Calle Odelius

August 2023 – At just 18 years old Odelius had a very solid year playing in the HockeyAllsvenskan for Djugardens. The offensive defenseman signed a three-year ELC with the Islanders in the summer of 2022 and that will slide each year until he comes to the states. If Odelius vastly improves during his age 19 season, it is not out of the realm of possibility that he comes to North America in 2024-25. James Iacovone

January 2023 – Odelius has had a reasonably strong season for Djurgårdens in the second tier men’s pro league in Sweden, although the offense that he showed at the J20 level last year has not transferred so far. Similarly, he played a depth role for Sweden at the World Junior Championship scoring just one goal in seven games. It was a disappointing tournament for Odelius as he appeared to lose the trust of head coach Magnus Havelid after a poor performance against Canada in Sweden’s final game of the group stage. In that game he went minus four in just 13:40 of ice time. After that he recorded just 4:34 of ice time in the quarter finals against Finland, and a measly 32 seconds in the bronze medal game against the United States. While he was on the roster for the semi finals matchup against Czechia, he did not take a shift. Graham Montgomery

July 2022 – Odelius was drafted 65th overall by the Islanders. The projected late first round selection fell to the end of round two and again the Isles grabbed a high upside player (at least in his own end) that fell to them in round two. Pat Quinn

January 2022 – Odelius’ point production has been pretty impressive and he has been one of the biggest risers in the public draft sphere through the first half of the season. Even though he has been left off the scoresheet in his seven SHL games, he has produced at a .73 points per game clip in the J20 Nationell. That pace is second among draft-eligible defenders at the J20 level, just behind Simon Forsmark, but ahead of names like Elias Salomonsson and Mattias Hävelid. Odelius has also played in a total of 14 games for Sweden’s U18 national team, notching five assists in those games.

Odelius is a puck-moving, two-way defender. He is great on the breakout, driving play from the back end with strong passes up ice. He has the ability to give short, precise passes as well as clean, medium-length passes, but constantly impresses with great stretch passes as well. He uses his smooth skating and great edge work to give himself space on retrievals and he doesn’t need much time to move the puck. Odelius also has good puck skills which help him to elude forecheckers before moving the puck up ice. However, he doesn’t possess the best skating speed and mostly relies on passing in transition, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. He constantly executes high-IQ plays and is solid without the puck as well. Even though he might lose his mark in the defensive zone from time to time, he defends the rush well, closing the gap nicely. Odelius isn’t the biggest player and can struggle to box out opposing forwards at the net-front but that will come with the age. At this point, he looks like a strong candidate to be a second-round pick but there is still plenty of time left this season and he might even climb into the first-round conversation. Eetu Siltanen