Draft-Eligible Swedes Pt. 2 - Hampus Lindholm

Ängelholm is notable as the home of Kenny and Jörgen Jonsson, Christian von Koenigsegg (and his namesake luxury automobile company), and Rögle BK. Much of the 23,240 residents revolve their lives around their hometown club, packing the 5,150 seat arena and overfilling the ståplats (standing) section with drunk, chanting bodies that far outcry their Malmö rivals who regularly outdraw them by the thousands. A mishmash of mostly Swedish journeymen, a few former draft picks that never cracked the NHL, and homegrown talent, Rögle outperformed all clubs in the Allsvenskan, many of which had higher payrolls and more established stars, en route to their recent promotion to the Elitserien.

One of the young players key to their success this season is Hampus Lindholm, who skated in just 20 regular season games but posted five points in 10 Kvalserien (relegation/promotion) contests, good for fifth amongst the 54 defensemen who suited up during the mini-tournament. Having watched him play a handful of times since coming to Sweden in January, it's been interesting to see Lindholm evolve. I wrote this report on January 31st, 2012 after seeing the young blueliner for the first time. This game was actually his worst and he's improved on a consistent basis since.

I'm not ready to call him a sure thing but he plays the now protoypically Swedish Erik-Karlsson-style defensive game that gives opposing teams fits in the new NHL and he's not totally useless in his own end, a rarity in a league that's mostly a loosely-checked danglefest. He's definitely an outside shot to sneak into the first round if a team likes his upside and undoubtedly improved his draft stock during the postseason.

#5 HAMPUS LINDHOLM

DEFENSEMAN (Right), Rögle BK, Hockeyallsvenskan

SEASON TO DATE: 12GP - 0G - 1A - 1P - -3 - 24 SOG - 8 PIM

STATS ON THE NIGHT: 0G - 0A - 0P - +/- EVEN - 3 SOG - 0 PIM

Rögle BK @ Malmö Redhawks (Malmö Arena, Malmö, Sweden)

31/1/2012 (19:00)

FINAL SCORE: MAL 3-2 (SO) RÖG

BY PERIOD: 1-1, 1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 1-0 (SO)

Draft-Eligible Swedes Pt. 1 - Pontus Åberg

I've been posted in Sweden for about three months now while going to school, and as a result have had a chance to see some of the better prospects for the 2012 NHL Draft play in person. It's difficult to find consistent online video or comprehensive highlights of any of the players over here, so it's nice to get a chance to watch them for a whole game.

This past weekend I had a chance to catch winger Pontus Åberg of Djurgårdens IF face off against Rögle in the last game of the 2012 Kvalserien, which pits the tier-two Allsvenskan's three regular-season leaders and playoff champion against the two teams that finished at the bottom of the top-tier Elitserien. It's round-robin format with two games vs. each opponent. Six teams enter, two teams leave.

One of the better collections of young talent in Sweden, Rögle defied the odds to become the first Allsvenskan team to not only survive the league's playoffs but also secure promotion. Guess who they'll be replacing next year? With everything settled before the puck drop, the game lacked intensity, but the celebrating crowd provided an unbelievable atmosphere.

This is part one of a three-part series.

#46 PONTUS ÅBERG
Left Wing, Djurgårdens IF, Elitserien

SEASON STATS: 47GP – 8G – 7A – 15P – 6 PIM
KVALSERIEN STATS: 7GP – 1G – 0A – 0 PIM
STATS ON THE NIGHT: 0G - 0A - 0P - +/- EVEN - 5 SOG - 0 PIM

Djurgårdens IF @ Rögle BK (Lindab Arena, Ängelholm, Sweden)
6/4/2012 (16:00)
FINAL SCORE: DIF 2-1 RÖG
BY PERIOD: 0-1, 0-0, 1-1