Prospect Info: #44 - RD Filip Westerlund

[XX]

Westerlund's game grew from playing with Dahlin in Sweden

Didn't show much in camp. I basically have zero expectations for him at this point, which is a little odd to say about a guy a year removed from being picked 44th overall. Much higher on Bahl.

 

[Matias Maccete]

Didn't show much in camp. I basically have zero expectations for him at this point, which is a little odd to say about a guy a year removed from being picked 44th overall. Much higher on Bahl.

Agreed, but I saw the article and figured I'd share it. Hopefully he's just had poor camp showings.

 

[Bonsai Tree]

Westerlund's game grew from playing with Dahlin in Sweden

Come on. Clearly, Dahlin leaned on Westerlund in a big way. Westerlund will be the better of the two.

 

[johnchayka89]

Westerlund's game grew from playing with Dahlin in Sweden

Umm ya, the article wasn’t talking about any leap forwards for him.
It was more about “hope for Westerlund”
A lot of hope for him to make the junior team since the other guys are NHL bound.

He seems like a premium person. Great pre draft interview... had a real well put together flyer for the draft...

 

[Jakey53]

Didn't show much in camp. I basically have zero expectations for him at this point, which is a little odd to say about a guy a year removed from being picked 44th overall. Much higher on Bahl.

Agreed, but I saw the article and figured I'd share it. Hopefully he's just had poor camp showings.

Umm ya, the article wasn’t talking about any leap forwards for him.
It was more about “hope for Westerlund”
A lot of hope for him to make the junior team since the other guys are NHL bound.

He seems like a premium person. Great pre draft interview... had a real well put together flyer for the draft...

Most this kids don't ever play in the NHL, but to for an opinion after his first development camp is foolish. He plays D for heavens sake. The hardest position to play. He could very well be a late bloomer or he could very well never see a game in the NHL. Patience, as usual is the key here.

 

[Prarievarg]

Filip Westerlund has been selected to the Swedish WJC team. Coach Montén describes him as a skilled two-way defender.

 

[rt]

Gad. What a stupid f***ing draft pick. Completely blew that trade.

Schnarr is fine. I’d rather have Ratcliffe.

The Coyotes appear poised to let Hoeffenmayer walk. Doesn’t look like they’re going to sign him. So he’s meaningless to us.

Speaking of meaningless, I was positive Westerlund would be a bust the moment we drafted him and he’s done nothing at all to encourage me even the slightest since. Here’s my draft day posts:

Doesn't score at all and is called a "defensive defenseman" at 5'11 174. Haha. Yikes. This won't end well.

My first reaction was "whelp, there's an obvious bust. Checks every single box for bust." But I have to give the benefit of the doubt to our scouting department. I've never seen the player play. Based on what I know, this is a clear as day bad pick. But luckily I don't know much. Maybe he works out. It'll be against all odds but that's the most fun anyway.

Usually the league's top defensive defensemen put up great numbers prior to making the NHL. They're also usually at least 6'1 when drafted. Let's look at the top Defensive D in the league today in their draft years:

6'2 Hjalmarsson - 0.50ppg in J20 Swedish league
6'2 Tanev - .80ppg in OJHL (followed by .70ppg in NCAA in D+1 yr)
6'3 Larsson - 17pts in 49 games in the SHL not Swedish jr league.
6'1 Vlasic - over a ppg in the Q
6'2 Braun - 14pts in 39 games but in a top D1 NCAA program

Compared to 5'10 Westerlund and his 7pts in the J20 league and 4pts in the SEL.

I've never seen him play. But if he reaches his projection the Coyotes made for him, he'll be a truly unique player. A guy drafted in the 2nd round to be a defensive D who puts up no points at all and is short is not a player I can recall seeing in the NHL at any point in recent history. He will be the extreme outlier if he reaches hisnnhlnpotential.

Even going back a bit, each of Scuderi, Hannan, and Michalek were 6'1 and had better than a half a point per game in the NCAA, Dub, and Q respectively.

Can you guys help me think of a really good NHL defensive D that was taken fairly early (call it first 100 picks) in the last 15yrs that had lousy offensive output and was short?

Drafting Westerlund in the 2nd round was idiotic.

Ratcliffe > Schnarr+Garbage+Nothing

 

[hbk]

Gad. What a stupid ****ing draft pick. Completely blew that trade.

Schnarr is fine. I’d rather have Ratcliffe.

The Coyotes appear poised to let Hoeffenmayer walk. Doesn’t look like they’re going to sign him. So he’s meaningless to us.

Speaking of meaningless, I was positive Westerlund would be a bust the moment we drafted him and he’s done nothing at all to encourage me even the slightest since. Here’s my draft day posts:









Drafting Westerlund in the 2nd round was idiotic.

Ratcliffe > Schnarr+Garbage+Nothing

Zigged when we should have zagged.

I agree though. I get the point of trading down and adding lottery tickets but it depends entirely on who was available at that pick. Passing on Radcliffe was a mistake then and it looks bad now. I don't view Schwartz as a top 6 option. Can he play a 200 foot game at the NHL level? Lots of development to go if that's his role.

Chayka played a theory and it deserves criticism. Sometimes u don't overthink things.

 

[rt]

Chayka admitted at the time of the trade, on the draft floor, that Ratcliffe was the guy they’d have taken. Westerlund was a clear as day terrible pick right there in the moment.

 

[hbk]

Chayka admitted at the time of the trade, on the draft floor, that Ratcliffe was the guy they’d have taken. Westerlund was a clear as day terrible pick right there in the moment.

He can’t be the guy they expected to be there. Any notable names that went between those picks?

 

[BlazingBlueAnt]

He can’t be the guy they expected to be there. Any notable names that went between those picks?

Robertson and Heponiemi. We signed Lane Pederson and drafted Steenbergen so it might have been Heponiemi

 

[hbk]

Robertson and Heponiemi. We signed Lane Pederson and drafted Steenbergen so it might have been Heponiemi

Yeah I think you are right.

 

[rt]

Doesn't score at all and is called a "defensive defenseman" at 5'11 174. Haha. Yikes. This won't end well.

Yep.

 

[rt]

My first reaction was "whelp, there's an obvious bust. Checks every single box for bust." But I have to give the benefit of the doubt to our scouting department. I've never seen the player play. Based on what I know, this is a clear as day bad pick. But luckily I don't know much. Maybe he works out. It'll be against all odds but that's the most fun anyway.

Haha