Claimed: Högberg winds up close to home, Storm take D-Man [1/2]

[OldTimeHockey 14]

 

The recent VHLM draft has wrapped up and hockey’s future stars now know where they will be starting their careers.

 

One of the shocks of the draft might be how high Swedish defenceman Marcus Högberg was taken in the draft. The 19-year-old Gothenburg native was taken third overall in the draft by the Oslo Storm and was the second defenceman taken off the board in a very deep draft on the blue line.

“I was a bit surprised to be taken off the board so early,” Högberg said. “It’s not because I didn’t feel like I was one of the more talented players in the draft, I just didn’t think I got the same sort of exposure to the scouts as some of the other players did in the draft.”

If there was a concern about being overlooked, it wasn’t going to be by the team that would take the defenceman.

Oslo is only a three-and-a-half hour drive from Gothenburg, where Högberg grew up and played his junior hockey. Högberg even remembers making the drive a few times to watch the storm on the ice.

“Me and my dad would try to get out to a game once a year in Oslo. Despite it not being the VHL, the game day experience was always fun at storm games and I am looking forward to being a part of it.”

While he admits it will be nice to be able to continue to play hockey so close to home, he hopes that he is far enough away that he won’t constantly be compared to his father.

“I had made it pretty clear that I wanted to get away from Sweden because it was beginning to weigh heavily on my shoulders the constant comparison between me and him,” Högberg said. “I know Oslo offers me a great chance to begin my career and I am still excited to join the team.”

 

Högberg joins an Storm team that will be looking for redemption after losing in the VHLM finals last season in five games to the Ottawa Lynx.

In the Swedish defenceman, the team will be getting someone who can turn into one of their top players along the blue line. Högberg has all the ingredients to become one of the premier offensive forces in the league and could turn into a game-changer for the Storm.

It won’t come without its own challenges of course.

The Storm will need to deal with the fact that Högberg isn’t as polished defensively as most of those at the position. He will need the proper coaching in order to continue to grow that portion of his game.

The team will also need to find a way to ensure that the 19-year-old can stay motivated throughout the entire season. Mental toughness has been a weakness for the defenceman during his young career and the team will need to work with him on that as well.

Also joining the team in the new season will be Ludolf von Gooch, a winger from Amsterdam, American centre Matthew Keller and Molholt, another defenceman hailing from Tulsa.

 

Word count: 516
 

Edited February 16, 2018 by OldTimeHockey

[Beaviss 4,957]

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[OldTimeHockey 14]

9 minutes ago, Beaviss said:

I’m really loving your articles spectacularly written and your research is great! If you keep this up you could be an All Star in no time!

 

Thanks!

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

Review:

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