With the 32nd pick of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the Vegas Golden Knights have selected David Edstrom from Frölunda HC J20 (J20 Nationell)
About David Edstrom
David Edstrom saw his stock rise quite a bit after an outstanding performance at the most recent U18 World Junior Championship. His lack of flash had made him an under-the-radar type of prospect, but the skill set to be a valuable contributor to an NHL team is there. Edstrom is good around the net, kills penalties, wins a lot of battles, and makes enough plays with the puck to produce good offensive numbers.
Related: 2023 NHL Draft: Live Tracker
In the Under-18 World Championship, he had eight points in seven games. During the season in Sweden, he played most of it in the J20-Nationell, where he put up a point-per-game pace. This also led to a few call-ups in the SHL, where he played in 11 games and scored four points. It was a good year offensively for Edstrom, who is more well-known for being a big, physical, two-way center.
THW Prospect Profile Excerpt
“Edstrom is what I like to call a ‘snowplow.’ A snowplow is a player who does a ton of the hard work and makes the game that much easier for his linemates. Forechecking, puck battles, intercepting passes, making plays under pressure to give his teammates more space, these are all the type of thing that Edstrom excels at and it makes him a super easy player to play with. If Edstrom can succeed in those areas in the NHL, he will free up his line mates to take big risks offensively while still keeping the line relatively safe on defence.
“Edstrom is responsible defensively, competing hard on the back-check and making good plays with his long reach. He is also quite effective in puck battles along the boards, though he would do well to add a bit more muscle to his big frame as it would improve his ability to box out opponents in such battles. Killing penalties is another area of strength for Edstrom, and his skating is good enough that he projects to kill penalties in the NHL someday.
“a big, two-way center who has been slowly rising up draft boards all year with his play in Sweden’s top junior league. After a successful regular season, Edstrom joined team Sweden at the U18 World Junior Championship (WJC) where he was excellent as the center on Sweden’s top line. His performance there has rocketed him up many draft rankings (mine included), and given him a real chance at being drafted in the first round in June.
Related: 2023 NHL Draft Guide
“If he can improve his offense and fill out his frame a bit, Edstrom would profile pretty similarly to Joel Eriksson Ek, who is a great two-way center in the NHL.”
Full player profile can be found here.
How This Affects the Golden Knights’ Plans
Edstrom has the potential to be a top-six center in the NHL if he takes a large leap forward offensively, with a much more likely role for the Golden Knights as a middle-six center who plays tough defensive minutes while providing enough depth scoring to justify playing on both special teams units. This is a very good value pick for Vegas.
