I saw a couple of periods of Frölunda’s game.
I like Henriksson a lot still. Every time he got the puck he finds a teammates blade in a solid position. A good news is that he also plays PK this year and was on the top PK unit.
That line is a little special. Joel Lundqvist is 39 y/o, and he has always been more of a checking line center type. He plays a hard game, takes the body and forechecks well. But… Like he has never been great in the SHL and the last 5 seasons has been a steady decline, albeit not at a rapid pace. Not to make excuses for Henriksson, but he certainly isn’t getting to be a passenger on his line in any way, shape or form. He is the first guy back, he is often then one starting the break out. And that break out turns into a forechecking/circling game. That line plays the ‘right way’ and is the typical CF% positive line, but Friberg is a instant shooter and Joel is always crashing the net. Henriksson gets room to create offense by himself, taking the puck to the net, and he does that, but overall that line just got a “flat” vibe. Kind of like a NHL line centered by Ryan Getzlaf today if you get what I mean.
I would have liked to see a bit more development in Henriksson’s overall motor. Like agility wise, he is elite. Like if a puck bounce into a corner, he can do a 180, get there and pick up the puck, do another 180 and pass it to a team mate — despite it looking like a situation you never come away from with the puck — before anyone can react. But the ice is biiig in these games in Europe and teams loves to slow the pace time, turn home before heading up ice. It takes a different kind of motor to put Ds on their heels on the counter attack and that is something that he isn’t showing. I do hope, and at least some degree expect, he to be better fit in NA in this regard. When a center gets to a lose puck at center ice in the defensive zone he won’t need binoculars to spot the defending Ds because they left the zone early.
He got the offensive vision, he got the work ethic, that ability of like a Marty Straka to always be where his line needs him to be, he just makes his teammates better. BUT — he just needs to be able to push the pace more, to put Ds on their heels, and he isn’t there. Not yet at least.
