Welcome to the November installment of the SHL update where I take a look at a few of the notable performances from prospects that poolies need to know.
The second, second-round pick by Toronto in the 2016 Draft, Carl Grundstrom has had an outstanding past month for Frolunda. Skating on the second line, the 18-year-old notched the first hat-trick of the SHL season back in October and currently sits with six goals overall and one assist. Those seven points are the second most among U20 players. To cap things off Grundstrom was an offensive machine at the Four Nations Tournament, the last major event before the WJHC. At this point he seems like a near lock to suit up for Tre Kroner in Montreal-Toronto in December.
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Carl Grundstrom-TOR led the U20 four nations in goals (5) and points (7) in the 3 game round robin tournament.</p>— (((Corey Pronman))) (@coreypronman) <a href="https://twitter.com/coreypronman/status/795322594186723328">November 6, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Highlights of Grundstrom’s hat-trick
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Joining Grundstrom in suiting up for Frolunda is Anaheim prospect Jacob Larsson. A surprising inclusion on the Ducks opening night roster, he lasted only four games. He was assigned to the AHL where he skated in another four games registering two assists and posting an ugly minus-6 before ultimately being sent back to his old squad.
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ducks also announce that Jacob Larsson has been returned to Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League.</p>— Eric Stephens (@icemancometh) <a href="https://twitter.com/icemancometh/status/794240678133760001">November 3, 2016</a></blockquote>
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In three games so far Larsson has managed one assist and averaged just over 18 minutes of ice time per game. Barring an inevitable Cam Fowler trade, and maybe more, Larsson may have to bide his in Sweden for another year or spend a full season in San Diego.
Philadelphia’s Oskar Lindblom just keeps on rolling. Registering a point in 13 of his teams 17 games he’s at a point-per-game pace with six goals and 11 helpers while averaging 14:44 of ice time. Those 17 points place his third in SHL scoring. He just saw the end of a seven game point streak over which he had two goals and seven assists. If Lindblom keeps this up he could very well see time in the city of brotherly love as early as next season.
Rasmus Asplund is off to the best start of his SHL career in his third season. The Buffalo 2016 second rounder, Asplund has notched three goals and four assists in Farjestad’s 17 games to date. He’s struggled a bit to produce as of late, with just a pair of assists over the last 10 games. The most encouraging thing about Asplund’s progress this season is that he is seeing over 17 minutes per game despite being one of the youngest forward on the team.
Asplund’s second goal of the year
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A projected top-15 pick in the 2017 Draft. HV71’s Lias Andersson is starting to make waves in his second SHL season. He absolutely tore up the SuperElit in 2015-16, leading the league in scoring but was held pointless in 26 SHL games. Through 14 games in 2016-17, Andersson has four goals and as many assists, good for most among all U20 players. A large part of this can be attributed to a sizeable increase in ice time by nearly eight minutes a game. His CHL rights are owned by the Kitchener Rangers who selected him in the second round of the 2016 Import Draft so there is a good chance that whichever NHL team selects him in June will persuade him to cross the pond.
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="sv" dir="ltr">2017 NHL top prospect Lias Andersson scores vs Färjestad in the SHL. <a href="https://t.co/7M0vutmCzI">pic.twitter.com/7M0vutmCzI</a></p>— Robert Söderlind (@HockeyWebCast) <a href="https://twitter.com/HockeyWebCast/status/798613034533003264">November 15, 2016</a></blockquote>
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