gone without a team selecting under-the-radar Swedish right winger Jastik Janörkssön, but it appears he’ll be making the leap to North America anyway – and insiders have been swapping rumours about where it’ll be that he lands.
            “The teams I’ve heard that are looking at him specifically are the Halifax Raiders and the Vancouver Whalers,” a source said. “After his name started going around people started to think, ‘hey, maybe we missed out on this guy, let’s take a harder look.’”
            Hailing from Örnskoldsvik – a hockey factory of a town that produced Markus Naslund, Peter Forsberg and the Sedin twins amongst many others -- the 6’2, 200 pound Janörkssön plays a well-rounded offensive game, with good speed and silky mitts, all pieces that could form something pretty special if he manages to put it all together in North America. He’s got a heavy shot with a lightning quick release that is reminiscent of countryman Elias Pettersson. A left-handed shot who likes to play the right wing, he’s a fast skater and that configuration allows him more options when he breaks out and cuts into centre-ice to generate scoring chances.
The icing on the cake is Janörkssön’s off-the-charts hockey IQ. This kid is a real student of the game and seems to have a real intuitive knack for knowing where he needs to be at the right time. This quality will allow him to work out the flaws that are in his game as he develops into a more complete player.
            Like any player his age, there are still some kinks the Swede will have to work out if he wants to make it to the show. At his current level, his elusiveness allows him to navigate the dirty areas often untouched, but that will change as he reaches more prestigious leagues and as teams begin to build a book on him. To combat this, he will need to up his toughness and strength a bit to keep up. His two-way game could also use work, but Janörkssön himself cites that as an area of focus for him over the next season.
            His agent is likely fielding calls from more teams than just the Whalers and the Raiders, but still expect a decision by tomorrow afternoon, when he is allowed to ink a contract and get his North American career started.

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