Meet the 2022 NHL Draft Class Video Review: Sweden – Hello My Name is .. Liam Öhgren and Mattias Hävelid

Hello my name is… Liam Öhgren

Background Information
Team: Djurgardens IF	Position: LW
Height/Weight: 6'1, 187lbs	Birthdate: 2004-01-28
Season Stats	GP-14 G-15 A-9 P-24

Attributes To Like:

1. Skating

Öhgren has excellent acceleration, able to quickly ‘gear up’ and win races to puck or beat defenders wide. That’s a valuable skill– rush offence these days is all about creating space through speed changes. Look at how Öhgren accelerates to win this puck on the boards and then flies in towards the net for a great chance.

The quick burst of speed through the neutral zone pushes the opposing defencemen back, allowing Öhgren to gain the line and still have room to move laterally to set up an offensive-zone possession.

Öhgren puts a Czech defender behind him through a sweet speed burst out of this pivot. It’s really hard to defend a player that can go from 0-60 that fast like that.

Öhgren is able to use his skating to put pressure on opposing puckcarriers. He gets out to the point faster than the USA defenceman expects, creating a breakaway goal for himself.

He uses his speed to take the puck off of both Finnish defencemen on this play, leading to a breakaway chance for himself!

2. Transition passing

What is key about Öhgren’s passing is that he always delivers his passes ‘on time’-- he doesn’t leave his teammates stationary, waiting for the pass, while the defence adjusts. He gets this puck on the wall, quickly dusts it off, and moves it up to his linemate for what could have been a partial breakaway.

He receives this pass, immediately gets his head up, and is able to hit his winger right as they cross the blueline. Any later, and they’d have to kill their momentum to stay onside at the line.

Gets the puck on the wall, head is already up scanning the play, and he sends a teammate in on the breakaway. This type of awareness creates a lot of rush chances that otherwise wouldn’t be there.

This pass is literally *right* on time. A half-second later, the play is offside. A full second later, the recipient would have to throw on the brakes at the blueline to stay onside, totally killing the rush.

Also impressive is Öhgren’s excellent awareness and vision through the entire neutral zone. He receives this pass facing the wall and already has his next target in mind, despite that teammate being on the other side of the ice and on Öhgren’s back side. A spinning pass is right on the money to send that teammate in for an easy zone entry and rush chance.

Here’s one pass that isn’t on time, leading to an offside. But look at how cool this play by Öhgren is: he loops back and pulls the entire defence’s attention to himself while his linemate slips down the wing. If that pass comes a little bit faster, Öhgren would’ve just sent a teammate in on a one-on-one with an already scrambling defender, all of which he created out of virtually nothing.

3. Scoring instincts

Öhgren’s has more than a goal per game in the SuperElit this season as he dominates the league. He’s an intelligent, opportunistic scorer that can sneak into scoring areas and make the most out of the chances that he gets.

This was Öhgren’s first professional goal in the Swedish Hockey League: he collects a rebound, recognizes that the goaltender is out of position, and scores on the wraparound.

Öhgren perfectly times this play, beginning to drift down towards the net as the puck is still tied up along the boards and arriving at the netfront at the perfect time to receive this pass.

This sneaky little shot after Öhgren looks to the middle and sets up as if he’s looking to pass is such a smart play.

Rest Of Season Outlook:

Three of Sweden’s top draft prospects all play for the same team: Öhgren, Noah Östlund, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki. Östlund tends to be the most highly rated out of that group, with Öhgren and Lekkerimäki being more all over the place in rankings. Öhgren will look to continue his dominance of the U20 circuit while adding additional SHL games to his resume– he already has 18 games under his belt this season, and Öhgren will want to grow more comfortable contributing in a professional role.

Hello my name is… Mattias Hävelid

Background Information
Team: Linkoping HC	Position: RHD
Height/Weight: 5'10, 172lbs	Birthdate: 2004-01-01
Season Stats	GP-21 G-7 A-7 P-14

Attributes To Like:

1. Mobility

Hävelid is very good at putting forecheckers behind him, giving him lots of time to find a pass and orchestrate the breakout. He easily pulls away from this single forechecker and finds a teammate with an entry pass at the opposing blueline.

Look at the poise here: rather than making an uncontrolled play up the boards, Hävelid uses his feet to get off the wall and make an outlet pass.

Escapes the forecheck, creates a rush.

Hävelid leaves this forechecker out of the play and without a stick after stopping on a dime, then brings the puck all the way up the ice for a controlled entry.

And here’ s a culmination of a few excellent transition skills. He puts the forechecker behind him, starts up ice, and then finds a forward on a sweet stretch pass to spring a breakaway goal.

2. Offensive activation

The Swede loves to get involved in the offence, participating in the breakout and moving up with his forwards in the rush. Hävelid joins the rush right from the get-go here, entering the zone wide and setting things up with some puck protection down low.

He’s not involved in the rush this time, but he gets up ice quickly to support the play and is in perfect position to pick this puck up, make a great pass towards the middle, and create a goal here.

He recognizes all the space in front of him, activates, and gets an easy entry out of it. Now he just has to learn how to skate!

3.Scoring 

Hävelid is mobile on the point and has a seeing-eye shot that can find its way through from the blueline. He rarely shoots from a stationary position. He’ll take space in front of him when the defence gives it to him.

Or he’ll walk the line laterally to bring the puck into the middle and force the defence to shift before shooting.

Hävelid also has a strong one-timer, allowing him to man one of the wings on the powerplay as well as the QB position.

Rest Of Season Outlook:

Hävelid has been among the J20 circuit’s most productive defencemen, involving himself in the offensive play as often as possible and effectively contributing to his team’s goals. He has also played eight games in the Swedish Hockey League, playing a limited role as would be expected. The greatest boon to Hävelid’s draft outlook would be to find his way into a consistent SHL role, where he could show off his poise and mobility in transition. If that isn’t possible, he’ll continue to grow his offensive game against U20 competition.