Denmark: Danish Prospects

Justinov

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Apr 30, 2012
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Steve Kournianos at The Draft Analyst has made a Top-500 for the 2017 NHL Draft (february edition).

With 8, an astonishing number of Danish players have found their way to the list, and 4 are in the top 300.

Now, to be on the list is certainly no guarantee that you will be drafted, but it is very impressive nevertheless, and it is also a testimony to how far Denmark has come with its youth hockey program.

The danish players on the list are:

65 Jonas Røndbjerg, Växjö Lakers HC J20 (F)
146 Oliver Gatz-Nielsen, Herning (D)
253 Malte Setkov, Malmö J20 (D)
281 Oliver Larsen, Odense (D)
311 Daniel Andersen, Linköping HC J20 (D)
369 Christian Wejse, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (F)
414 Jeppe Mogensen, AIK J18 (D)
441 David Madsen, Växjö Lakers HC J20 (F)

They are all first time draft eligible.

With 3 defenders and a forward in the top 300 and with 5 defenders out of 8 players on the list, we are (at last) starting to produce top end defense prospects. A development we have also been able to witness on the U20 national team the last couple of years.

This is actually pretty amazing and must be a record by quite some margin.
To see so many d-men on the list is really good news.
 

fredligh

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Jan 3, 2011
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This is actually pretty amazing and must be a record by quite some margin.
To see so many d-men on the list is really good news.

Nice to see but should be taken with a grain of salt, it is top 500 = players outside 230 probably wont be drafted...Röndbjerg looks like a lock in the 2-4 round depending how he ends the season and Gatz look like a possible late round pick up. The rest wont probably sniff the draft. And on top of that 2017 is a weak draftyear.
 

Tobias

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Oct 15, 2004
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Nice to see but should be taken with a grain of salt, it is top 500 = players outside 230 probably wont be drafted...Röndbjerg looks like a lock in the 2-4 round depending how he ends the season and Gatz look like a possible late round pick up. The rest wont probably sniff the draft. And on top of that 2017 is a weak draftyear.

This.
 

Justinov

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Apr 30, 2012
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Nice to see but should be taken with a grain of salt, it is top 500 = players outside 230 probably wont be drafted...Röndbjerg looks like a lock in the 2-4 round depending how he ends the season and Gatz look like a possible late round pick up. The rest wont probably sniff the draft. And on top of that 2017 is a weak draftyear.

Oh I never meant to imply that I thought they had any draft chances.
I think Røndbjerg is the only realistic one this year.
My point is that our overall depth in creating d-man prospects has taken a big stride forward (5 on the list)
 

fredligh

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Oh I never meant to imply that I thought they had any draft chances.
I think Røndbjerg is the only realistic one this year.
My point is that our overall depth in creating d-man prospects has taken a big stride forward (5 on the list)

Alright! Guess i misunderstood. That is a good point. :)
 

admire

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May 9, 2010
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just getting more notice is a lot..i imagine that the amount of scouts visiting dk have been increased a lot in the last few years...
 

Justinov

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Alright! Guess i misunderstood. That is a good point. :)

just getting more notice is a lot..i imagine that the amount of scouts visiting dk have been increased a lot in the last few years...

It is very likely. Success tends to breed more success. So if we can get more Danish d-men up the ranking, it will make it more likely that teams will perhaps take a chance with a d-men as a late round draft pick.
The late 7th round picks of forwards last year (Krag Christensen & Blichfeld) would perhaps not have happened some years ago? Yet Danish forwards have shown to be successful.

When it comes to d-men Denmark is still trailing for instance Switzerland (Sbisa, Josi, Weber, Streit, Müller) and Germany (Ehrhoff, Seidenberg, Sulzer, Holzer, Schubert) if we take 20XX drafted players that made it to NHL.
So hopefully we start to see a trend break here.
 

Bagge

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Oh I never meant to imply that I thought they had any draft chances.
I think Røndbjerg is the only realistic one this year.
My point is that our overall depth in creating d-man prospects has taken a big stride forward (5 on the list)

I would be very disappointed if Gatz were not drafted. I was very impressed by him and Oliver Larsen in the WJC earlier this season.
 

