Junior Review : Gunnar Odinsson

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Name : Gunnar Odinsson

Age : 20

Position : Defenceman

Nationality : Norwegian

Height : 6'4

Weight : 205

 

The VHLM has a new entrant to the player pool today, after the nephew of mediocre former VHL player Vaydar Odinsson declared his intention to enter the Victory Hockey League. Twenty year old Gunnar Odinsson formally signed with the talent department yesterday and will look to develop his skills with one of the VHLM teams after the upcoming draft takes place. He is from the same Agency as former players, Vladimir Boomchenko and Bismarck Koenig, who while not setting the league on fire, had solid careers that saw them contribute to their respective teams.

 

Growing up in big city Oslo, Gunnar played hockey every chance he got, both with friends and at Foss Upper Secondary School. Originally, a Right Wing, he made the switch to defence at the suggestion of the schools coaching staff, who saw his size developing and thought him a better fit at the back.

 

Some early scouting has already emerged on Odinsson, but it is based on very little factual evidence and more on snatches of game video and ancedotal comments. Still, we will publish it here anyway and then assume no responsibility for it's factual correctness or accuracy.

Gunnar probably lacks the same level of offence as Hulk Hogan Jr and the strong defensive game of Battre Sandstrom, but he may be better than both when it comes to processing the game. "He makes the essential plays at every turn," said VHL.coms's Kevin Rudd. "He shows excellence at his position under challenging of circumstances, and his calmness and assuredness are the stuff of VHL-Caliber defencemen".

VHL.com's other scout, Mal Turnbull, sees Odinsson eventually offering first pairing upside, and a set of great physical tools. "His shot is OK and I think he's naturally aggressive as a puck rusher. He won't break any league records, but he could be a decent point producer at the next level".

 

Finally, we'll leave the last word to former VHL great and HOF entrant, Daniel Braxton who now scouts from his home base of Moncton. "Pew,pew,pew. After taking a look at the small amount of footage from Norway, I see Odinsson as a rangy, athletic blueliner who is quite mobile and makes great decisions in puck movement. He can skate the puck out of danger from his own end and make clean breakout passes like someone that knows what he's doing. He's not without his defensive issues though. He’s a bit of a risk taker as the last man back , but has some problems with wide speed as he sometimes forgets to keep his feet moving against the rush. Overall, I think with good coaching and practice time, he'll be a fine choice at the VHLM level".

 

Coming from a family with good hockey lineage should see Gunnar develop into an above average player, although given the family's recent track record in VHL participation, his impact remains to be seen. Some GM's may shy away from putting too much faith into the young Norwegian defenceman, and honestly, few could blame them for their wariness.