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2007 NHL Entry Draft: Euro Sleepers |
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Here are seven, low-ranked, unranked or "overage" (1987 birthyear) European players who could be late-round surprises at the upcoming NHL draft.
Jori Lehterä
Center, Tappara Tampere (formerly w/ Jokerit Helsinki)
Ranked #51 European skater by Central Scouting
Lehterä turned 19 years of age on December 23. Unselected in las year's NHL draft, the 6-foot-2, 191-pound center made his move this year, rocketing 72 spots (#129 to #51) between the Central Scouting midterm and final rankings.
In the early part of the 2006-07 season, Lehterä played with Jokerit Helsinki's U20 junior team. A top player at the Finnish JR. A level last year (39-14-33-47), a summer conditioning program made him a man among boys this year -- 18 goals, 48 assists, 66 points in just 24 games. Although Lehterä spent less than half a season with the junior squad this year, he was still its leading scorer at the end of the campaign.
Lehterä was promoted to Jokerit's SM-Liiga (Finnish Elite League) team and showed he could be an effective offensive player at that level, too. In 28 games worth of third- and fourth-line duty for the championship contending club, he had 12 points (six goals, six assists). Not bad for a player who averaged less than eight minutes of ice time per game. He also played 10 games with the Finnish national U20 team, tallying 11 points (four goals, seven assists).
Said a Western Conference NHL scout, " Lehterä reminds me of Vaclav Prospal, but stronger physically at his age. He's very clever with the puck. He sees the ice very well and he's a threat to score or find the open man. There's no panic."
The knock on Lehterä: Skating, skating, skating.
"Unless he improves his skating, he might be too slow for the NHL," says the scout. "He doesn't have a lot of acceleration and his upper body still looks stronger than his legs."
If Lehterä can work out his skating issues (example: A summer of intensive power-skating lessons, carried over into future years), he has the skill set to play in the NHL, despite the fact he's unlikely to be drafted before the middle rounds of the 2007 NHL draft.
Lehterä recently signed a three-year contract with Tappara Tampere and, if drafted, will almost certainly play at least one or two more years in the SM-Liiga before coming over to take a shot at the NHL.
Ilya Antonovsky
Defenseman, Vastom (Russia-3)
Ranked: #58 European skater by Central Scouting
Looking for a late-round swing for the fences? Some NHL team will likely call the name of Russian defenseman Ilya Antonovsky in the hopes of hitting a home run a few years down the road.
Antonovsky is a pure offensive defenseman with top notch skating ability, a cannon of a shot and powerplay quarterback skills that have been likened to Sergei Zubov and Sergei Gonchar.
Russia has no junior hockey league, so junior-aged kids get lumped in with lower-caliber older players and work their way up. The Moscow native played in a circuit based in his home city. He averaged over two points per game from the backline.
According to McKeen's, Antonovsky still has a lot to learn about defensive positioning and physical play before he's ready for the Russian Super League, much less the NHL. He has yet to play for the Russian national team.
A few years ago, a player like Antonovsky probably wouldn't have been on the drafting radar screen until he'd established himself at a higher level. But there's no hiding out these days from NHL teams' scouting scopes.
Antonovsky's offensive abilities may be too much for an NHL team to resist late in the draft and, if his overall game develops, he could be looked back upon as a steal.
Of course, there's an equal or greater risk he'd be a one-line entry in the drafting history books.
Patrik Zackrisson
Center, Rögle BK (Allsvenskan)
Ranked #71 European skater by Central Scouting
Zackrisson was one of three undrafted 1987-birthyear forwards who shined for Sweden at the WJC this year and could potentially be drafted in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
The other two are Luleå HF forwards Linus Omark (rated #55 European skater by Central Scouting) and Robin Lindqvist (rated #68 European skater), whom I will cover momentarily.
Zackrisson is a product of the Frölunda Indians junior system. A dynamic player at the U20 SuperElit level (26 goals, 45 points in 35 games during the 2005-06 season), he wasn't quite ready for Elitserien (the Swedish Elite League) this year.
Instead, he joined Allsvenkan (highest Swedish minor league) team Rögle BK and had a very strong offensive campaign -- tallying 16 goals and 34 points in 29 games.
"He's another clever player with good hands and anticipation. And he's not a one-way player. He works to be a two-way player," says the scout.
Zackrisson has been held back by his size and skating. At a shade under 5-foot-10, there is concern that he has neither the acceleration nor the physical strength to handle opponents at hockey's highest levels. At the WJC, Zachrisson only scored once in seven tilts but worked hard.
Meanwhile, pint-sized Linus Omark (listed generously at 5-foot-9 but seemingly closer to about 5-foot-7) put on a dazzling display of stickhandling and creativity at the WJC. There were several games where the right winger looked more dangerous than team captain Nicklas Bäckström and fearlessly skated into the high traffic areas.
The drawback with Omark, obviously, is his size. Even in Elitserien, he sometimes gets manhandled but never gives up on the play. While his Elitserien stats seem pedestrian (eight goals, 17 points in 50 games), he accomplished these numbers in limited ice time. He had one goal in four playoff tilts, as LHF got swept in the first round of the Swedish playoffs.
As for Robin Lindqvist, an NHL team looking for a smooth-skating, two-way winger could do much worse in the late rounds. Lindqvist will never be a big scorer at any level, but like most Swedish players, he is fundamentally solid. He also has decent size at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds.
As the scout puts it, "You kind of wish you could combine Omark and Lindqvist into one player. Omark has the offense and Lindqvist has the size and all-around ability."
Christian Engstrand
Goaltender, Linköpings HC J20 (SuperElit)
Ranked: #7 European goaltender by Central Scouting
Most of the scouting attention in Sweden this year went to WJC starting goaltender Joel Gistedt (Frölunda Indians) and U-18 WJC starter Mark Owuya (Djurgårdens IF Stockholm Jrs.).
But Engstrand, who turned 19 on November 11, quietly strung together an excellent season in goal for Linköping's J20 SuperElit squad. The 6-foot, 190 goaltender compiled a 2.09 goals against and .924 save percentage while recording 3 shutouts. In the playoffs, he was solid (2.00 GAA, .926 save percentage) in a five-game defeat at the hands of Västerås.
"Engstrand doesn't handle the puck as well as Gistedt, who is a year older, and isn't as flashy as Owuya. But he plays the angles well and recovers fast," says the scout.
Vili Sopanen
Left wing, Pelicans Lahti (SM-Liiga)
Ranked: #72 European skater by Central Scouting
Sopanen will turn 20 in October. The big winger (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) has taken time to grow into his body and start applying his skills at the Jr. A level. He graduated to the SM-Liiga this past season, scoring one goal in seven games of limited ice time.
The Finnish winger is not a pure goal scorer but has improved all-around and could interest an NHL team late in the draft, because of big frame and slow, but steady rate of improvement.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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