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LightningDragon · 11-17-2019, 02:53 AM

The Prospect Times

Noah Nystrom: The Next Great Swedish Defenseman?

The season 52 SHL draft class is shaping up to be a deep one. There is plenty of talent to choose from, though experts have noted the large amount of talent coming from eastern europe especially. Poland, Russia, and others have some real talent coming in. There is also (as usual) a great crop of prospects hailing from Canada and the US, and a lot of western europe has at least a few prospects declaring for the SMJHL draft. Then, there is Sweden. At the time of writing, this publication has counted only two prospects declaring who specifically are from Sweden. Both are defensemen, Sven Yxskaft and Noah Nystrom. Noah Nystrom declared first and has gotten considerable attention both at home in Sweden and in North America at various rookie workouts. Originally from Stockholm, Noah grew up and like many in Sweden played hockey in his youth. He loved watching SHL, and grew to love Calgary, which made since considering his favorite player Esa Anrikkanen played for the dynasty. Though Noah played defense, there weren’t many great Swedish defensemen in the SHL to watch growing up. Nystrom hopes to change that. Already popular and well known in junior circles, this might be one of Stockholm’s best prospects in a while. When asked about his newfound popularity, Noah responded “I love that my native people already know who I am. It’s great for the game to have popular names to follow and root for.”

What makes Noah different from many defensive prospects is his style. Many of the new defensive prospects today value offense and try to get on the scoresheet. Nystrom is a bit different. His favorite stats are +/- and assists. “I value being a good two-way playmaker” Nystrom said, adding “I think my biggest advantage this upcoming season compared to other rookies is my ability to play responsible defense. I’m a team guy and if I can get a play going, I’ll be successful at every level.” Of course, the good defense may please his coaches, but the crowds have been cheering for another part of Noah’s game.
“I always was a physical player. Being taller and stronger has always aided me in keeping the other team out of the zone.” Nystrom says this like he is just another physical defenseman. However, his hits on Youtube aren’t just strong hits, they are blasts to another dimension. In one popular video, a small center from a rival junior team rushes up ice, only to be hit at high speed by Nystrom that he breaks the glass on the side of the ice. In response to that play, Nystrom gave a now famous answer back home. “The glass sucks. I wanted to make a play up ice and we had to stop because the glass can’t handle me.” When asked about the comment for this interview, Nystrom was a lot less bombastic. “It was a fun comment to make at the time, but with age I’ve learned that sometimes it’s better to not make locker room material”.

SMJHL scouts have been buzzing about Noah for some time. Since officially declaring for the draft, anonymous sources tell us that multiple teams are interested in the prospect, valuing his responsible defensive play and passing ability more than his physicality. While no scouts were taken on the record, many mock drafts have Nystrom as the highest swedish prospect being taken Sunday, with some mocks even having him #1. While this may not come to fruition due to teams looking at other positions or valuing prospects from other countries, Nystrom has generated enough buzz already to be a name to look at when the picks come in.

When asked about his draft positions, Nystrom responded “It’s very nice to see people predict that you will go high, but I’m happy wherever I’m drafted.” His ability to handle media pressure seems to already be at a pro level. Time will tell what impact Noah Nystrom will have at the junior and pro levels, but as of right now he is one of the hottest names to look at, and likely someone Sweden remembers for a long time. Even before he is drafted, many in Sweden have already bought Nystrom merchandise, and whatever junior team drafts him will likely have a lot more sales in Sweden of merchandise.

Z0REM · 11-17-2019, 05:15 AM

Since it's draft week, you can save your first article bonus until after next Thursday! But great first article.

[Image: seamsu_500.png?ex=66b438d3&is=66b2e753&h...96a382d50&]

Credit to Vulfzilla for the awesome render pic

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