Rollieo Del Fuego Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Linus Karlsson Vancouver Canucks image courtesy of NHL.com Fantasy Summary Midde-six scoring center Attributes Fantasy Upside 6.5 NHL Certainty 5.0 Country SWE Position C Roster Type System Shoot/Glove Right Date of Birth November 16, 1999 Height 6‘1” Weight 179 lbs Drafted 2018 Round 3; Overall: 87 On Emmanuel Perry’s list of every forward currently under the age of 19 who was technically eligible for the 2018 draft, Linus Karlsson, the Sharks’ third-round pick, ranks tied for 35 in terms of potential upside (WAR/82 in the NHL). That list is 1,752 names long and features names like Andrei Svechnikov, Vitali Kravstov, Filip Zadina, and Martin Kaut at or near the top. Karlsson’s 58 percent chance of making the NHL according to that model places him in even more rarefied air: 14th among that same group of 1,700+ teenage forwards. Age (as of September 9): 18Position: CenterShoots: RightSize: 6’1”, 187 poundsNationality: SWE2017 Ranking: N/AStaff Ranking: 11Acquired: 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Round 3, 87 overall2017-18 Team: Karlskrona J20, SuperElit2018-19 Team: Karlskrona, Allsvenskan Karlsson — a 6-foot-1, 187-pound center from Eksjö, Sweden — scored 56 points in 48 SuperElit games (including playoffs) last season. It’s important to note that those points were not empty calories, though he did acquire a healthy proportion on the power play. Betweenness — a measure of a player’s impact on his team’s scoring network — shows how much a given player relied on his teammates to score primary points. This is a list of the top 25 players in the entire SuperElit league last season, so many of the skaters listed here are a year or so older than Karlsson. In terms of even-strength scoring impact, Karlsson ranked among the top 20 skaters in his entire league. In all situations, thanks to his extra man contributions, Karlsson ranked ninth. This is all to say that his draft year season, which included one assist in 14 SHL games, was quite impressive. top 25 SuperElit players in 2017-18 according to even strength betweenness (scoring influence) Marcus Karlberg and Linus Karlsson at 18th and 19th, respectively. Jonatan Berggren is 36th. Dominik Bokk is 44th. pic.twitter.com/YDxcyrTGs0 — Evan Oppenheimer (@OppenheimerEvan) July 1, 2018 Emmanuel Perry’s model, which was referenced above, is not the only method of statistical comparison to look upon Karlsson favorably. The model Jeremy Davis of Canucks Armydeveloped only gave Karlsson a 23 percent chance of making the NHL thanks to this 2017-18 season. But Davis also found that Karlsson was involved in 41 percent of his team’s 5-on-5 goals, the highest such mark of any prospect Davis and Co. evaluated. Karlsson’s most-common teammates except one all produced better results when skating alongside the Sharks prospect. NHL players who have put together similar statistical seasons in the SuperElit league include Jesper Fast, Jakob Silfverberg, Gustav Nyquist, and Carl Hagelin. If Karlsson turns into the next Silfverberg, well, that’s a third-round pick well spent. What we like Per the information on Karlsson’s EliteProspects profile page, Draftin Europe scouts believe his strengths include a “nice shot and combines that with his ability to read developing holes in the offensive zone” and has a “quality game from faceoff dots to end-boards.” Karlsson positively impacts his teammates while consistently adding to his own stat sheet. He impressed many around the Swedish hockey world last season and was at one point rumored to be a trade targetof the SHL’s Rögle and 2017-18 league champion Växjö Lakers teams. For his hard work, Karlsson was named the SuperElit’s best forward. The Sharks picked Karlsson in the pick #40-100 range, which is typically where teams outperform Central Scouting rankings, especially when their picks diverge from the rankings. Karlsson has all the statistical makings of a star who was looked over a few times too many. Areas of Improvement According to The Athletic’s Corey Pronman, Karlsson could stand to work on his skating. At just 178 pounds, Karlsson will also likely need to spend some time lifting heavy weights and eating lots of protein in an attempt to add a little extra muscle to his frame as he heads into his first full professional season. Highlight Here, Karlsson notices his team has collected the puck safely in its own zone, so he heads up ice looking for the stretch pass. The pass connects — and here you can see where concerns about his skating come from — and Karlsson takes off toward the opposing net. He’s calm and steady on his skates during his approach and tosses just the right amount of dangles into the mix before finishing off the play in style. Soft hands. Concentration, not strength. If we have to wave goodby to Dahlen...at least we have a younger Swede to take his place...! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 18 years old and had a nice long stint in the SHL recording a point and being a positive player according to that bio. Really intriguing honestly. Now barely 19 and playing in a mens league again and doing decent by any standards. Time will tell but I'm not upset at this at all Here's his draft breakdown and numbers Karlsson led the SuperElit, the Swedish junior league, in goal scoring. He also finished second in points behind only Jonatan Berggren, a Detroit second rounder some had ranked in the first. Karlsson got into 13 games for the SHL’s Karlskrona HK, he only posted a single assist but just playing in the SHL is a positive for an 18 year old player. Karlsson is an offensive player, he possesses a good shot, good hands and he has the size that won’t hurt his chances of developing into an NHLer. Accomplishments/Awards: 2017-2018 J20 SuperElit (Forts) Most Goals (14) J20 SuperElit (Forts) Most Points (27) J20 SuperElit (Overall) Most Goals (27) J20 SuperElit Best Forward Draft breakdown as per Canucks Army: So, let’s talk about some of these crazy numbers and I’ll get to the standard boxcar stats below. His involvement percentage of 41.6% is crazy good for any player and unless I am mistaken, is the highest of the 100 players we have ranked. The high percentage is common with players in the SuperElit as the really good players stand out but was still ~5% higher than a prospect like Dominik Bokk. Another number that jumps of the page is the GF%REL of +24.9% – which shows that when Karlsson wasn’t on the ice, the Karlskrona J20 team was struggling. His personal GF% isn’t great but given that his team had a -36 goal differential and the GF%Rel and INV% is so strong, it indicates that the offence was going through Karlsson and if he wasn’t on the ice, they weren’t scoring. His shot generation was through the roof and all of his stats are in the upper percentiles. He saw in a dip in his GF% in the middle part of the season but then slowly climbed as he consistently put up points. His icetime just increased as the season went along as the coaching staff clearly were riding his offensive production and play. The GF% and GFREL% stuck out to me as being odd, as how can a player with good but not extraordinary GF% have such a drastic difference when compared to his teammates. The raw numbers for Karlsson at 5v5 play this season were: With him on the ice: 59% (+42/-29) With him on the bench: 34% (+37/-71) Just reinforces how much of an impact the draft-eligible centre had on the offence of the Karlskrona J20 team. Karlsson mostly played with Schreiber, Nordstrand and Henbrant at 5v5 and they were the only ones to not get destroyed while on the ice: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post westcoastsniper Posted February 25, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted February 25, 2019 The fact the scouting team of Judd Brackett and Thomas Gradin wanted to draft him last year gives me hope he can pull a Tyler Madden. As far as I know his team is $&!