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Is Holmstrom Detroit's latest diamond in the rough? |
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The Detroit Red Wings scooped up captain Henrik Zetterberg with the 210th pick of the 1999 NHL entry draft. They grabbed up center Pavel Datsyuk with the 171st selection one year earlier.
Neither was anticipated to be NHL superstars at the time, but both evolved to rate among the best players of their generation.
Could the Wings have hit pay dirt again with another late-round pick in center Axel Holmstrom?
Detroit acted quickly to get Holmstrom’s name on a contract, signing the player they chose 196th overall in last spring’s entry draft to a three-year entry-level contract on Monday, even though he’ll almost certainly remain in Sweden to play for the 2015-16 season.
“The first time I saw him I liked the way he plays,” Detroit assistant general manager Ryan Martin said. “He’s smart, gritty, competitive, and likes to go to the front of the net.
“He has good hands and hockey sense. He needs to work on his skating. (Detroit director of European scouting) Hakan Andersson really likes him.”
The Wings have grown famous over the years for unearthing diamonds in the late rounds of the draft and it could be that Holmstrom is their latest find.
“He’s trending upwards,” Martin admitted.
Holmstrom – no relation to long-time Wing Tomas Holmstrom, but someone like his namesake who doesn’t mind mixing it up in front of the net, began the 2014-15 season playing for the junior team in Skelleftea.
He was the leading scorer (on the junior team) and got elevated to the men’s league,” Martin said.
Representing Sweden at the world junior tournament Holmstrom ranked fifth on the team with seven points (1-6-7) in seven games.
“He had a very good World Juniors and then returned to the men’s league where he had a good season,” Martin said.
Holmstrom skated in 44 games for Skelleftea of the Swedish Hockey League this season, recording 20 points (10-10-20) and four penalty minutes. The 18-year-old forward ranked ninth on the club in scoring and tied for second overall in the SHL among junior-aged players.
But it was at the most important time of the year, in the post-season, that Holmstrom truly elevated his game.
Holmstrom helped Skelleftea reach the SHL finals and led the league in post-season scoring with 18 points (7-11-18) in 15 games, breaking the league record for playoff points by a junior player previously held by Vancouver Canucks forward Daniel Sedin. At the age of 17, Daniel Sedin produced 4-8-12 totals in 13 games for MoDo in the 1998-99 playoffs.
“He had an outstanding playoffs,” Martin said. “He broke one of the Sedin’s scoring records.”
After the season, Holmstrom was named the Swedish Junior Hockey player of the year.
“He’s got good hockey sense, good hands,” Detroit GM Ken Holland said. “Skating is probably the area that he needs to improve but he goes to the hard areas, he's gritty, he's determined, and he goes to the front of the net.”
Holmstrom will attend the Wings’ prospect camp next month in Traverse City, Mich., but unless he makes the Detroit roster out of training camp, he must return to Sweden under the NHL-IIHF agreement.
Regardless, it would appear that soon, Holmstrom will find his way to North America and maybe, like Datsyuk and Zetterberg, the rest of the NHL will find out that the Wings have mined another of their late-round gems.
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