Viktor Persson | D

[luckylager]

9 minutes ago, Nuxfanabroad said:

You've omitted the question mark! Seriously, if he's Blazin' in BC, might develop into a hazy, lazy hippy?

 

@luckylager might have important analysis on this...

Question marks eh? Hmmmm

 

Yeah I dunno man, it's 4:23 and I'm a pretty baked rn. Ask me again after dinner

[Nuxfanabroad]

1 minute ago, luckylager said:

Question marks eh? Hmmmm

 

Yeah I dunno man, it's 4:23 and I'm a pretty baked rn. Ask me again after dinner

It's funny man..just referenced your flora/fauna thread(jokingly), then noticed you were coincidentally giving a big update on new product. Keep up the good work, L2

[elvis15]

Another guy with promise. It'll be interesting to see how he develops and if he can continue the type of game he plays into the pros.

[King Heffy]

Loving all the bigger defensemen being brought in.

[Dazzle]

1 hour ago, GoldenAlien said:

D  |   6'2"   |   192 lbs
 

Shoots | Right

Born | 2001-11-07

Draft | 2020 Round 7 #191 Overall by Vancouver Canucks

 

Ranked #95 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM
Ranked #231 by FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
Ranked #42 by TSN/CRAIG BUTTON
Ranked #44 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Skaters)

 

There is so much more to Persson's game offensively than his point totals would indicate. A big part of his success comes from his abilities as a distributor. He makes good calls on when to join the rush or play with a more passive posture. Persson maintains a high work rate, with active feet and smart skating patterns, ensuring he's always open to receive a pass. -EliteProspects 2020 NHL Draft Guide

 

From Blazers' GM:

“We are excited to be able to add a player like Viktor to our organization,” said General Manager Matt Bardsley. “He is a mobile defenseman who is willing to lead or join the rush and brings the qualities we look for in a Kamloops Blazers defenseman.”

“He has good offensive upside while providing a steady presence in his own end,” Bardsley continued. “We feel with his age and experience that he will be able to contribute right away.”

 

From the CHL Import Draft:

“I talked to the coaches and it sounds really good, just how they see the game,” said Persson, who admires the skills of Swedish defenceman John Klingberg, who plays for the Dallas Stars. “They seem to have really good development and focus on the players. Development is No. 1 and I’ve also heard great things about the organization.”

 

“I’m a big guy, I like to play physical, pretty fast, I would say, and I like to join the offensive rush,” Persson said. “I’m excited to come over and show what I’ve got.”

His quotes sound a lot like Yann Sauve.

[Nucker 67]

Happy with this pick, nice to see another name in the RD prospect column, other than WOO

[Psycho_Path]

Man this draft has been terrible. If only we had Judd Bracket still. /sarcasm

 

(I'm rather annoyed that I have to actually type /sarcasm because there are probably people that think this still)

[Nave]

Love this pick. Could be a steal.

[GB5]

3 hours ago, Robert Long said:

So why did he drop so far? 

My guess is that Persson looks like he hasn't really played in any international tournaments outside of Sweden so scouts didn't get to see him against other competition..

 

The other reason is that we have Gradin and Gradin is the Swedish prospect whisperer.

Edited October 8, 2020 by GarthButcher5

[rekker]

2 hours ago, NUCKER67 said:

Happy with this pick, nice to see another name in the RD prospect column, other than WOO

Love that he wants to play in the WHL. Defencemen factory.

[Ilya Mikheyev]

1 hour ago, GarthButcher5 said:

My guess is that Persson looks like he hasn't really played in any international tournaments outside of Sweden so scouts didn't get to see him against other competition..

 

The other reason is that we have Gradin and Gradin is the Swedish prospect whisperer.

Really like what I'm reading about this pick , plus being RHD and big. Cool to see that he wants to come to the Dub next year. Could be a steal with Gradin's paw prints all over it

[GoldenAlien]

From Pass it to Bulis:

The right-handed Persson put up 5 goals and 18 points in 26 games in Sweden's top junior league, the SuperElit. That was good for 4th in points per game among first-time draft-eligible defencemen in the SuperElit, right behind three defencemen that got drafted much higher — Anton Johannesson (5th), Helge Grans (2nd), and Emil Andrae (2nd) — and ahead of William Wallinder, who was a second-round pick. 

 

Despite his production, Persson may have escaped the notice of some scout for a couple of reasons: he hasn't played internationally for Sweden at all and injuries limited him to just 26 games this season.

