One of the better-skating D prospects in hockey, Willander was a beast for the Swedish under-18 team and Rogle’s junior team in his draft year and drove strong two-way results for the Terriers as a freshman and for the Swedish under-20 team last season without necessarily taking a pronounced step (his post-draft season was just OK). This season, he has played big minutes as a sophomore at BU and was impactful as Sweden’s go-to D on their shutdown pair (and also sharing the blue line on the power play with Axel Sandin Pellikka).
He’s a strong-in-all-three-zones defenseman who plays a confident and decisive defensive game that uses his beautiful, balanced skating to swallow up opposing carriers and then push forward or fall back onto his heels and outlet the puck.
He pulls away or retreats from pressure with ease, and excels on exits and going back to get pucks. His head is always up. He gets his shots through. And then, on top of the pro frame, the skating and the general athleticism, he also just plays the game with an intentionality that’s rare in players his age. He looks and operates like a pro out there. His passes are quick and firm. He activates when he can and picks his spots. Defensively, he’s aggressive on pinches and closing gaps, and rarely mistimes them, taking away the space so well in neutral ice. He made some mistakes that showed his youth at times as a freshman but he has looked back to his polished self this season. Willander doesn’t have dynamic skill or creativity on the puck, and his offensive-zone instincts are still coming, but he projects safely as an NHL defenseman and could become a two-way transition monster in a top-four role. Because of how high a level he defends and skates at, he rarely has bad games and play normally tilts in his team’s favor. And even though the offense doesn’t always pop inside the offensive zone, he’s a comfortable puck mover and transporter. He’s going to have a long career as a No. 3-4.