Hours after concluding a major trade with the Dallas Stars, the Washington Capitals continued a busy Friday by selecting Sweden's Filip Forsberg with the No. 11 overall pick.
Forsberg recorded 17 points (8 goals and 9 assists) in 43 games with Leskands IF of Sweden's HockeyAllsvenskan in 2011-12. Here's a part of his draft profile, which was put together by the folks at Hockey Wilderness.
Let's see ... above average skater ... above average stick and puck skills ... above average strength ... above average play in offensive and defensive zone ... great shot. To me, all that spells is low risk/high reward prospect. In other words, you are getting an NHLer.
The only weakness I could find is that he could smooth out his skating stride and add more muscle to his frame but is that really a 'flaw'? Or is that just the sound of a young kid? To me, its the latter, and with 2 years of development, all your left with is his strengths which is a power forward with top line offensive skills.
Forsberg has one year left on his contract with Leskands and his agent has already said that he does not believe that Forsberg will be NHL-ready in 2012-13.
The Capitals received the pick from the Colorado Avalanche as part of the Semyon Varlamov trade last offseason.
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