# right now. His numbers could see a jump with better linemates. 2 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naslundfan921 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Knowing nothing about the guy. What the OP says is very encouraging, echoing what others have said, the one definite strength of Benning's tenure has been scouting and we tend to do well in Sweden so here's hoping he can make an impact down the line 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) This kid is much younger with a LOT MORE UPSIDE than Burrows today! Edited February 25, 2019 by Nuxfanabroad 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroCanuck Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Long term project, but he definitely has the potential to be a solid mid-6 player. Definitely need to be patient with this kid and hope he develops into something solid. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just1CupB4IDie Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 a fellow Swede for Pettersson to mentor....sounds good to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Just noticed he's a righty C, to boot! Nice to have a blend of L/R handed C's in the system.. Like this deal! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasCanuck Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Wow, look at that. We have someone new to obsess over..... Everybody happy now??? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post The Great Canucks Posted February 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted February 26, 2019 The good news is that he will be exempt from the expansion draft, unlike Dahlen. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentSam Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 Same or better potential as Dahlen.. Bigger body at 19yrs, his arrival breaks up the timing of a lot of our contracts.. if he signs. I beleive he is not signed, if he does, perhaps we see him in Utica playoffs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollieo Del Fuego Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 30 minutes ago, The Great Canucks said: The good news is that he will be exempt from the expansion draft, unlike Dahlen. I was thinking the same thing...we need some younger guys with upside. We have Madden and Gaudette ...possibly MacEwen (if they want him there) up the middle but you can never have enough young center's. The best thing about him is that good things happen with him on the ice...sounds familiar and somewhat Alien.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroCanuck Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 7 minutes ago, SilentSam said: Same or better potential as Dahlen.. Bigger body at 19yrs, his arrival breaks up the timing of a lot of our contracts.. if he signs. I beleive he is not signed, if he does, perhaps we see him in Utica playoffs? Looking at his development and what Ive heard Id assume he will be in Sweden next year. He's young so leave him over there to grow his game. So far Utica has done nothing with regards to developing prospects this year. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stawns Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 48 minutes ago, RetroCanuck said: Looking at his development and what Ive heard Id assume he will be in Sweden next year. He's young so leave him over there to grow his game. So far Utica has done nothing with regards to developing prospects this year. Mac Sautner Breezer Demko Gaudette McEneny Dahlen the young guys are showing signs of getting to the next level. People should realize that it's usually a 3 year process 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 50 minutes ago, RetroCanuck said: Looking at his development and what Ive heard Id assume he will be in Sweden next year. He's young so leave him over there to grow his game. So far Utica has done nothing with regards to developing prospects this year. It's their first actual year with a dearth of home picked home grown prospects really so I'm giving them a large pass 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentSam Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 (edited) MacEwan, Guadette, Brisboise, Sautner, all look pretty good to me.. each have taken about a year to date. Not every player is going to be EP40 calibre, and arrive after a half season in Utica. what are your expectations regarding this? Edited February 26, 2019 by SilentSam 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentSam Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 1 hour ago, RetroCanuck said: Looking at his development and what Ive heard Id assume he will be in Sweden next year. He's young so leave him over there to grow his game. So far Utica has done nothing with regards to developing prospects this year. MacEwan, Guadette, Brisboise, Sautner, all look pretty good to me.. each have taken about a year to date. Not every player is going to be EP40 calibre, and arrive after a half season in Utica. what are your expectations regarding this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post BananaMash Posted February 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted February 26, 2019 Love Linus Karlsson, and really wanted us to draft him. I think he could be an excellent sleeper prospect. 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroCanuck Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 3 minutes ago, SilentSam said: MacEwan, Guadette, Brisboise, Sautner, all look pretty good to me.. each have taken about a year to date. Not every player is going to be EP40 calibre, and arrive after a half season in Utica. what are your expectations regarding this? Well two young prospects have asked to leave the team and there have been reports others are not happy as well. If your best prospects don't want to stick around your developmental team then you have an issue. Gaudette has barely spent any time down there and MacEwen is the only other true success story and that could be due to his own personal drive and not coaches which I suspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noble 6 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 Karlsson is on a deep team which likely hasn't lead to a lot of offensive opportunities. Could be similar to the situation Jasek was in over in the Czech league before he came to Utica. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now