Sounds like he should get some great minutes, there.
Yeah, but one thing I wonder about is, how much the organization really have thought it through is — is it worth to bring someone like Edström to camp?
He is a 21 y/o forward who plays for a great SHL team. Given his 6’8 stature he is going to need some time to grow into his body.
For Edström to take the next step in the SHL and become a legit top 3/6 forward for his team, that is a huge challenge. And by all accounts, he has positioned himself great for it.
But how is that affected by us bringing him to NA for a month mid-season? I’ve many times seen how these kids struggles a bit when they return and end up lower in the hiarchy than they seemed destined to be at the start of the season. It’s kind of like Chytil positioning himself to be a No 2 C in the NY, he comes in and seem to hold the position, it’s not great if he has to go to Czech Rep for military duty for 6 weeks or whatever in November.
We have in the past seen this organization make decisions based on “how it should be” in the eyes of someone that played goalie 52 years ago in the NHL and then never worked for a hockey team up until a few years ago when he was put in a board room. In practice, this was to little help when reality was different.
We own the right to play Edström in hockey games. What is best for his ability to play hockey, for his career, is best for us. A 6’8 forward that can take a top line spot in the SHL, that is huge for him. Could really propel his game further. From my POV it’s far from a given that he takes this step, and I am hyped that he has positioned himself to do so. I wouldn’t mess with that. What do we win by bringing him to camp for what 4-6 weeks?