Flyers 2013 2nd round pick Robert Hagg and his teammates at MODO begin play in the Swedish Hockey League on Saturday against the Vaxjo Lakers HC. Hagg, who was originally projected to be a mid to late first round pick, has the chance to make himself one of the top defensive prospects in the NHL with the opportunities presented to him this season.
Hagg, who played half of last season on MODO's top team, has made a huge impact to the teams so far in the pre-season. In seven pre-season games Hagg picked up 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 7 games. While some of those points came against weaker opponents (a goal against Timra of the lower tier Allsvenskan and an assist against last years Allsvenskan champion Leksand who are now without there top player Michael Raffl) some points came against some of the top teams in Europe (a goal against Finnish champs Assat and an assist against Swedish champions Skelleftea).
Hagg picked up most of those points on the power play. Which could mean great things for his production. Most young defensemen don't get this great chance to rack up points. On top of that Hagg has been, and likely will be, skating on MODO's top defensive pairing. Most young defensemen aren't put in these kind of pressure situations at such a young age. A good season could launch Hagg into the prospect stratosphere.
Recently top Swedish defensive prospects playing in the SHL get between 8 and 13 points in their post draft seasons. Tim Erixon got 13 points in 45 games, Jonas Brodin had 8 points in 49 games, David Rundblad had 13 points in 37 games, and Erik Karlsson only had 10 points in 45 games in his post draft year. Some more recent players 2011 1st Round pick Oscar Klefbom, a more defensive defenseman, had 2 points in 33 games and 2012 2nd Round pick (43rd Overall) Ludwig Bystrom had 6 points in 30 games. Lottery picks like Hampus Lindholm, Adam Larsson, and Victor Hedman jumped straight to North America. Oliver Ekman-Larsson was slightly older when we was drafted and played in the lower Allsvenskan which could explain why he racked up 33 points in 52 games in his post draft season.
Those stats are great but they aren't the be all end all. In 08-09 Victor Hedman had double the points that Erik Karlsson did (Hedman 21/Karlsson 10) in fewer games. In the NHL Hedman's best season is as good as Erik Karlsson worst season. so nothing is guaranteed.
Hagg may not be able to keep up his somewhat insane pre-season point per game average for the whole season, he could and probably should out produce his recent counterparts.
Hagg has been playing in the pro game for a long time. He made his pro debut when he was only 13 years old in Division-2 in Sweden. It's a low level league but Hagg was still competing against men twice his age. When he was 14 he averaged .5 points per game in Division 2. The next year he scored 11 points in Division-1 before getting snapped up by MODO and put in their junior system. He finally got back to the pro ranks with MODO at age 17. All tallied up Hagg has played more than 100 games against bigger, stronger, pro hockey players. This is probably why he has NHL ready size. His 203 lbs on his 6'2 frame is actually slightly above average height/weight ratio for similarly sized and skilled defensemen.
He will have the best chances to put up points. He wont get overwhelmed playing against pro players. He has already scored against some of the best competition on that continent. It's the perfect storm for big production numbers. Hopefully big numbers will get him a more offensive role with the Swedish world junior team. Hagg could have a great post draft season as a precursor to a great pro career. A high scoring season could be hard for the Flyers to pass up for the 13-14 season.
Other Notes
Mark Alt returned to the ice today at Flyers training camp after suffering a concussion Monday in the Prospect Game against Washington. He may not be ready for game play, so we might not see him in one of the Flyers early pre-season games, but I don't know. I think he will probably play on Monday when the Flyers will have a split squad day (because they have 2 games on the same night).
Most people know it takes goalies a longer time to develop into NHLers. It will usually take goalies 4-6 years post draft just to get a crack at the NHL. Something that really stood out watching Anthony Stolarz at Flyers training camp. Stolarz was almost unbeatable at both 2013 prospect camps but he was regularly picked apart by regular NHLers at pro training camp, including a guy like Sean Couturier who is pretty close to Stolarz's age. I still think Stolarz has a great chance at becoming an NHL goalie and a decent chance at becoming an above average NHL goalie. This time in pro camp will almost definitely help him when he returns to OHL after camp.
Michael Raffl seams to be in the lead for that final roster spot. Other serious contenders for that spot include Jason Akeson, Scott Laughton , Marcel Noebels and Tye McGinn. Akeson who I think is the most skilled and most NHL ready of that group will probably be pushed out by Raffl because of Raffl's speed and defensive abilities which is something they want on that 3rd line. I still think Akeson deserves a shot. Noebels probably needs more seasoning in the AHL and McGinn doesn't have the defensive (or really offensive skill) to be on that third line. His role will probably be on the 4th line, and if they think Talbot is the right guy for the 3rd line McGinn may get the call. Laughton is probably right behind Raffl for that final spot. I don't think that's right, not that Laughton can't play at that level, just that I think he can get better going back to junior for another season, but more on that later. I think Laughton will play some if not all of the 9 games allowed to junior eligible players before they burn a year of there ELC.
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