snapshots

Typically, HF waits three months into the season after the draft before assigning a rating to a player. Many Swedes I talk to aren't to keen on Lofberg. At least not as much as Hakan Andersson apparently was. Ryno, however, is winning some people over. Mattias Ritola, who was a known quantity, has his fans. But I saw him play in Ann Arbor last year. I was told to watch him, but he was invisible. Niklas Hjalmarsson *drafted by Chicago) and Frederik Petterson (drafted by Edmonton) were easily the best players on that U18 team. I much rather would have had those guys. But you gotta trust Hakan. The thing that worries me is that Hakan Andersson was in Sweden on draft day. Apparently, he spent a lot of time on the phone with Holland, but still. I think Lofberg was taken too high.

Here's hoping that he makes the WJC squad. Here are some possibilities Canada: McGrath ... good chance at playing for the deepest junior team in the world Czech: Kindl ... probably a lock USA: Abdeldader ... Will probably have to wait until next year Haskins ... good chance Sweden: Ryno ... playing well .. good chance to make it ... scored game winner the other night in Sweden's second division Ritola ... no stranger to international duty ... good chance to make it .. not producing in SEL so far. Axelsson ... probably the best chance at making it Lofberg ... decent shot ... not producing in SEL so far Finland Mielonen ... might make it ... he's played a lot of international u18 hockey. u20 is the next logical step.

Agreed. Oulahen is another Draper kind of player, too. I think Oulahen has more potential than Jackson. Honestly, I was a bit surprised that Jackson ever was signed. Maybe Seth was thinking of Jamtin or Valtonen was he was thinking of a "poor man's Holmstrom"

Well, it's next year or never. The Red Wings lose their exclusive rights to Grigorenko if he's not signed by June 1.

uh I don't think so. I think Sundin has far more of a shot than Anton. Reason why? Our main swedish scout is a fan, and Holland listens and trusts him. That may be the case, but Sundin is pretty one-dimensional from everything I've read. NHL-caliber shot. But everthing else is pretty weak. Axelsson doesn't have Sundin's shot, but he managed to outscore Niklas Bergfors and Anze Kopitar last season. And he's got NHL skating ability. Not only that, he's considered to be a good defensive forward for his age. Bloodlines don't hurt, either. His older brother has had a good career as a defensive forward in the league. We'll know more as this season develops. Axelsson, I believe, is playing with Frolunda this season. Not sure if Sundin cracked the SEL yet.

Nope. At this point, I think Anton Axelsson has surpassed Andreas Sundin on the prospect depth charts.

Link? Link New CBA has ended the "forever and ever" rights to Euros. Holland might have an interesting negotiation with Grigorenko this spring/summer.

Has the SEL started yet?

No way. I've never heard anyone say he had even a sniff of Kovalchuck's potential. Ever. A guy people compare Grigorenko to his Richard Zednik.

Filppula, Zetterberg and Grigorenko that line really would be soo sick. Great to see Grigorenko contributing again. As good as his stats are, the key will be his skating. Igor's not very big (5'11). But he was fast, with good acceleration and strong balance. He was a tank, very hard to catch and hard to knock off the puck. Given his injuries, there's no gaurantee that he'll ever regain the skating that made him one of the game's best prospects. But these numbers coming out of Russia are sure a good sign. Anyone else hear that his weight is close to 220? 5'11, 220? That's tough to envision.