What he will NEVER do is skate or score like ASP.
I feel like in an attempt to portray ASP as a good skater, you are likely unintentionally mischaracterizing the quality of skater that Edvinsson is. His ability to use his edges and move the way he does, and control the puck the way he does at his size was the one thing that just about every analyst unanimously could agree was a legit asset.
A flashback to the Black Book's write up on his skating (graded 8 out of 9, meaning excellent):
"There are very few players in any draft we would consider to have an elite skating base, but Simon is one of them. Some prospects have better inside-edge work in straight lines then they do outside edges for their crossovers and pivoting ability or visa-versa, but Edvinsson is a rare prospect that has both inside
and outside edges covered. He’s a fantastic backwards skater who can track his opponents and stay in front of them consistently by using his skating. His four-way mobility is tremendous, as a result of not having any real inconsistencies within any aspect of his mechanics – minus – the occasional crossover mistake when he’s skating backwards. We also wish he would have used his lateral crossovers more in transition to generate more power, but the base is there for this characteristic to develop further in the future.
When watching him out of tight turns, he can effortlessly shift his weight from his centerline into the necessary direction to gain significant power in short order which does help rectify the lack of lateral crossovers, depending on the sequence. The hallmark of an excellent skating base is the ability to move efficiently and at times look effortless when in motion, which is the case with Edvinsson."
For the record, that is the same grade that ASP got from the same source. The difference is that a 5'11/6'0 180 pound defenseman is going to look a hell of a lot more agile or explosive than a 6'6 215 pound defenseman because the work rate is going to be higher with the shorter legs.
This video clip was one of my favorites when I still had hope these two asshats would become part of a new core, but is also cool to illustrate how a bigger, heavier body like Mantha can still have remarkable skating ability despite not looking like he's working overly hard.
Both of these guys will be critical to the Wings chances of building sustainable success. If Seider can play with Walman or maybe carry Johansson's defensive responsibility longer term, and Edvinsson and ASP can anchor the second pairing in a similar fashion, you have a defensive core that is worth sustaining, and can reasonably be done for several years at a reasonable (competitive) price point.
