RD Mattias Hävelid - Linköping HC J20, J20 Nationell (2022, 45th, SJS)

Pavel Buchnevich

"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
Dec 8, 2013
60,430
27,292
New York
I don't know that much about this guy, but he's the first 2004 birth year player to be promoted to the Swedish 2003 age group. I know that some of the Swedish posters have discussed this guy before, but he didn't have a thread. I'll leave the descriptions of his game to them. He has a twin brother Hugo, who is apparently a pretty good goalie prospect, and his father Niclas played in the NHL.

Mattias Hävelid at eliteprospects.com
 

S E P H

Cloud IX
Mar 5, 2010
32,668
18,089
Toruń, PL
Very good defenceman and another one of those prototypical modern era lads you want in your defensive core. Won't ever become anything close to a physical specimen, but is probably one of the top three best west to east mobile defenders in this draft. What stood out to me is that he is an extremely good PPQB and is able to walk the blue-line with relative ease. Always has his head up in the offensive zone and has all the tools you want a defender to have when it comes to making plays. Always looks for backdoor plays, tips in the slot, and could potentially be a king of fake shot for a pass that I've seen a defenceman have. Reminds me a lot of Troy Krug and his question is how much he's going to be able to handle the physicality of the NA style.
 

VictorLustig

Registered User
Feb 8, 2012
8,872
2,927
I think he's probably the best Swedish D-prospect this year in an overall weak group of D-men.
 

Zaddy

Registered User
Feb 8, 2013
13,058
5,851
Reminds me of Julius Honka.

Very good prospect but these type of players don't tend to translate well to the NHL.
 
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Artorius Horus T

sincerety
Nov 12, 2014
19,599
12,352
Suomi/Finland
So, he is the son of former NHL:er LD Niclas Hävelid.
Olympic Champion, World Champion.

25 pro season season veteran
(12 in the Eliteserien, 9 in the NHL, 4 in the Swedish minor pro leagues)

Played pro hockey to his 40's

Big boots/shoes to fill, so to speak, interesting to see how his sons career develops.
 

Eye of Ra

Grandmaster General of the International boards
Nov 15, 2008
19,133
5,326
Malmö, Sweden
So, he is the son of former NHL:er LD Niclas Hävelid.
Olympic Champion, World Champion.

25 pro season season veteran
(12 in the Eliteserien, 9 in the NHL, 4 in the Swedish minor pro leagues)

Played pro hockey to his 40's

Big boots/shoes to fill, so to speak, interesting to see how his sons career develops.

niclas was a good player. very underated. i would have him on that world cup 2004 squad over tjärnqvist and bäckman
 
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Pavel Buchnevich

"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
Dec 8, 2013
60,430
27,292
New York
I'm not that impressed. I was waiting to be more impressed than what I saw at the WJC18, but I didn't see much at the Hlinka that was different from the prior tournament.

I think he's a pretty good playmaker and he's pretty tough for his size, but there's not much that stands out. He also defends good enough. My main questions would be that he's not that good of a skater or that great with the puck for an undersized defenseman. His offensive production comes more from his passing/sense from what I've seen.

As @Zaddy mentioned, he's the type of player that probably doesn't translate that great to the NHL. I can't deny the production, but I have to disagree with @VictorLustig, whose opinion I will usually defer to on Swedish prospects. It's possible neither of them end up great NHL'er's, but Salomonsson projects better to the NHL game. Maybe Havelid is a little more effective for Sweden at the junior international level. Not a huge difference between the two though.
 

Eye of Ra

Grandmaster General of the International boards
Nov 15, 2008
19,133
5,326
Malmö, Sweden
I'm not that impressed. I was waiting to be more impressed than what I saw at the WJC18, but I didn't see much at the Hlinka that was different from the prior tournament.

I think he's a pretty good playmaker and he's pretty tough for his size, but there's not much that stands out. He also defends good enough. My main questions would be that he's not that good of a skater or that great with the puck for an undersized defenseman. His offensive production comes more from his passing/sense from what I've seen.

As @Zaddy mentioned, he's the type of player that probably doesn't translate that great to the NHL. I can't deny the production, but I have to disagree with @VictorLustig, whose opinion I will usually defer to on Swedish prospects. It's possible neither of them end up great NHL'er's, but Salomonsson projects better to the NHL game. Maybe Havelid is a little more effective for Sweden at the junior international level. Not a huge difference between the two though.

how does salomonsson game fit better in nhl? he is a skilled unphysical player. hävelid have physciality mixed with skills.
 

Pavel Buchnevich

"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
Dec 8, 2013
60,430
27,292
New York
how does salomonsson game fit better in nhl? he is a skilled unphysical player. hävelid have physciality mixed with skills.

Havelid is 5’10 and an average skater. Salomonsson is 6’2 and a good skater. Havelid’s skills at his size aren’t that good either.
 

NotProkofievian

Registered User
Nov 29, 2011
24,964
25,612
Mattias is a really good shooter from the point. Not only does he have a good shot, but he has a great ability to create lanes for himself. His head's always up, looking for daylight to sneak a puck through to the net and he succeeds more often than not.
 

Predatore

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
7,383
468
Cannot defend, but his offensive skills are very good. Will be a successful defenseman at European level for many years. Cannot see him making the NHL as a regular without improving his defensive game 300%.

(on the other hand, watching Johan Klingberg at age 18-19, I would have never guessed he would become an NHLer. His defensive game was even worse than Hävelid's)
 

AB13

Registered User
Apr 29, 2019
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He defended quite well against the USA today, and against Finland yesterday, I must say.
 

VictorLustig

Registered User
Feb 8, 2012
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He defended quite well against the USA today, and against Finland yesterday, I must say.

He’s not bad defensively. It’s the errors with the puck that can be problematic at times.

I thought he had a great tournament. Much better compared to previous tournaments.
 

ijuka

Registered User
May 14, 2016
23,343
16,635
Very talented player. A bit of a boom or bust type. But I'd much rather bet on a player like him than a player whose ceiling is a #6.
 

Eye of Ra

Grandmaster General of the International boards
Nov 15, 2008
19,133
5,326
Malmö, Sweden
He’s not bad defensively. It’s the errors with the puck that can be problematic at times.

I thought he had a great tournament. Much better compared to previous tournaments.
He is even physical at times.

Making a strong push for the u20 wjc in summer. Especially if Andrae is injured.
 

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