Author Archives: Alexander Appleyard

Photo Credit: Linköping HC Scouting Report written by Alex Appleyard Defense is in Mattias Hävelid’s blood, literally. Both his father and his uncle played professional hockey, with uncle Magnus making it as high as the Swedish Allsvenskan, and father Niclas making it to the very pinnacle of the sport. Over a career that spanned more thanContinue reading “Scouting Report: Mattias Hävelid”

Photo Credit: Peter Schatz / Alamy Live News Scouting Report written by Alex Appleyard Julian Lutz is the latest high-end prospect to hail from Germany. 15 to 20 years ago a German as talented as him would be big news in the hockey world, but the fact it is not shows just how far the nationContinue reading “Scouting Report: Julian Lutz”

Photo Credit: Frölunda HC Scouting Report written by Alex Appleyard Players develop at different rates. The mature 18 year old who goes 1st round, then never develops more? The undersized late birthday who is undrafted, and five years down the line is an NHL All-Star? Two sides of the same coin. Development is never linear. ItContinue reading “Scouting Report: Liam Dower Nilsson”

Photo Credit: HV71 Scouting Report written by Alex Appleyard Under-sized Scandinavian wingers ending up as draft or free-agent steels is nothing new. Mats Zuccarello, Gustav Nyquist, Viktor Arvidsson, Victor Olofsson, Jesper Bratt, Andreas Johnsson and Nils Höglander all fit that bill. Last year the prime contender to continue that tradition was HV71’s Zion Nybeck, a 2ndContinue reading “Scouting Report: Marcus Almquist”

Photo Credit: Nathalie Andersson Scouting Report written by Alex Appleyard Örnsköldsvik has become synonymous with hockey over the last 30 years. The small town of just 30,000 people nestled in the Gulf of Bothnia has not just produced numerous NHLers… it has produced enough Hall of Fame calibre talents then you can only just countContinue reading “Scouting Report: William Strömgren”

Photo Credit: Mikko Taipale / Jokerit Scouting Report written by Alexander Appleyard When you superficially examine Samu Salminen’s game he has all the hallmarks of a player who should find himself near the very top of the 2021 NHL draft. Domestic statistics? Check. In both 2019-20 and 2020-21 he out produced each and every one ofContinue reading “Scouting Report: Samu Salminen”

Photo Credit: Idrottsfoto For NHL fans of a certain age the name “Robertsson” might ring some bells. That is because Simon Robertsson will not be the first person in his family to play in the world’s best league. His father Bert suited up 123 times for Vancouver, Edmonton and the Rangers in the late 90’sContinue reading “Scouting Report: Simon Robertsson”

Photo Credit: Leksands IF Electric. That is the word that comes to mind when you see Isak Rosén play. There are not too many 18 year olds who incite a palpable sense of anticipation when the puck finds their stick. While his name may be unfamiliar to many across the pond, the Stockholm youngster hasContinue reading “Scouting Report: Isak Rosén”

Photo Credit: Philipp Hegglin/ EV Zug Almost every summer for the last ten years the NHL draft has provided us with a very specific type of player. The overlooked European over-ager. A player who was certainly good enough to be taken in their original draft year, but each team passed on at least seven timesContinue reading “Scouting Report: Dario Allenspach”

Photo Credit – Liiga/Jiri Halttunen The Finnish Liiga is not quite the same level of league it used to be. The loss of Jokerit to the KHL as well as the league’s lack of ability to compete with the SHL and NLA from a financial perspective mean that while still a premier European league, itContinue reading “Scouting Report: Samuel Helenius”