Hockey Future Draft Rookie Report: Sven Wolf
It's nothing new to hear of a hockey player doing extremely well or having overly gifted hands and then finding out that their homeland is Sweden. There's something about Swedish hockey players that no one can really understand when it comes to hockey. Alike Canada, Russia and the States, Sweden produces some very strong, elite hockey players who often become big success stories in professional leagues across the world. Recently, stories have been coming out of junior player in Sweden who is quickly blossiming into an elite, young talent and is reminding most folks around Sweden of the great Peter Forsberg. His name is Sven Wolf and until now he had been unrecognized by most of North America and was left off a majority of scouting and draft charts. However, his hands are softer than butter, his consistency is strong and his ability to create plays and pass the puck are above anyone else's currently in the Swedish Elite Junior League. This is not a player any junior team in North America should overlook. Media sources in Sweden state that the young center wishes to pursue a career in the VHL and is now heading over the the VHLM to start his professional career and journey in the hockey world.
Similar to every player, no matter how good you are, you always have your flaws. Just like every great young player, you also have your strengths which truly stick out to general managers and are the things that get you highly noticed among them, scouts and the fan base. Let's take a look to see what Sven Wolf has in the gun chamber and see where he ranks amount talent levels currently in the Victory Hockey League.
WEAKNESS
Scoring - We wouldn't call it a weakness, but he doesn't seem to put up too many shots currently in his career. He has a great wrist shot and his accuracy easily lands him in the top 5 in the league for goal scoring, but it seems whenever he has the puck, he's creating plays and passing it off to earn the big assist. In order to fully maximize his offensive capabilities and his future team presence on the ice, he's going to need to shoot the puck more.
Defense - Currently, on his team his job is to produce points and put pressure on the opposing team in the offensive zone. While doing this, he does an excellent job, however, his defensive play is extremely lacking and missing in action. When it comes to play in his own end, it seems he waits near the blue lines and swarms around there. He isn't too know for heading into the corners in the defensive zone and for a guy his size, he should be doing so. To become a top, elite VHL player, this is an absolute must to improve on.
STRENGTH
Passing/Ability to see the ice - Wolf's ability to create plays and find the open man is beyond anyone else. He's able to grab the puck, with limited room in the offensive zone and still swarm and deke his way in to create open space to make a play. Something that will help Wolf is the fact that pure snipers are a common thing in the VHL, so going the route as a dominant play maker will surely make him an asset on whatever team he lands up on.
Face Offs - It's surprising, we know. A center's strength is what his main job is, but his face off skill is above average and we know for sure he will have no problem at all dominating the FO circle the moment he enters the VHLM.
Loyalty & Commitment - Sven Wolf once wanted to pursue the dream of being an elite goalie and at one time in his life was extremely good at it. However, a junior team needed him to switch over and turns out he was much stronger in the position of center than between the pipes. Wolf is a team first kind of guy and would do anything to see his team win and succeed.
FINAL ANALYSIS
Look for Sven Wolf to be a high draft pick once the VHL draft comes around and until then, watch for him to dominate the VHLM. This kid has the talent to play a strong game un the junior leagues, but it's his determination and willingness to get better that allows him to shine a little brighter than those who he is competing against. WE expect Wolf to become a top line center, 700+ TPE and to be a top 5 forward in the league within no time. With that, we give Wolf a final rating of...
9.0 B+