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Draft media bonus?

Maine Timber ended up being the destination for the young Swede. He was the first player picked in the 3rd round in the draft, 21st OA. His former coach, Kristoffer Matsson, coincidentally was also picked 21st OA in his draft year. The team? Halifax Raiders - the team that now is Maine Timber. Matsson ended up being a major bust, only lasting a couple of weeks in the SMJHL before drinking his problems away. Alex is looking way more poised then that.
"I've already spoken to him both before and after the draft, so I knew what I was getting myself into. It was just insane that we ended up being drafted at the same spot, for kinda the same team! I knew what he did wrong however, and I'm gonna avoid doing that as well.

Alex can also speak about the interest from some other teams before the draft. 8 teams had contacted him prior to the draft to discuss even further the prospect of him joining. For him personally, it came down to 3 teams.
"I got really good impressions from St. Louis, Maine and Colorado. All teams were great of course, but those 3 stood out in how they approached me. They were honest and straight to the point, and it felt like they did their homework on me. I knew Maine since before of course, and they seemed really happy with me the first time around, and I felt the same way."

Prior to the draft he was representing Sweden in the WJC. There he plays on the third line with Anaheim Outlaws duo Etan Merauk and Rikard Hammarberg. A recipe for success, it seems like. In the 7 games prior to the draft he had himself 3 assists. In the 3 games following the draft, he has managed to add another 2 helpers to his tally, making it to 5 assists in 10 games.
"My team mates are awesome, and my line mates even more so. To play with so much skill as Hammarberg on a third line is insane. Etan is also a really hardworking good contributor to this line, and he does all the dirty work. As much praise I have for my line mates in Maine from last season, there is a difference between up and coming rookies and the monster player that Hammar is."

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With him looking forward to the playoffs in the WJC, the team has also started with the off-season training camp. He is expected to be amongst the wingers really pushing for a top 6 spot competing with Victor Ball, Jax Gracie and Jesse Seppänen as the rookies coming in, against primarily Blake Sutton, Julien Villenueve and Marty Serich who are already there. A safe assumption is Lucas Hellquist already being locked into the first line.

"There is a lot of competition going around, but I can see myself really growing. I'm not sure how much I can contribute coming into my first season, but I will definitely try my very best."