G Damian Clara - Brynäs IF, HockeyAllsvenskan (2023, 60th, ANA)

[Aaaarrgghh]

I don't have a clip of it but on the transmission of yesterday's final they highlighted how much Clara scans the game around him, which allowed him to make a cross-crease save yesterday.

What has impressed me most about Clara, which may or may not be a by-product of what team he has played on, is his calmness and consistency. There has been a lot of praise for his work ethic as well.

If he doesn't return to Brynäs, which I assume he isn't, I'm going to miss him. He's been great.

 

[tomd]

I don't have a clip of it but on the transmission of yesterday's final they highlighted how much Clara scans the game around him, which allowed him to make a cross-crease save yesterday.

What has impressed me most about Clara, which may or may not be a by-product of what team he has played on, is his calmness and consistency. There has been a lot of praise for his work ethic as well.

If he doesn't return to Brynäs, which I assume he isn't. I'm going to miss him. He's been great.

Since Brynas got promoted and he doesn't have a contract with the Ducks yet, I'm guessing that he'll be back with Brynas again. Is there is better option for him that you can speculate on?

 

[MartinBe]

Since Brynas got promoted and he doesn't have a contract with the Ducks yet, I'm guessing that he'll be back with Brynas again. Is there is better option for him that you can speculate on?

He is under contract with Färjestad and only been on loan at Brynäs, so Färjestad might play him next year if Lindbom's not staying.

 

[tomd]

He is under contract with Färjestad and only been on loan at Brynäs, so Färjestad might play him next year if Lindbom's not staying.

Thank you...I did not know that!

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

How does Allsvenskan compare to NCAA?

If I was to try to compare him to Fowler or Augustine, are you adjusting up or down?

 

[forever1922]

How does Allsvenskan compare to NCAA?

If I was to try to compare him to Fowler or Augustine, are you adjusting up or down?

Top end players are probably pretty close, but Allsvenskan has more quality players. There might be more breakdowns in college so goalies might have it a bit easier in Allsvenskan from that sense.

From players, Brandsegg-Nygård plays Allsvenskan and contributes moderately as a draft eligible, he is close to a top 10 pick with 18 pts in 41 games. Your relative college production would probably be closer to PPG than 0,5PPG. Now I don't mean to get into a debate of production vs draft stock but it's a starting point.

 

[SoundAndFury]

How does Allsvenskan compare to NCAA?

Allsvenskan is a fully professional league so you have to ask yourself how many college kids could be pro hockey players on a given day. The answer definitely isn't "all of them".

Brynas basically had a decent SHL roster this year. They went 33-5-3-11 in the Allsvenskan while, in my opinion, few college teams could challenge and SHL team. So overall, obviously outliers exist, but an average Allsvenskan team is quite a bit stronger than an average NCAA one.

 

[FiveTacos]

I don't have a clip of it but on the transmission of yesterday's final they highlighted how much Clara scans the game around him, which allowed him to make a cross-crease save yesterday.

Is that something he does better than others thanks to his height advantage? Hadn't ever really considered that as a benefit of being a tall goalie, but it might make sense.

 

[Aaaarrgghh]

Is that something he does better than others thanks to his height advantage? Hadn't ever really considered that as a benefit of being a tall goalie, but it might make sense.

Not the scanning part, but the cross-crease stuff I'd say his size plays into. He barely seemed to move even though he stood by the right goalpost and then covered the left one.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Top end players are probably pretty close, but Allsvenskan has more quality players. There might be more breakdowns in college so goalies might have it a bit easier in Allsvenskan from that sense.

From players, Brandsegg-Nygård plays Allsvenskan and contributes moderately as a draft eligible, he is close to a top 10 pick with 18 pts in 41 games. Your relative college production would probably be closer to PPG than 0,5PPG. Now I don't mean to get into a debate of production vs draft stock but it's a starting point.

Allsvenskan is a fully professional league so you have to ask yourself how many college kids could be pro hockey players on a given day. The answer definitely isn't "all of them".

Brynas basically had a decent SHL roster this year. They went 33-5-3-11 in the Allsvenskan while, in my opinion, few college teams could challenge and SHL team. So overall, obviously outliers exist, but an average Allsvenskan team is quite a bit stronger than an average NCAA one.

I appreciate the answers.

The reason I was thinking it could be closer than one might think is that Allsvenskan while still a pro league is a second division. How many 30 year old dudes with 10 years of pro experience are playing in that league? I would think Allsvenskan for a pro league skews a lot younger than most, just as I’d think that for leagues like Mestis and VHL. NCAA, while still college kids, has a lot of players who are 22, 23, 24. There aren’t that many teenagers, and the teenagers are usually almost all very good players who have a lot of pedigree.

So while the average age of NCAA is lower, it probably doesn’t have that many more teenagers on average, it probably doesn’t have the absolute youngest between the two leagues, and the age difference is probably that the older Allsvenskan players are older than the older NCAA players. I would think both leagues have in common that their biggest pool of players is guys who are like 21-22. I could be totally wrong.

NCAA has more high-end skill players too. Is that better than a slightly less skilled player who is also skilled but not as skilled yet older? I don’t know the answer, which is why I asked.

 

[SoundAndFury]

I appreciate the answers.

The reason I was thinking it could be closer than one might think is that Allsvenskan while still a pro league is a second division. How many 30 year old dudes with 10 years of pro experience are playing in that league? I would think Allsvenskan for a pro league skews a lot younger than most, just as I’d think that for leagues like Mestis and VHL. NCAA, while still college kids, has a lot of players who are 22, 23, 24. There aren’t that many teenagers, and the teenagers are usually almost all very good players who have a lot of pedigree.

So while the average age of NCAA is lower, it probably doesn’t have that many more teenagers on average, it probably doesn’t have the absolute youngest between the two leagues, and the age difference is probably that the older Allsvenskan players are older than the older NCAA players. I would think both leagues have in common that their biggest pool of players is guys who are like 21-22. I could be totally wrong.

NCAA has more high-end skill players too. Is that better than a slightly less skilled player who is also skilled but not as skilled yet older? I don’t know the answer, which is why I asked.

It feels like you wrote a pretty damn long post based on your gut feeling while you could have simply checked the handy tools on EP to know that there were 80 dudes who turned at least 31 before the end of the season (5,7 per team) and 10/14 teams had average age above 25. While it is slightly lower than those numbers in the NHL or SHL (where U20 players rarely ever play), it's perfectly in line with Finnish Liiga, for example (10/15 teams with an average age of 25+).

So long story short, the overall take is wrong. Out of all the 2nd tier leagues you mentioned, Allsvenskan functions the least as a development league (while Mestis basically only exists for that and VHL is sort of in the middle) so there is nothing unusual with being a career Allsvenskan player if that's where you talent level is at.