Justinov

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Apr 30, 2012
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I would be very disappointed if Gatz were not drafted. I was very impressed by him and Oliver Larsen in the WJC earlier this season.

Off course I hope so as well, but it is not clearcut certain, so I would be only mildly disappointed.
He does has a chance of a late draft as he did impress at the WJC as you say.
 

Valdemar

Danish junior hockey
Oct 6, 2007
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Lucas Andersen, forward (1999)

Interesting move from 1999 born forward prospect Lucas Andersen, Rødovre: He has decided to join Jokerit, Finland. I don't recall last time a danish top prospect decided to join a Finnish team, but it will certainly give him a lot more exposure than playing in the Danish league.

Here is a link to a Facebook notice about the move.
 

admire

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May 9, 2010
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This is so interesting because going to Finland to play junior hockey is quite rare for danish players....Maybe also shows that Jokerit really have fallen in love with danish players.

Their coach was last year quite open in the praise for how much the danish players had been great on and off the ice which was evidenced by Regin being made a captain.

Jokerit are more than welcome to continue this.....Great news for Lucas Andersen.
 

Bagge

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Not sure where to post this, so here goes.

Have been watching a couple of games in the swedish playoff, going to Malmö to watch Redhawks. Not that it is any surprise, but Hardt really seems to like playoff time. He pretty much leads Redhawks on all perimeters, hits, points, goals, TOI etc. He is just a treat to watch and if they qualify for the semis (leading 3-1 against Växjö) I am sure going back for more. Storm is also contributing greatly pointwise, but is not the same dominant figure on the ice in my opinion.
 

admire

Denmark Fan
May 9, 2010
2,036
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Not sure where to post this, so here goes.

Have been watching a couple of games in the swedish playoff, going to Malmö to watch Redhawks. Not that it is any surprise, but Hardt really seems to like playoff time. He pretty much leads Redhawks on all perimeters, hits, points, goals, TOI etc. He is just a treat to watch and if they qualify for the semis (leading 3-1 against Växjö) I am sure going back for more. Storm is also contributing greatly pointwise, but is not the same dominant figure on the ice in my opinion.

We have led ourselves down by not having a SHL thread this year.

But Hardt is just a hell of a hockeyplayer...hope he keeps it up and keep the play going for the WC. (Puts on highlight of latest malmö game and first play is a massive hardt hit:yo::laugh:)

back to prospects....saw a topscorer list from u13 and frederikshavn has quite a duo there. Sebastian Holm Pedersen and Anton Ibman Stenbakken both have 16 points in 5 games(both 8+8....so they are very good at sharing it seems) with the next player on the list having 11 points. The three other players in the top five, have played 6 games btw.

I know its really early, but anybody know anything about them?
 
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Justinov

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We have led ourselves down by not having a SHL thread this year.

But Hardt is just a hell of a hockeyplayer...hope he keeps it up and keep the play going for the WC. (Puts on highlight of latest malmö game and first play is a massive hardt hit:yo::laugh:)

back to prospects....saw a topscorer list from u13 and frederikshavn has quite a duo there. Sebastian Holm Pedersen and Anton Ibman Stenbakken both have 16 points in 5 games(both 8+8....so they are very good at sharing it seems) with the next player on the list having 11 points. The three other players in the top five, have played 6 games btw.

I know its really early, but anybody know anything about them?

It was so dismal in the start of the season that I "forgot" to make one :laugh:

Otherwise the problem with the U13 is that some teams gets seriously hammered, so you will have players with insane stats.
When Danish teams play teams from Sweden (like Rødovre usually do), then you often get a better indicator of actual player strength.
Last year Rødovre and Gentofte participated in Sweden Hockey Trophy in U11, which Rødovre won.
Final: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqRTcaK7Pmw
For some reason no Danish teams (not even Rødovre) seems to be on the participation list this year (neither U11, U12, U13 and U14)
See point production U11, 2016: http://www.swedenhockeytrophy.se/?page=stats_player&tab=13&tour=107&type=all&sub=3

Rødovre also won the U12 back in 2013 with Mads Redøhl and Alberto Stærmose (Pison) as the prime producers for Rødovre.
See: http://www.swedenhockeytrophy.se/?page=stats_player&tab=11&tour=69&type=all&sub=3

Even in the U17 East you have for instance Rødovre with +96 over 24 matches and Gentofte with -125 in goal differentials. In U17 West: Esbjerg is +88 and Odense -68 in 25 matches.

