SHL: Granberg, Nilsson and Johnson

[Drew311]

For those who have seen Petter Granberg, Tom Nilsson and Andreas Johnson play on a regular basis, could you provide an update of where their games are and strengths/weaknesses? Also what do you think the likeliness of them making the NHL, and how far off are they?

Much appreciated from a Leafs fan. I've never seen these guys play more than once or twice, so any info you have would be helpful!

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[Franck]

I'm sure there are Skellefteå and Mora fans on here in a better position to talk about these players than I am, but these are my thoughts on these players based on what I've seen from their play with national teams:

Granberg is an outright stay-at-home defenceman with very limited offensive upside, he is a very fine defensive player however and received praise for his performance in the World Championships during the spring (that he made the team at his age despite having missed most of the regular season with injury is a feat in itself), I doubt that he'll ever crack 20 points in the NHL but he could become a very good defensive specialist. He'll probably get himself a cup of coffee with the Leafs at some point this season, if his adoption to North American hockey goes well I could see hom as a 6th/7th defenceman on the Leafs in 14/15.

Tom Nilsson is also a primarily defensive defenceman, he's not the biggest guy but he absolutely loves to hit, he doesn't quite have the same defensive upside as Granberg but on the other hand he could develop a better offensive game. Best-case scenario I see him becoming an Alexei Yemelin-like defender, a primarily defensive, heavy-hitting #4/5 guy capable of chipping in with some offensive contributions. Barring a major break-out year I'd say he is at least 3 seasons away from playing full-time in the NHL.

I've only seen a few periods worth of Andreas Johnson so I can't really say much about him other than that he has good hockey pedigree, his father Jonas was a very good SEL player for a long time.

 

[Drew311]

I'm sure there are Skellefteå and Mora fans on here in a better position to talk about these players than I am, but these are my thoughts on these players based on what I've seen from their play with national teams:

Granberg is an outright stay-at-home defenceman with very limited offensive upside, he is a very fine defensive player however and received praise for his performance in the World Championships during the spring (that he made the team at his age despite having missed most of the regular season with injury is a feat in itself), I doubt that he'll ever crack 20 points in the NHL but he could become a very good defensive specialist. He'll probably get himself a cup of coffee with the Leafs at some point this season, if his adoption to North American hockey goes well I could see hom as a 6th/7th defenceman on the Leafs in 14/15.

Tom Nilsson is also a primarily defensive defenceman, he's not the biggest guy but he absolutely loves to hit, he doesn't quite have the same defensive upside as Granberg but on the other hand he could develop a better offensive game. Best-case scenario I see him becoming an Alexei Yemelin-like defender, a primarily defensive, heavy-hitting #4/5 guy capable of chipping in with some offensive contributions. Barring a major break-out year I'd say he is at least 3 seasons away from playing full-time in the NHL.

I've only seen a few periods worth of Andreas Johnson so I can't really say much about him other than that he has good hockey pedigree, his father Jonas was a very good SEL player for a long time.

Thanks, Franck. The info is much appreciated. I think most Leafs fans are excited about Granberg and Nilsson, hope to see them in Canada soon. I wish I could see Johnson play, I wonder if he'll get a look from team Sweden at the world junior championships. Probably will be a tough roster to crack.

 

[KRM]

Pretty much what Franck said. Granberg is strong as an ox, he'll never shown any signs of creativity, but he'll keep the crease clear and make life easier for his goaltender. He'll needs to improve his first strides if wants to be effective at NHL level, where the forwards are bigger, stronger, and faster than in the SEL.

Johnson is a long term project, if he could bulk up I can see him making it in the NHL because he got a ton of hockey in him. Easy to see similarities in him with Niklas Andersson, who played besides Andreas father for almost a decade.

 

[Fonzieleaf]

Granberg is a very solid shut-down defence man who plays a smart game. Not very offensive minded though. Nilsson is the same as Granberg but he hits more and is also a harder hitter than him I don't know much about Johnson so I won't comment. The best part about these players, they are with Toronto