The 40th-overall pick from this past June is tearing it up at the Under-20 Four Nations tournament that just finished in Russia this past weekend.
In three games through three days, Nils Hoglander was able to score three goals and a total of six points, leading the tournament in scoring. The 18-year-old was joined by teammates Hugo Leufvenius and Simon Johansson as the top-three scorers in the tournament, but Sweden was unable to win a single game out of the three, earning only a single point in an overtime loss against Finland on the first day.
But without that team success, Hoglander was still able to drop jaws with impressive plays throughout his time on the ice. Thanks to Daniel Gee, we can enjoy the winger and all of his domination among his peers.
Here is @Canucks prospect Nils Hoglander against Russia earlier this morning. The hands on this guy are crazy, and you can see them on display in this video. Hoglander had a goal disallowed due to high stick. pic.twitter.com/FmtHOEZ7TD
— Daniel Gee (@DanielGScouting) August 24, 2019
As mentioned, it’s Hoglander’s ability to keep the puck tight to his stick and dance around Russian players like they’re not even there that’s the most impressive. Even though he’s standing at 5-foot-9, he’s able to protect the puck well and keep the offensive going.
He’s going to continue to play for Rögle BK in the Swedish Hockey League next season, where he had 7 goals and 14 points through 50 games last year. The way he’s been able to shine this summer in international play should provide him with a decent boost in confidence heading into another season where he’s well below the average age for a forward.
Finally, here is @Canucks prospect Nils Hoglander playing against the Czech Republic. The biggest thing to take away from Hoglander's game is his confidence with the puck, his controlled zone entries, and his playmaking ability. Hoglander is just fun to watch. pic.twitter.com/WZRnlul8VJ
— Daniel Gee (@DanielGScouting) August 26, 2019
Even though the Czech Republic team was playing a fairly defensive game, keeping their forecheck to a minimum, Hoglander was able to burst into the zone with speed and create offense that way.
There’s plenty of reasons to be excited about the Canucks’ future. Whether that be young players already on the NHL roster, or budding prospects that will steadily go through the regular development path and will reach Vancouver in a few years.
Hoglander is certainly someone to be excited about and could be seen as a steal at 40th-overall. But there’s still plenty of time to go and reasonable takes to be had.
One thing that everyone can be certain about is that Hoglander dominated in this past weekend’s tournament and gave every Canucks fan a little bit of hope.