Also another point: The best U13 players are not playing in the U13.
Marcus Almquist plays for Rødovre U17 (and U20) being 13 years old...

U17: He has 16G 13A in 15 games
U20: He has 1G 1A in 1 game
That is impressive.
 
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Valdemar

Danish junior hockey
Oct 6, 2007
481
116
Otherwise the problem with the U13 is that some teams gets seriously hammered, so you will have players with insane stats.

Even in the U17 East you have for instance Rødovre with +96 over 24 matches and Gentofte with -125 in goal differentials. In U17 West: Esbjerg is +88 and Odense -68 in 25 matches.

Yes, that is correct. But I believe admire is talking about the Danish U13 championship (DM U13), where the competition is much tougher. We normally don't see that many loop-sided victories in the Danish championships specially among the older players. At the U13 level there are 8 participating teams, at the U15 level there are 6 participating teams and at the U17 and U20 level there are only 4 teams competing.
For many years the youth department at Frederikshavn has struggled, but thankfully it seems that they are beginning to turn it around again. This year Frederikshavn has had a very strong team at the U13 level, destroying the weaker teams at the championship, and only loosing the "gold-medal game" against Rødovre.

Also another point: The best U13 players are not playing in the U13.
Marcus Almquist plays for Rødovre U17 (and U20) being 13 years old...

U17: He has 16G 13A in 15 games
U20: He has 1G 1A in 1 game
That is impressive.

Well maybe not at the normal league tournament but at the U13 Danish Championship almost all the best danish U13 players participated. I can only think about a couple of players who didn't participate for various reasons.

The U13 is for players born 2004 and younger so Marcus Almquist is too old to participate (born 2003). He did participate at the U15 championship though where he was absolutely dominant. He is a U14 player and can participate again next year, but he is almost too good already. He became tournament top scorer (both goals and points) with 9 goals and 4 assists in 5 games. He had 3 GWG and 36 shots and was directly involved in 70% of Rødovre's 18 goals. :amazed:
Of course he was also elected best forward at the tournament. Gustav Jensen, Rødovre was elected best defender and Thor Baden, Herning best goaltender.
 

Valdemar

Danish junior hockey
Oct 6, 2007
481
116
back to prospects....saw a topscorer list from u13 and frederikshavn has quite a duo there. Sebastian Holm Pedersen and Anton Ibman Stenbakken both have 16 points in 5 games(both 8+8....so they are very good at sharing it seems) with the next player on the list having 11 points. The three other players in the top five, have played 6 games btw.

I know its really early, but anybody know anything about them?

They are both top prospects for their birth year it seems. I have kept an eye on them for a couple of years, and they have both been producing at a very high level for some time now.
 

fredligh

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Jan 3, 2011
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It will be interesting to see what Almquist can do in the coming years. His draft year must be like 2022? What kind of player is he?
 

Justinov

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Apr 30, 2012
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Yes, that is correct. But I believe admire is talking about the Danish U13 championship (DM U13), where the competition is much tougher. We normally don't see that many loop-sided victories in the Danish championships specially among the older players. At the U13 level there are 8 participating teams, at the U15 level there are 6 participating teams and at the U17 and U20 level there are only 4 teams competing.
For many years the youth department at Frederikshavn has struggled, but thankfully it seems that they are beginning to turn it around again. This year Frederikshavn has had a very strong team at the U13 level, destroying the weaker teams at the championship, and only loosing the "gold-medal game" against Rødovre.

Well maybe not at the normal league tournament but at the U13 Danish Championship almost all the best danish U13 players participated. I can only think about a couple of players who didn't participate for various reasons.

