@StevenToddIves Can you do next "prospect profile" from Simon Edvinsson?
2021 Draft Profile:
LD Simon Edvinsson, Frolunda SHL
It's tough to miss this kid on the ice due to his tantalizing combination of size (6'4-190) and excellent skating ability. Like Owen Power, he's not just a "good skater for a big man", he's simply a very accomplished skater...
period. When you combine that kind of wingspan with those wheels, he's an immediate match-up problem for the other team, and very difficult to beat one-on-one.
Edvinsson is a prospect I really like. This is because all of his abilities are scarce, and almost all of his warts are correctable through good coaching and development. His strengths are myriad, and extremely exciting. In addition to the size/skating combo, Edvinsson is an excellent passer who processes the ice very well. He can break out of the defensive zone or into the offensive zone by darting quick, accurate passes to his forwards, or he can just skate it himself. This ability is accentuated by the fact that Edvinsson has a silky set of hands -- again, not just for a big player, but for anyone. Every game I've watched Edvinsson featured at least one play where, head-up, he quickly built up steam, glided up ice while stick handling deftly to either get his team out of trouble or put the opposition into trouble. This skill-set is not easily taught, and it's very impressive.
Inside the offensive zone, Edvinsson always looking to pinch and join the offense, sometimes to a detriment. Like many offensive defenders at his age, he certainly needs to shore up his decision making with pinches and rushes, and occasionally will serve up a fat turnover to the opposition while trying to accomplish too much on his own.
Defensively, Edvinsson is almost like two players. One on hand, he's terrific at using his reach and speed to close gaps and break up opposing rushes. Though not physical, his edge in strength and size makes him a regular winner in puck battles along the boards. Once he separates the opposition from the puck, he already knows what to do with it -- again, he processes the game at a very good speed and passes extremely well -- though it would be a mistake to confuse him with a player of "elite vision" like a Brandt Clarke. Edvinsson is a very good passer, but he's not "special" in that sense. Still, the combination of his size, speed, passing and puckhandling makes him an excellent prospect, probably in the top 10 for the 2021 draft.
Edvinsson will likely be compared to Owen Power, since they are both huge, smooth skating defenders who are likely to go high in the draft. It's important to note when comparing them that Edvinsson's major weaknesses are big strengths for Power. Power has no problem with the physical game. While Edvinsson's physicality cannot be seen as a "negative" due to the fact that he takes advantage of it to win battles on a regular basis, he is not a player who initiates hits or rough stuff, which makes him a lot easier to play against and generally makes him less effective in his own crease.
Though most of Edvinsson's weaknesses are very correctable (risks gone wrong, not assertive enough), the one which is the most concerning is that he does not shoot the puck well. I would say Edvinsson's shot is well below average in terms of both velocity and accuracy. This is a problem especially on the PP, as it allows smart penalty killers to give him some space, clogging the passing and skating lanes.
So, I really see Edvinsson as the ideal mid-pairing NHL defender, with perhaps some top-pairing upside due to his rare and outstanding strengths. I'd have to say my favorite aspect of Edvinsson's game is the intangible where he is very calming with the puck. It is quite common to see his team hemmed in the zone until Edvinsson gathers the puck, shrugs away a defender, and with a silky move and two powerful strides is gliding out of his own zone and putting his team on offense. I think he's very smart and positionally aware.
I've seen Edvinsson ranked all over the place -- from #2 overall to just outside the top 20. I think you're crazy if you're ranking him above Owen Power, who can do everything Edvinsson can do and also the things Edvinsson cannot do (with an even more tantalizing size/skating combo). But I also think you need to reevaluate things if you have him outside the top 20 -- as all Edvinsson's defensive flaws are not the result of a low hockey IQ or lack of effort, but rather the fact that the kid just sometimes tries to do too much.
Ultimately, the question with Edvinsson will be where he ranks inside a talented 2021 class at D. He's certainly an excellent offensive prospect, but lacks the elite offensive instincts of a Luke Hughes or Brandt Clarke. He's a very intriguing defensive prospect as well, but he lacks the true shut-down ability of an Owen Power, Carson Lambos or Stanislav Svozil. From a Devils standpoint, I'd say he's actually comparable to Shakir Mukhamadullin in some ways. Their size is about even, and while Mukhamadullin would get a big edge in shooting and a bit of an edge in passing, Edvinsson would get a big edge in skating explosiveness and also an edge in puck handling. In the end, I feel Edvinsson is a kid who would go in the 15-20 range in the more talented 2020 class but will likely hear his name called in the top 10 in 2021.
Vatanen won’t even be around by the time our 2021 pick plays and ty smith will be. I know for sure ty smith played the right side as a lefty in juniors