 

Persson wasn't entirely under the radar, of course. Hockey Prospect liked him enough to rank him 42nd overall, suggesting he should have been a second-round pick with Grans, Andrae, and Wallinder. They particularly praised three aspects of his game: his skating, playmaking, and puck retrieval, suggesting he might be "one of the biggest sleepers for this year's draft."

 

"He uses his skating to aggressively rush the puck in open ice," reads the scouting report from Hockey Prospect. "There’s a poise to how he carries himself when holding onto the puck or when he’s making decisions at the offensive line. He doesn’t rush the play often, he takes advantage of the soft ice given to him, and he can thread some high end passes that land right on the tape."

 

Elite Prospects ranked Persson 95th overall and likewise hypes his ability to distribute the puck.

 

"With the puck, he plays in a smart and composed way and can quickly start the transition game for his team with precise long-range passes," reads their report. "Within the offensive zone, Persson maintains a high work rate off of the puck, with active feet and smart skating patterns. This makes him an option for his teammates, even when he's not activating off of the cycle."

 

Persson's season in Sweden has started already, but he intends to come to North America to play for the Kamloops Blazers, who selected him in the CHL import draft.

“Viktor is a big defenseman, mobile skater, moves around really well,” said Blazers GM Matt Bardsley. “He’s the type of defenseman that we look for, how we want to play. He can join or lead the rush — has a good offensive upside —- real good in his own end as well. Can kind of play in all situations — power play, penalty kill, 5-on-5."

 

Of course, you don't make it to the seventh round without a few flaws. For Persson, those primarily come in the defensive end of the ice, where he's raw and needs development.

 

"The foundation to become a solid defensive piece is there," says Elite Prospects, "but the absence of any real aggression or decisiveness on his part sometimes limits his impact. The worst, most problematic component of Persson's in-zone defending is that he often gets caught puck-watching."

 

His scouting report from Elite Prospects suggests that these flaws can be fixed with proper coaching and structure, which is promising. A report from Elite Prospects scout Christoffer Hedlund notes, "Persson has a long reach but rarely uses it to his advantage. Once he learns how to do that, he will become a much more effective defensive player."

 

Persson represents the right type of gamble in the seventh round: a player with the skill of a higher pick who fell down the draft for reasons unrelated to that skill. With his size, skating, and passing ability, Persson has the potential to develop into a legitimate NHL defenceman.

 

 

[canucklehead44]

Fantastic pick - seems like a guy who should have gone as high as the second round and has the credentials to support that. His offensive numbers are comparable with a lot of Swedish defence drafted in the top 3 rounds. Given his stats you would expect he must be 5'10 but at 6'2 he has size to boot. 

 

Marcus Pettersson 18 points in 38 games in his draft year in the J20 SuperElit vs 18 in 26 for Persson and similar frames. Now there is the whole issue of having to play good defense but if he could get a dman of that calibre in the 7th round that would be fantastic. I've really liked our last three 7th round picks. 

 

Gone are the days of picking guys like Evan Fuller, Mackenze Stewart, Sawyer Hanney - dudes you just know won't even hack it in the ECHL. 

Edited October 8, 2020 by canucklehead44

[Boudrias]

Any relation to the Stephan Persson who played way back in the '80's with the NYI? He was a big man as well. 9 year NHL vet.

[JM_]

12 hours ago, GarthButcher5 said:

My guess is that Persson looks like he hasn't really played in any international tournaments outside of Sweden so scouts didn't get to see him against other competition..

 

The other reason is that we have Gradin and Gradin is the Swedish prospect whisperer.

in Gradin we trust, for sure. I do think this draft will have a lot of "steals" in it given how wonky the scouting year was. 

[PuckFather]

Just the thought of having Persson-Pearson and Pettersson on our team gives me goosebumps. 

[Googlie]

20 hours ago, RWMc1 said:

Come on man! He's a Persson, he has feelings!!!

Persson, man, woman, camera, TV.

 

We have our very own little slice of history

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

3 hours ago, Googlie said:

Persson, man, woman, camera, TV.

 

We have our very own little slice of history

Ok, I’ll play:

 

 

 

 

 

[Googlie]

Brilliant !!!!!!

 

This trumps everything else in the thread

 

 

Edited October 8, 2020 by Googlie

[DeltaSwede]

Anyone wondering how to pronounce his last name: 

Pershon / Perjean

 

But yea one of the worse Swedish last names when it comes to English speakers. Dude's a straight up person.