steblick said:
I'd go with Kopitar- bigger upside. He reminds me of a combination of Tomas Vanek and Jason Allison, maybe Bobby Ryan too.
When he gets the puck in the offensive zone you just KNOW that he's going to do something interesting with it (like Kosistsyn but wit a different style)- a deadly shot, a sweet pass, drag some defenders right to the net, a slick close-in move. And he usually buries it. I'd say he's similar to those guys too in that his foot speed isn't the greatest but he is VERY strong on his skates.
I like Bergfors too- the best Swedish prospect since Sjostrom IMO- but while Bergfors is a little more polished all-around right now he doesn't have that "uh-oh here he comes!" effect on the fans or the opposition that Kopitar has.
OK.... I know everyone is entitled to their opinion... But don't you think there have been a lot of very good Swedish draftees since Sjostrom? I would argue he's behind a lot of them (edit: or at least a lot of them have more potential and a good shot to realiaze it).
For example:
Robert Nilson, Alexander Steen, Johannes Salmonsson, Johan Fransson, Carl Soderberg, Loui Eriksson, Yared Hagos, Niklas Grossman, Daniel Fernholm, and probably a few others I'm forgetting (and before you jump my case about all the Stars prospects on there, know that I kind of despise Dallas even though I live in Texas (I'm from Hartford, so relocated franchises don't sit that well with me, especially ones that head south out of hockey markets). You just have to respect their scouting ability in Sweden and Finland).
I should also add that I think it's a good probability someone like the Wings, Avs, or Stars will pull someone no one has ever heard of out of their ***** that will blow Sjostrom AND all of the people I just listed out of the water. Those big market teams with the $$$$ for top notch scouting have a way of doing that (see Zetterberg, Henrik).
edit part deux: WHOA. I just read your profile and did not realize that you're an ex-pro scout.
While I still disagree with you on Sjostrom, could you at least tell me what you see in him that has you put him above guys like Nilson, Steen, and Eriksson, all of whom I think very highly of?
Thanks in advance.