HW 2011 Prospects: Adam Larsson

by danccchan on Jun 10, 2011 4:49 PM CDT in Prospects

Hockey Wilderness has decided to rank their 30 favorite prospects in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and will analyze each and every one of them. So on draft day, you'll have a good sense of who's who.

With each post, you will get to understand what type of player he is, and how he can help the Wild. You'll understand his strengths, flaws and get to understand what type of player he'll develop into.

The HW's Rank - The average rank of several of our favorite available rankings, weighted appropriately.

Summary Scout Notes - A broken down version of comments offered by each service. To read the whole explanations, click on the source site and search.

Now, introducing Skelleftea defenseman Adam Larsson:

Adam Larsson

#5 / Defense / Skelleftea

Height: 6-3

Weight: 200

Born: Nov 12 1992

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	Midterm Rank	Final Rank	HW Rank
2010 - Skelleftea	37	1	8	9	12	41	1	1	2.5

Don't forget to check out the Hockey Wilderness 2011 Draft Page as well. Just click on the picture.

History And Accomplishments

2007-08 J18 Elit (North) Most Points by Defenseman

2008-09 J18 Allsvenskan SM-silver Medal

2008-09 TV-Pucken 2nd Place

2008-09 TV-Pucken Best Defenseman "Lill-Strimmas Stipendium"

2009-10 Elitserien Most Points by U18 Junior

2009-10 WJC U18 All-Star Team

2009-10 WJC U18 Best Defenseman

2009-10 WJC U18 Silver Medal

2009-10 WJC U18 Top 3 Player on Team

2009-10 WJC U20 Bronze Medal

2010-11 Elitserien SM-silver medal

2011 KHL Draft - 17th Overall, 1st Round

HW's Take:

Was the consensus number one pick a few months ago, but now finds himself fighting to stay in the top 5.

I don't believe in the franchise hype Larsson was getting at the beginning of the season, but he still has a very good potential of being a top pairing defenseman.

The complete package, he is a very well rounded defenseman, with very good size. In addition, he has very good poise and very good hockey sense. While, in my opinion, he won't be a franchise player, he'll eat TONS of minutes on the blueline, and he'll be player that the coach can put out in any situation: 5-on-5, PP, PK, last 5 minutes, against top players etc.

Also, his downside doesn't seem too bad either. He can either become a top pairing defenseman, or if all goes to worst, he'll become a decent depth NHLer. With the size, poise and mobility, his chance of become an NHLer is very high.

The question is, do you spend your #1 overall pick on him or guys like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jonathan Huberdeau who have very dynamic side to their games?

HW's Projection

#1-2 All-round defenseman

Summary Scouts Notes

For full explanations, click on the links:

B2011DW

the complete package ... a powerful skater who is smooth with his stride and footwork ... has very good hands and vision ... has a booming shot ... plays a smart positional game ... can run the power play effectively ... a mature, poised, confident kid ... Larsson was not a dominating player, but that's not really his game

NHL Central Scouting's Chris Edwards (via NHL.com)

"Adam is one of the best skater’s in this year’s draft -- he has excellent speed and mobility. He also has patient puck handling abilities and can surprise an opponent with a solid hit. His size and skating ability make him comparable with Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman."

The Scouting Report

He’s a composed defender with solid skills at both ends of the ice ... an imposing figure with tremendous size ... size, puck moving ability, and solid positional play are all there ... very calm with the puck ... has great poise and vision ... very capable offensively ... skating is likely the primary concern if you’re looking for one