Prospect Info: Everything Edvinsson

[Gniwder]

Top 30 in EVP. Leads the team in +/-.

Looked like he got a shift on the PP but I don't know if that was just some random thing or if they'll start trying him there.

36 seconds of PP time, probably just a defensive zone faceoff or two. Teams will typically ice 2 defenders in that situation, and Ed is usually paired with Mo.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Elite defender. Outcomes range from a better Slavin to Hedman. I personally think he's a much better defenseman than Owen Power right now.

At worst, he's a damn good top 4 minutes eater who kills opponents' plays like McDonagh has for years.

You guys probably got lucky that Edvinsson looked meh or nowhere close to peak form at the 2021 U18 in Frisco or otherwise he's a top 5, probably top 3 pick in that draft.

 

[19 for president]

I'd like to see him get PP time just because he is the best passer we have on defense and we might be able to enter the zone cleanly with him making the initial pass.

He is also very smart about getting the puck on net. He doesn't have an amazing shot, but he does a solid job of getting it through which is a major struggle for the rest of our defense.

Mo thinks way too much now, and thus gets a majority of his shots blocked or he passes up very open lanes.

 

[schuelma24]

I hope Yzerman tries to lock him up next summer before the cap really goes crazy.

 

[HisNoodliness]

I don't see the comparison. Edvinsson is still better with IQ, which is kind of the flaw for Ristolainen. He makes just bonehead plays, like Chiarot.

But I think Edvinsson will be absolutely great, at least defensively. He is just young and his D-prime is far away.

The post you're quoting is from August when Edvinsson was yet to be so good this year. He's already shown development and moved past most of the issues that made Risto his floor. But here was the reasoning at the time:

In Edvinsson's first 25 games (prior to this season) he showed a penchant for rushing the puck using his hands, size and speed and unleashing a heavy shot. He showed good stretch passes and he used his size well to strip people of pucks when engaging players defensively. He had a few flaws though. He made unforced turnovers, was a little overaggressive with his pinches, sometimes would mentally drift and lose coverage defensively, and took stupid penalties. To me, that set of pros and cons is exactly Ristolainen. Amazing physical tools that come together to be less than their sum.

Now we've had an entire 20 games of Edvinsson being a responsible first pairing defender that almost never loses coverage, and has found a great balance of aggression/caution. He's better about turnovers and penalties, but I think he can still clean up those aspects of his game a little. We're rapidly trending away from the worst case, Risto, towards the best case, Hedman. He's showing that he has all of the tools and knows how to use them. The only question remaining is if he can go from using his tools effectively to play well, to using them masterfully to dominate.