A total of 30 players from Sweden signed an NHL contract before the 2017–18 season. The last time another European country produced more NHL players was more than eleven years ago. With some new Swedes on the block, we don’t know yet what they will make as the storyline of this season. But we can presume. […]

Just because the NHL is the best hockey league in the world, it doesn’t mean that all the best players in the world can be found in the NHL. But who is best of the rest? The answer to this question turns us to Europe. Some of the players included in this top 20 list […]

Lucas Elvenes 2016-17 Team: Rögle IF (SHL), Rögle IF U20 (SuperElit) Date of Birth: Aug. 18, 1999 Place of Birth: Ängelholm, Sweden Ht: 6’0” Wt: 174 lbs Shoots: Left Position: RW NHL Draft Eligibility: 2017 first-year eligible Twitter: @lucaselvenes1 Rankings THW Alternate Rankings: 61st (May) Future Considerations: 57th (Spring) Bob McKenzie: 51st (Mid-season) NHL Central […]

Marcus Davidsson 2016-17 Team: Djurgårdens IF (SHL) Date of Birth: November 18, 1998 Place of Birth: Tyresö, Sweden Ht: 6’0” Wt: 192 lbs Shoots: Left Position: C/LW NHL Draft Eligibility: 2017 first-year eligible Rankings THW Alternate Rankings: 30th (May) Future Considerations: 30th (Spring) Bob McKenzie: 37th (Mid-season) NHL Central Scouting: 12th (EU skaters) Craig Button: […]

Early NHL Entry Draft projections and prospect rankings had Timothy Liljegren glued to the top leading up to this year. At that time, he appeared as the obvious standout. But while we were busy expecting Liljegren to have his senior level breakthrough, he ended up being sidelined for three months instead. In retrospect, however, it […]

Kristian Vesalainen 2016-17 Team: Frölunda (SHL), on loan to HPK (Liiga) Date of Birth: June 1, 1999 Place of Birth: Helsinki, Finland Ht: 6’3” Wt: 209 lbs Shoots: Left Position: LW/RW NHL Draft Eligibility: 2017 first-year eligible Instagram: @krisuuuuu Rankings THW Alternate Rankings: 35th (May) Future Considerations: 24th (Spring) Bob McKenzie: 19th (Mid-season) ISS: 19th (April) […]

Erik Brannstrom 2016-17 Team: HV71 (SHL) Date of Birth: September 2, 1999 Place of Birth: Eksjö, Sweden Ht: 5' 10? Wt: 179 lbs Shoots: Left Position: Defence NHL Draft Eligibility: 2017 first-year eligible Twitter: @brannstromerik Rankings THW Alternate Rankings: 33rd (January) Future Considerations: 22nd (Spring) McKeen’s Hockey: 21st (February) Bob McKenzie: 45th (Mid-season) Craig Button: 45th (March) Jeff Marek: 17th […]

Jesper Boqvist 2016-17 Team: Brynäs IF & Timrå IK (on loan) (#38) Date of Birth: October 30, 1998 Place of Birth: Falun, Sweden Ht: 6’0” Wt: 179 lbs Shoots: Left Position: C/W NHL Draft Eligibility: 2017 first-year eligible Twitter: @jesperboqvist Rankings THW Alternate Rankings: Unranked (January) Future Considerations: 42nd (Spring) Bob McKenzie: 68th (Mid-season) Craig Button: […]

It’s been an eventful year for Jonathan Dahlen. Traded from the Ottawa Senators, signed to an entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks, and having a breakthrough season in Sweden at the same time. In Hockeyallsvenskan, he tallied 44 points in 45 regular season games. And on the international stage, he scored a total of five […]

Elias Pettersson 2016-17 Team: Timrå IK (#14) Date of Birth: December 12, 1998 Place of Birth: Sundsvall, Sweden Ht: 6’2? Wt: 161 lbs Shoots: Left Position: LW/C NHL Draft Eligibility: 2017 first-year eligible Twitter: @_EPettersson Rankings THW Alternate Rankings: 13th (January) Future Considerations: 9th (Spring) ISS: 16th (April) Bob McKenzie: 11th (Mid-season) Craig Button: 12th (March) Jeff Marek: 27th (March) As you can […]

Nylander is more than a name. It’s the sound of the past and the future. If the 2016-17 season has taught us anything, it’s that the NHL’s next Swedish brother duo is here. The Toronto Maple Leafs have William Nylander, as no one could have missed by now; one of the top contenders for the Calder Memorial Trophy after […]

Having a long-distance relationship with the best league in hockey isn’t always easy, although it’s definitely worthwhile. See, I am what National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman would refer to as the NHL’s “global audience.” Thus, I belong to one of the European generations that grew up with the NHL without ever really coming close to it. […]

There can only be one king, and no king can rule forever. For over a decade, Henrik Lundqvist has been the constant number one goaltender of Sweden. During those years, He’s served as a lone monarch and the national team as his kingdom. But for how much longer? And who will replace him? It is likely that the 2016-17 […]

2016-17 Teams: Rögle BK and Timrå IK (on loan) (#18) Date of Birth: April 30, 1999 Place of Birth: Kristianstad, Sweden Ht: 6’0″ Wt: 192 lbs Shoots: Right Position: Defenseman NHL Draft Eligibility: 2017 first-year eligible Twitter: @Timmeliljegren Rankings: THW Alternate: 2nd (January) Future Considerations: 2nd (Winter) ISS: 2nd (January) Bob McKenzie: 3rd (Mid-season) Craig Button: 3rd (January) It’s […]

There are many roads leading to the NHL – even after you are drafted. One way is to go directly from the entry draft in the summer to a spot in the lineup in the fall. Extraordinary talents like Patrik Laine, Connor McDavid, and Auston Matthews, to name a few, have walked that path in recent years. Another way is […]

We all love to debate draft prospects and player rankings prior to the NHL Entry Draft. But, there are always a number of promising young players who fall out of the discussion. From Sweden, Timothy Liljegren, Lias Andersson and Elias Pettersson are anticipated to get picked within the first half of the first round this year. […]

P.K. Subban isn’t the only Nashville Predators to make an impact as an elite-level hockey player, earning elite-level paychecks and, consequently, carrying an idolized persona. Now, Subban’s teammate Mattias Ekholm has decided to give back to society, more specifically to the hockey community of his childhood team, Mora IK, in Sweden. Together with Mora IK and Dalakraft, […]

Daniel Alfredsson first set foot in the Ottawa Senators organization in 1995. At that time, not even “Alfie” himself thought that he would make his case in the NHL. But over two decades later, on December 29, 2016, the sixth-round draft pick from the 1994 NHL Entry Draft saw his very own Senators jersey raised […]

Team Sweden’s first 26-player roster for the World Junior Championships in Toronto/Montreal was announced on Monday. As always, the expectations on the “Junior Crowns” (as they’re called in Swedish) are high, but this year the team differs a bit from previous years. Perhaps that will have more impact on the outcome rather than the expectations. […]

Today’s Detroit Red Wings can’t be fairly compared to the dynasty they had almost a decade ago, and Henrik Zetterberg is merely a shadow of the player he was during that time period. It’s been obvious over the last years, especially at the beginning of this season, that the Swedish Red Wings captain isn’t aging with […]