Prospect Info: Round 7, Pick 205: Marcus Westfält, C, Brynas (SEL)

[GKJ]

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[baudib1]

Seems like a fine pick.

 

[BackWithaVengeance]

Big winger out of SWE in the seventh round? I like that a lot.

 

[Chuck Downie]

"Han har en ovanlig talang som är svår att träna upp"

Today it became clear that Brynäs IF signed a contract with the junior Marcus Westfält. The contract is a so-called rookie contract, which means that Westfält has played over 100 minutes in SHL.

"Feels great, it's a great opportunity for me. I will continue to work hard to get a lot of playing time and develop as a hockey player, says Marcus Westfält.

The contract extends over 4 seasons, from 2017/2018 to 2020/2021

 

[Appleyard]

Really good player.

I think talent wise he is top 100 pick level. If his skating was better I imagine he would have gone in the 3rd round. Really smart, solid skillset, good defensively, physical, can PK, works super hard, decent shot and a good passer.

Only players same age with higher PPG than his 1.07 in J20 this year.

Berggren: 33rd overall
Karlberg: 80th overall
Bokk: 25th overall
Eriksson: 44th overall

 

[dingbathero]

These late round picks usually don't go far in any org. But, always nice to read up on them from those that have some info.

Thanks Appleyard

 

[Tripod]

My favorited pick after the 1st Rd!

 

[wankstifier]

Really good player.

I think talent wise he is top 100 pick level. If his skating was better I imagine he would have gone in the 3rd round. Really smart, solid skillset, good defensively, physical, can PK, works super hard, decent shot and a good passer.

Only players same age with higher PPG than his 1.07 in J20 this year.

Berggren: 33rd overall
Karlberg: 80th overall
Bokk: 25th overall
Eriksson: 44th overall

Do you think his skating will improve?

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

At least he doesn't have the hair of a fascist.

 

[Magua]

I kept trying to post this yesterday.....

Hockey Prospect ranked him 123rd:

Westfalt can play at centre and on the wing; he can be useful in different ways for a team due to his versatility and smarts. He can play on both special team units. On the PK, he’s useful because of his smarts and effectiveness when killing time on the clock. He can hold onto the puck for a long time, and with his long stick, he’s good at blocking passing lanes. On the power play, he’s been used often by Sweden in international competition as the guy in front of the net. He’s big and strong; he’s tough to move from the front of the net and doesn’t have bad hands to score some goals here and there. He’s also able to take some punishment there, without feeling the need to reply. This year, he split the season between the SHL and the J20. In junior, he averaged over a point per game, and in the men’s league, he didn’t get much ice time (often the case with rookies in the SHL) finishing with 4 points in 31 games. Westfalt does a solid job down low, he’s a good puck-retriever and his puck-protection is really good. He knows how to use his size to his advantage down low and in front of the net. However, skating is just average for him; he’ll need to improve this over the next 2-3 seasons. Improving his quickness and acceleration will make him a better player offensively, as he will be able to take better advantage of the scoring chances he gets.

Overall, Westfalt has some good attributes that could make him a valuable player down the road. If he can improve his skating and continue to work on his overall game, he could become a bottom 6 player at some point. He’s unselfish and smart, and can play down the middle or on the wing. His offensive ceiling is not high, but he could be a valuable player for an NHL team.


“He’s a big kid, played smart hockey and a pretty good skater. He’s responsible defensively …played a lot of PK minutes and his coach trusted him with key icetime. On the ice in the last minute with a one goal lead. Not a bad sign for a young kid. Didn’t show me much in the way of skill when I saw him.” -

HP Scout, Mark Edwards

For a 7th rounder -- real hard to gripe. Probably a better pick than their 6th rounder. I watched him at the u18s in mostly a middle 6 role, but he wasn't particularly memorable. Just kind of played it safe and grinded. All the Swedish forwards were shades of mediocre after Berggren.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

I posted about Westfalt yesterday after the pick, but it seems to have been one of the posts to disappear into the HF ether...

Anyway, I said he should be a dream 7th round pick for those who are big into advanced stats. CanucksArmy had him ranked 64th.

In our FlyersBoard mock draft, he was on my shortlist from rounds 5-7 -- very good size, good production at every level -- but I couldn't quite get past the fact that he looks like he's skating in mud in the videos I found. The guy is slow. Hence, each turn I ended up going with another option. But I definitely think he's a very worthwhile gamble for the 7th round. He would not have fallen this far if he could skate; not at his size. If a skating coach can get Westfalt up to speed, so to speak, that skating coach could make a career out of the endorsement.

 

[dats81]

Perfect pick for the 7th round

 

[pit]

Jeff Marek ranks Westfalt as one of the under-the-radar picks in the draft.

Jeff Marek’s favourite under-the-radar picks from 2018 NHL Draft - Sportsnet.ca

Round 7 – Marcus Westfalt, Philadelphia Flyers: A tad on the slower side, but was able to put up some numbers playing against his peer group. He finished the season in the SHL with Brynas and did not look out of place.

 

[Hammer Slammer]

Here's a shift by shift video from March. Played about 10 minutes at center for the SHL club.

Marcus Westfalt vs Vaxjo | Mar 20 2018

 

[BackWithaVengeance]

My favorited pick after the 1st Rd!

Speaks volumes about the Flyers draft.

 

[Appleyard]

Have a read of my article on him.

Flyers prospect watch: Does seventh-round pick Marcus...

Not your usual 7th rounder.

 

[hatcher]

Speaks volumes about the Flyers draft.

f***in great draft. I wanted different 1st round picks but I like what I see in the two we got them the rest of the picks we're great solid players. We are forming a f***in team finally.

 

[MarAlain MongYeo]

Sounds a lot like Marcus Kruger

 

[Foggy14]

If his skating was better I imagine he would have gone in the 3rd round.

A tad on the slower side

No worries.

As soon as Slava gets Strome squared away, he can fix young Marcus.

I've read it only takes an hour.

Flyers aim to find out if skating is hockey's most fixable flaw

 

[disorder]

This feels like a guy the Wings would pick late into the draft and he turns into a legend. At worst Johan Franzen.

 

[Appleyard]

 

[Appleyard]

 

[Ghosts Beer]

Congrats on his Corsi, but I’m guessing he’s getting a ton of o-zone starts in limited usage.

 

[Tripod]

I believe!

 

[Appleyard]

Congrats on his Corsi, but I’m guessing he’s getting a ton of o-zone starts in limited usage.

Not getting so many OZS from watching (dont have the stats) as they usually use the 4th line in a pretty defensive role.

But he has not been playing very much, should play more tbh. He is damn good defensively already and a more natural centre than Asklof... who spent a lot of the start of the year at 4C over him.