INGOLSTADT, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 06: Head Coach Tommy Samuelsson of ERC Ingolstadt looks on during the Champions Hockey League match between ERC Ingolstadt and Lukko Rauma at Saturn Arena on September 6, 2016 in Ingolstadt, Germany. (Photo by ERC Ingolstadt/Champions Hockey League via Getty Images)
European Canadiens Prospect Report: Filip Eriksson “a smart pick by Montreal”
Filip Eriksson
19y, Växjö Lakers, SHL / Nybro Vikings, HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden
“The plan wasn’t that he would be this good,” Nybro coach Tommy Samuelsson said when he spoke to Eyes On The Prize over the weekend. “What makes him good is that he is one of the few young players who knows hockey’s ABCs. He has the shot, he has the skills, but most of all he has intelligence on and off the ice.”
Samuelsson used this goal as an example of the hockey ABCs as he called it. “Look at the breakaway. First he blocks the shot, but no one knows Eriksson has it, then as he sees the defender he lowers the shoulder, and cuts in front of the defender to shield the puck. You don’t have to tell him, he knows it instinctively.”
It’s funny, he had an okay game against Östersund, the whole team was so-so, but he finishes the game with two goals anyway.” And what goals they were, the first one, especially, a sharp, well-placed shot on the power play.
“I asked him if he wanted to play centre or wing. He said he’d play wing here, but you know he sometimes lines up as a centre without discussing it or asking for directions. He just does it. Perfectly. He gets to play 20 minutes a game here, not because Växjö has asked for it, but because he has earned it.” Samuelsson continues his monologue. It’s tough to stop him when he speaks about a player he obviously cares for.
“Speaking about Växjö, he is lucky to be in that organization. It would have been very easy for Växjö to call him back up after success like this. However, they will let him play out our season here before calling him back. What would he get in Växjö? Third line minutes at the most. The organization is so patient with him. Jörgen Jönsson, Henrik Evertsson, and Patrik Hall are so good at making sure the player develops. They won’t rush him for a quick fix. They want the long-term success.”
When it’s pointed out that Eriksson was a sixth-round pick, Samuelsson bites back. “What does that mean? Just of the top of my head, what was [Henrik] Zetterberg, [Pavel] Datsyuk and [Henrik] Lundqvist? I am not saying he will be one of them, but what does it mean to be a sixth-round pick? It means he wasn’t scouted. Look at what he did in Troja-Ljungby, then he broke his scaphoid bone after two games in the SHL and was out for the season. Teams missed him. It was a smart pick by Montreal. If he makes it to the NHL, he will be that kind of player that scores 30 to 40 points, but most importantly he’ll make other players better.
“He reminds me a lot of Jörgen Jönsson; he makes others better. [Eriksson] made Troja-Ljungby better. He comes here and makes this team better. Look at him next year, he’ll make that team better.”
