VCR seems to be struggling abit after moving to LHC. Only 3 games in SuperElit, sure 7+5 in J18 Elit is pretty good. I often see him ranked high in the 2013 draft, overhyped?
Well, he played already last year in SuperElit and scored a few goals for a weak Tingsryd. Could've probably scored more for LHC if given the same role but I don't think it's necessarily negative for him to play a key role in J18 instead.
Even though he hasn't produced huge numbers in J18 he has been solid and for example scored 4 goals short handed. I've seen him quite a few games this season and he's got nifty moves and good speed but doesn't dominate the games like the hype might suggest. Maybe we should give him another couple of months to prove himself.
Crus-Rydberg seems to be heating up. 5 GP 7G 3A 10pts so far in J18 Allsvenskan. Anybody seen him play lately? He is maybe the swedish prospect with the most raw potential IMO, so I'm really interested how he's doing. He had a first half of the season that was below my expectations though.
Crus-Rydberg seems to be heating up. 5 GP 7G 3A 10pts so far in J18 Allsvenskan. Anybody seen him play lately? He is maybe the swedish prospect with the most raw potential IMO, so I'm really interested how he's doing. He had a first half of the season that was below my expectations though.
I've seen him play three of those games and he has been outstanding. Scored a hattrick in his comeback against Västerås but more impressive was his two two-goal games against Rögle and Frölunda which are both solid teams. He has some a great skill set obviously but it's his vision that impresses me most. He also seem to have that aura around him that gives him the extra second compared to other players.
He could probably use his shot more and work on his speed. One thing that has surprised me with him (not these three games but since he moved to Linköping) is his responsibility and work ethic defensively. I think he will turn into a two-way center as senior player.
I've seen him play three of those games and he has been outstanding. Scored a hattrick in his comeback against Västerås but more impressive was his two two-goal games against Rögle and Frölunda which are both solid teams. He has some a great skill set obviously but it's his vision that impresses me most. He also seem to have that aura around him that gives him the extra second compared to other players.
He could probably use his shot more and work on his speed. One thing that has surprised me with him (not these three games but since he moved to Linköping) is his responsibility and work ethic defensively. I think he will turn into a two-way center as senior player.
I have only seen him play in TV-pucken 1,5 years ago. But I was blows away by his vision and ability to create time and space for him self. Reminded me A LOT about Backstrom. Better shooter though.
I've seen him play three of those games and he has been outstanding. Scored a hattrick in his comeback against Västerås but more impressive was his two two-goal games against Rögle and Frölunda which are both solid teams. He has some a great skill set obviously but it's his vision that impresses me most. He also seem to have that aura around him that gives him the extra second compared to other players.
He could probably use his shot more and work on his speed. One thing that has surprised me with him (not these three games but since he moved to Linköping) is his responsibility and work ethic defensively. I think he will turn into a two-way center as senior player.
Nice to hear that he's getting defensively responsible as well. Why do you think he started off the season so (relatively) bad? Did he enter the season out of shape or had a nagging injury? Or did he perhaps have difficulties to adapt to LHC:s more defensive style of hockey?
He could've played for J20 the entire season but the coaches wanted him to have a leading role in J18 and get big minutes every night instead. LHC seems to be quite apprehensive when it comes to moving players up age-wise. I don't think they would let, for example, a kid born 97 play for J18 no matter how much he dominated U16. If this is a good or bad thing I don't know but seems to de-hype a few players (Nermark, Crus).
Nice to hear that he's getting defensively responsible as well. Why do you think he started off the season so (relatively) bad? Did he enter the season out of shape or had a nagging injury? Or did he perhaps have difficulties to adapt to LHC:s more defensive style of hockey?
I think he had his mind set on playing SuperElit when he came and when he "only" got to play J18 Elit he was probably a bit disappointed. And, from what I've heard, he wasn't as fit as coaches had expected so I think they worked pretty hard with him which may have effected his game also.
Now LHC J20 has loaned Victor Jigmalm to Hästen which might open a spot for a center from J18 if there's an injury or something later on, but I don't know how the coaches think about this.
At least not for forward prospects so far. I have yet to see them develop a really good forward. Maybe they are putting to much focus on tactical trap hockey on their forwards in a too young age. This was one of the reasons why prospects developed poorly in Swedish hockey up until about 5 years ago or so.
They seemed to have done a good job with Gunnarsson, Dahlbeck and Bäckman though. They all seem to be exceeding expectations.
I think he had his mind set on playing SuperElit when he came and when he "only" got to play J18 Elit he was probably a bit disappointed. And, from what I've heard, he wasn't as fit as coaches had expected so I think they worked pretty hard with him which may have effected his game also.
Now LHC J20 has loaned Victor Jigmalm to Hästen which might open a spot for a center from J18 if there's an injury or something later on, but I don't know how the coaches think about this.
That center spot should be handed to Bristedt imo. Go-to-guy on the team and on of the better offensive players in the country out of the 95 class. VCR needs to improve his speed much like Liljendahl in order to elevate his play but hopefully that will come with time.
Linkoping, Djurgarden and Brynas are the teams that are reluctant to give really young players a shoot at J20, players have to work they way upwards. Given the track record of Djurgarden and Brynas it seems about right.
That center spot should be handed to Bristedt imo. Go-to-guy on the team and on of the better offensive players in the country out of the 95 class. VCR needs to improve his speed much like Liljendahl in order to elevate his play but hopefully that will come with time.
Linkoping, Djurgarden and Brynas are the teams that are reluctant to give really young players a shoot at J20, players have to work they way upwards. Given the track record of Djurgarden and Brynas it seems about right.
Bristedt played a few games in SuperElit and might be ahead of Crus in pecking order. When both Crus and Vrana were injured he really stepped up and led the team, being pretty much the only one producing offensively. He also had a great world under 17 tournament. Thus, I wouldn't argue if he's ahead of Crus for J20.
Please excuse my ignorance as I am learning, but, what is the difference between J18 Elit, and J18 Allsvenskan?
Also, was VCR left off the U17 team in Windsor due to injury, or his play?
Thank you.
J18 Elit has 4 divisions which are based on region, every division has 12 teams. There's north, south, east and west. Top 5 teams from every division qualifies for Allsvenskan which only has two divisions, north (teams from north and east) and south (teams from south and west), both containing ten teams. So Allsvenskan is a higher level of play than Elit.
VCR was probably left out because of an injury, but he had been cut from an earlier national team selection because of his play.
J18 Elit has 4 divisions which are based on region, every division has 12 teams. There's north, south, east and west. Top 5 teams from every division qualifies for Allsvenskan which only has two divisions, north (teams from north and east) and south (teams from south and west), both containing ten teams. So Allsvenskan is a higher level of play than Elit.
VCR was probably left out because of an injury, but he had been cut from an earlier national team selection because of his play.
He had a solid season although maybe not as dominating as he could have. He got the chance to play some minutes with the mens team but only in pre-season and practice games. He was forced to take on a more defensive role for a big part of the year which I think had a negative effect on his scoring and Linköping J20 had a shaky season with a lot of ups and downs. I still think he was one of the more consistent players on the team. He has to wok on speed which is more apparent in international games, but his vision and passing game is great. Next season will be interesting for him since he should probably be on the verge of making the mens team in Elitserien when injuries/suspensions.
