Frolunda youth development

[canucklax]

Hi there, North American fan that's curious about how Frolunda has been churning out so many high end talents for the NHL draft in past years. I'm sure guys like Dahlin and Raymond were obvious stars at a young age but it seems like every year there is not only an elite prospect but also 2nd and 3rd round talents that are coming from that pipeline like Fagemo, Henriksson and Torgesson. I know the bigger clubs buy youth prospects around 15 or 16 years old from smaller clubs, so is it a case of them just out-buying other clubs there? Or is there some sort of special sauce in their u18 and u20 practices that is enabling all this talent to thrive?

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[PuckPoise]

It has very little to do with buying players. There is no money involved in teams like Frölunda's youth recruitment.

I would say Frölunda is a perfect storm of a few different factors that make them unique. Mostly it's about setting up the club in a way that makes it attractive for young players to come to when they are 14-15.

Historical and contemporary status as a place to be for young talent

- This goes back years, Frölunda is one of the top spots for any young talent. It's about status, the way they treat the players, how many stars they have had in their junior teams that have went on to the NHL, many young stars who break through to the SHL team.

Region that produces a lot of players

- As you say, everyone can spot a Dahlin or a Raymond but one of the main things that make Frölunda way more succesful is that they are pretty much without competition in Western Sweden (and pretty darn attractive even if they do) so players 5-15 in every age group won't be talked about but they are still very good players, so many of them will turn out as well when it's all said and done. So for this year's draft you will have your guys like Raymond, Niederbach who everyone knew and he could take his pick of what club he would like to play for at 14-15, but also local guys like Torgersson, Theo Nordlund, William Hallén and so on.

Great facilities/coaching

- They recruit heavily, they invest a lot in coaching and facilities, they take great pride in being a place to develop as a young player, and make sure to have good staff and help around the players. You can say this about most of the big clubs of course, so even though it's always a point of emphasis I would say the other two factors stand out more for Frölunda compared to other Swedish teams.

 

[canucklax]

@PuckPoise thank you so much for that breakdown

 

[TheWhiskeyThief]

It has very little to do with buying players. There is no money involved in teams like Frölunda's youth recruitment.

I would say Frölunda is a perfect storm of a few different factors that make them unique. Mostly it's about setting up the club in a way that makes it attractive for young players to come to when they are 14-15.

Historical and contemporary status as a place to be for young talent

- This goes back years, Frölunda is one of the top spots for any young talent. It's about status, the way they treat the players, how many stars they have had in their junior teams that have went on to the NHL, many young stars who break through to the SHL team.

Region that produces a lot of players

- As you say, everyone can spot a Dahlin or a Raymond but one of the main things that make Frölunda way more succesful is that they are pretty much without competition in Western Sweden (and pretty darn attractive even if they do) so players 5-15 in every age group won't be talked about but they are still very good players, so many of them will turn out as well when it's all said and done. So for this year's draft you will have your guys like Raymond, Niederbach who everyone knew and he could take his pick of what club he would like to play for at 14-15, but also local guys like Torgersson, Theo Nordlund, William Hallén and so on.

Great facilities/coaching

- They recruit heavily, they invest a lot in coaching and facilities, they take great pride in being a place to develop as a young player, and make sure to have good staff and help around the players. You can say this about most of the big clubs of course, so even though it's always a point of emphasis I would say the other two factors stand out more for Frölunda compared to other Swedish teams.

Having the smaller rinks at Frölundaborg(2/3 scale?)helps accelerate decision making for under 13 teams much like playing cross ice.

 

[canucklax]

Having the smaller rinks at Frölundaborg(2/3 scale?)helps accelerate decision making for under 13 teams much like playing cross ice.

How common is it for teams to have smaller rinks in their facilities/cities? There's not many rinks around where I live but they are all NHL size for standarization purposes.

 

[TheWhiskeyThief]

How common is it for teams to have smaller rinks in their facilities/cities? There's not many rinks around where I live but they are all NHL size for standarization purposes.

TBH, I really don’t know. Never seen it elsewhere, but I don’t usually go to practice rinks. Haven’t seen it at Brynas or AIK’s practice rinks.

IIRC, Frölundaborg has the main rink(used for CHL/J20-18 games,) then a sheet on (either? could be just one) a long side with 2 scaled rinks adjacent to that.

Added: As you can see, it’s deep & wide enough that you can set up a PP session where you are camped inside the blue line while also having space for the young kids to play on a size appropriate sheet for more touches per 60.

A good use of real estate.