The U13 is for players born 2004 and younger so Marcus Almquist is too old to participate (born 2003). He did participate at the U15 championship though where he was absolutely dominant. He is a U14 player and can participate again next year, but he is almost too good already. He became tournament top scorer (both goals and points) with 9 goals and 4 assists in 5 games. He had 3 GWG and 36 shots and was directly involved in 70% of Rødovre's 18 goals. :amazed:
Of course he was also elected best forward at the tournament. Gustav Jensen, Rødovre was elected best defender and Thor Baden, Herning best goaltender.

Thanks Valdemar for the clarification - I clearly misunderstood and thought it was U13 games in general.
So Sebastian Holm Pedersen and Anton Ibman Stenbakken do have more impressive stats, that what I first thought. Good to see more and more teams creating talents in a steady stream.
On the top of my head - Mikkel Aagaard is a Frederikshavn born and bread player.

I took Marcus Almquist as a 13 year old example (though you are very correct he is to old for U13 this year) who currently plays in U15, U17 and even one match at U20.

I actually figured out he was selected for a Swedish U13 team that participated in the Tretiak Cup in Russia last year, where he played 1C for the Swedish team against a number of regional Russian teams and one "Global team"?. So apparently very high quality here.
He scored 1G 2A in 5 games and became joint second in production on the Swedish team, that ended third out of 6 teams.
Some Russian players though really stood out production wise.

Round-robin standings: http://www.lgstours.com/page/show/2697117-2016-tretiak-cup-2016-
Production: http://www.lgstours.com/stats/leagu...tab=league_instance_player_stats&tool=1999123

Article about Marcus Almquist and the tournament: http://www.rnn.dk/node/52316
Match: Sweden vs Russ FSO (Moskva area): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thsa7X5y8g4&list=PLC8dghGyB3QjhyBls07flyBeo07fBhkx4&index=14
 

Justinov

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Stats from U13 played 24-26 of March.

Frederikshavn did smash a lot of teams in the tournament.

Frederikshavn - Aalborg 7-2
Frederikshavn - Vojens 7-1
Frederikshavn - Rødovre 3-7 (only game lost) - Rødovre had three games with scoring 7 as their best.
Frederikshavn - Herlev 10-3
Frederikshavn - Esbjerg 10-2
Frederikshavn - Rungsted 12-0
Frederikshavn - Gentofte 5-2

So with 54 goals, Frederikshavn scored 20 more than the second most scoring team Rødovre with 34 goals.
Rødovre won the championship by winning over Frederikshavn, even though they lost themselves to Gentofte.
So Frederikshavn did ice an awesome attack as it was a round-robin tournament. The top-4 producers were all from Frederikshavn.
Source: http://www.sportsadmin.dk/hockeystats/Default.aspx?tournamentid=1325
 

Valdemar

Danish junior hockey
Oct 6, 2007
481
116
On the top of my head - Mikkel Aagaard is a Frederikshavn born and bread player.

Mikkel Aagaard is a very promising forward, not to mention the 2 NHL drafted players who are also from Frederikshavn; Mathias From and Joachim Blichfeld.
 

Bagge

Registered User
May 4, 2013
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Copenhagen
How is our prospect pool doing Valdemar? You are our guy when it comes to the youths. Any bigger prospects coming in the near future?
 

Valdemar

Danish junior hockey
Oct 6, 2007
481
116
How is our prospect pool doing Valdemar? You are our guy when it comes to the youths. Any bigger prospects coming in the near future?

I haven't been paying that much attention to junior hockey the last year. But to me it seems like the development of Danish prospects is going steady forward. There are few big prospects coming up, but it seems like we will continue to produce a handful of strong players each year.

I'll see if I can find time to make an updated list of prospects.
 

Justinov

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Apr 30, 2012
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Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup has production wise really had an down-and-up season.

Back in 2014-15 he looked like an amazing gold-scoring machine with 40G in 23 games playing in USPHL 16U and one was tempted to think about a possible draft pick.
Last season (15-16) was a bit more modest with 17G in 30 games in USPHL Premier, so no drafting in site.

This season he started playing in the USHL and only produced 2G in 29 games which certainly doesn't look career promising; but after moving to NAHL things have really turned back on track for him, 15G in 26 games!
Next season he will play in the NCAA.

So will be interesting to see what level he will eventually reach career wise.
 

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