Player Profile: Victor Hedman

Hopefully you were able to read the first player profile posted yesterday on John Tavares. My goal is to provide unbiased information on both these players, so that the readers can make up their minds on which they want. Coming up after that, I will provide my insight as to who I feel would be the appropriate first overall pick for the New York Islanders. So here is today’s profile for giant Swede himself.

Victor Erik Olof Hedman was born on December 18^th, 1990 in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. His parents, both of whom have done fairly well for themselves in Sweden, have always encouraged him to play hockey, just like they did with his brother, Oscar. While his heritage is not as rare as Tavares (Tavares is Portuguese, Hedman is Swedish), his town has churned up some of the top hockey players in the NHL right now, including Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, and Peter Forsberg. Oscar Hedman, Victor’s older brother, currently plays for Frolunda HC of the Elitserien (top league in Sweden).

Hedman has always been much bigger than most of those around him. Coming in at a towering 6 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighing in at 227 lbs, the 18 year old Hedman is definitely going to be one of the bigger boys anywhere he goes. When analyzing his games, scouts believe there are few flaws. Scouts praise his vision of the game, as they feel that he is always in solid positioning, and he is always thinking about the next move an opponent will make. While he is a smart player, he also has very soft hands for a defenseman. He is able to stickhandle extremely well, and he is very strong on the puck as well. While all of these are extremely valuable to his game, nothing is more impressive about Hedman than his speed. For a player who is six and a half feet tall, many would expect him to be slow-footed and lack acceleration. This is not the story whatsoever with Hedman. He can skate with the best of them, and his acceleration is truly impressive for a player of that size. Furthermore, his footwork and side-to-side movement is equally impressive. Combine all of this and you have one impressive defensive product.

While he is obviously a talented and extremely athletic young player, there are still some flaws that scouts have kept their eyes on. Like Tavares, none of these flaws are irreparable, as they can all be corrected or worked on with NHL coaches. His first flaw, and one that is often spoken of, is his lack of physicality. With such a big frame, many would expect Hedman to throw around the body more and be more physical. While I agree that he should be dishing out some hits here and there, it has become evident from watching him play that he falls out of position when he tries to lay the body on a guy, and he doesn’t necessarily need to use his body as much in the Swedish Elite League. In the NHL, where the game is much more physical than anywhere else in the world, he is going to have to adapt and utilize his body much more. His second flaw, and one that has just recently popped up according to sources, is his inability to take blame for a loss. According to several reports, after Sweden’s devastating loss to Canada in the World Junior Championships, Hedman was not ready to take the blame for the loss, and he would simply pass it over to other teammates. A true leader is ready and willing to take the blame for any loss, and Hedman is going to need to step up to that podium if he wants to be a truly effective player in the long run.

Now that both his pros and cons have been analyzed, it would be appropriate to take a look at his career statistics. This is not a career comparison to John Tavares, as we should not expect any numbers in the same region as an offensive juggernaut like Tavares. What I will include for Hedman is his plus/minus rating, as I feel this is a very valuable statistic in analyzing a defenseman at times. Key word: at times!

2005-2006 MODO Juniors (10GP, 0G, 1A, 1 Pt, +5)

2006-2007 MODO Juniors (34GP, 13G, 12A, 25 Pts, +17)

2007-2008 MODO (39GP, 2G, 2A, 4 Pts, +1)

2008-2009 MODO (43GP, 7G, 14A, 21Pts, +22)

 

2008 WJC – Sweden (0G, 1A, 1 Pt, +5)

2009 WJC – Sweden (0G, 2A, 2Pt, +4)

*In 2008, Hedman was included in the World Junior All-Star team.

While statistics for a defenseman tell you only so much, it is good to know that this year Hedman played on the top-pairing for MODO and he was extremely successful. He clocked a tremendous number of minutes, and he was used in all situations (5 on 5, power play, and penalty kill). He is truly effective in all three zones, and his maturity level has increased tremendously this year. What must be noted is that the Elitserien is considered one of the top leagues in Europe, as well as one of the top leagues in the world. This year, and since he was 16 years old, Hedman has been playing with grown men and players much older than he is. According to many reports, Hedman is very mature for his age, and he is one of the few defensemen who might be NHL ready in his first year after the draft.

 

Justin’s Opinion:

Much like the first installment of this player profile series, I will be refraining from offering any opinion on this topic until my next blog, which will be an opinion piece on who I feel the Islanders should draft with their first overall pick. This blog should be posted by Sunday night, and I would love to see everyone let me know who they feel is more appropriate for the Islanders.

As always, questions and comments are greatly appreciated. You can leave any of these in the comments section, which is in the link right below, or you can send me an E-Mail at IslesNet@Gmail.Com .