2024 Draft Profile:
LD Gabriel Eliasson, HV71 J20 Nationell
It is probably generous to refer to this 6'6" 205lb beast as a hockey player, but for the purpose of this profile I will. He hits. A lot. Or perhaps more accurately, exclusively. Eliasson is an all day goon who probably wakes up every morning thanking Matt Rempe for legitimizing his long term projection. There are a couple aspects to his outlook genuinely worth discussion, but you know exactly what you're getting here.
Eliasson does not hit to make plays, he hits to cause pain. Every single shift he takes, he is actively seeking out ways to crunch the opposition. His stick is not a tool, but a weapon. His entire presence on the ice is built off intimidation. I have seen him, on more than one occasion, get sent out specifically to cause an issue, like final seconds of the game go beat someone up type shift. This current US age group probably has a more intense rivalry with their Swedish counterparts, rather than Canadian, due in no small part to Eliasson's antics. One positive worth mentioning, that isn't directly related to his size/physicality, is his mobility. I'm not saying it's great or anything, but he can get around pretty well for a big guy. He'll still probably get caught flat footed half the time, but he does have some recoverability.
Where do I even start with his drawbacks. First and foremost, he's just bad at hockey, there's no other way to put. He doesn't read the position well, he struggles to maintain his gaps despite an enormous reach advantage, he lacks any sort of puck skill or offensive tools. I almost feel bad if I keep going. The one thing that really should be highlighted as a negative is his discipline. He takes many penalties, and a huge majority of them are totally unnecessary. If we put all the talent stuff aside and just project him as a goon, that will still hold him back. If he's bringing this game, he needs to be semi-competent defensively and not actively throw his team on the penalty kill every time he's out there, and both of these things he currently struggles with.
I repeat, you know exactly what you're getting in this player. He is being drafted not to be good at hockey, but to be intimidating and painful to play against. There are two caveats I'll add, and they are of legitimate interest. First, Eliasson is so young that he's nearly 2025 eligible. While he's got a long way to go, you do have a ton of runway to work with. Second, he'll be coming to North America soon, and in fact is committed to, of all places, the University of Michigan for 25-26. That's a good program for defenders, as I'm sure we all know by now, so perhaps they find a way to cultivate any sort of game in him and he wind up a decent enforcer 6/7D. Based exclusively off size and physicality, he probably is a better bet than most mid/late round options, so I wouldn't turn my nose up at him, but this isn't really my type of player.