The hockey season ended as abruptly in Europe as it did in North America. The New York Rangers have six prospects playing in Sweden. How did they do and what are the odds that any of them will end up in training camp in the fall?
The New York Rangers have nine draft picks playing in European Leagues, all in Sweden and FInland. When the Covid-19 pandemic spread to Europe, the leagues there didn’t hesitate to cancel their seasons.
Unlike the NHL, they didn’t announce any kind of suspension, they cancelled the rest of their games and any postseason play. In 2020, no league championships will be awarded.
The sudden cancellation of hockey has to be a disappointment for the Rangers’ prospects, especially for several who were playing well enough to warrant a potential Entry Level Contract or at least an invitation to training camp. All of those options are on hold, especially without playoffs that would have allowed Ranger scouts to observe these young players under pressure.
That is especially true for the crown jewel of their European draft picks, defenseman Nils Lundkvist who had an excellent season with Liiga in the Swedish Hockey League.
Today, we will take a look at the Rangers’ prospects playing in Sweden.
Nils Lundkvist (D) – 2018 1st round, #28
The Rangers’ top European prospect is Nils Lundkvist. He is a 19-year old righthanded shooting defenseman who had one of the best seasons ever for a player his age in the Swedish Hockey League. He did have the best season ever for a defenseman under the age of 20.
As a 19-year old, Lundkvist finished with 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points in 45 games. That’s 10 points more than Victor Hedman and 11 points more than Rasmus Dahlin, two of the more heralded defensemen to make the trip from Sweden to North America.
🚨! After a scoreless first period, @LuleaHockey take the lead through young defenceman Nils Lundkvist!#ChampionsGoBeyond pic.twitter.com/JpCP6BWel4
— Champions Hockey League (@championshockey) November 12, 2019
How highly is he regarded? In the just published Hockey News Future Watch, Lundkvist is the 15th best defensive prospect of all NHL teams. He is ranked 52nd among all prospects, and with the Rangers he is only behind Igor Shesterkin (#3) and Vitali Kravtsov (#23).
Some would feel that he should have been ranked higher, but it’s his size that is an issue. At 5’10”, 170 pounds, he is a slightly undersized for a defenseman, but consider that he is only one inch shorter and five pounds lighter than Adam Fox and is still growing.
Lundkvist played for Lulea, the best team in the SHL, so he was not padding his minutes playing for a bad team. He was second on the team in points, one point behind the team leader, Erik Gustafsson who is also 12 years older than Lundkvist. He was fourth on the team in goals scored and second in power play goals. He averaged 20:18 minutes of ice time, second most on the team.
At the WJC, Lundkvist excelled with one goal and seven assists in seven games.
There’s no doubt that the Rangers organization would probably want Lundkvist to come to North America and get a season under his belt in Hartford. He’s never played on the smaller ice surfaces and with righthanded blueliners Fox, Jacob Trouba and Tony DeAngelo ahead of him on the depth chart, the team probably wants to figure out what his upside is. Still, if he wanted to return to Lulea as a 20 year old, that would probably suit the Rangers just as well, considering the uncertainty facing the NHL.