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Andreas Englund split the season between the Djugarden Under 20 team in the top Swedish junior league and playing against men in the Allvenskan and helping them to promotion into the SHL next season. He also has plenty of international experience, playing a top four role on the 2013 Swedish team that won the gold medal at the Under 17 World Hockey Challenge. He also was part of the Swedish teams at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka tournament, and the 2014 IIHF Under 18 World Championships. Englund has recently signed a two-year contract extension with Djugarden but this shouldn’t be too big a concern, as he will likely need to continue to develop for some time before he is ready to play in the NHL.
Andreas Englund
Defense — shoots Left
Born Jan 21 1996 — Stockholm, Sweden
Height 6.03 — Weight 190 [191 cm/86 kg]
What you see is what you get from Andreas Englund. His game isn’t fancy, but it is effective. He has very good size and loves to throw his weight around as he can be extremely physical and throw some bone crunching checks on the back-end. He has a real mean streak. He clears the front of the net, and is always battling for the puck in the corener. Englund is very solid defensively. He has a good active stick, cuts down passing lanes and is willing to block shots. He is very difficult to beat one-on-one, and has been very good on the penalty kill.
Englund is a has very good mobility for his size. He is a smooth skater with good speed in both directions. His first step and acceleration are also very good. Englund has good edgework, a good first step, and solid agility which allows him to keep himself in front of attackers and makes him difficult to beat one-on-one. He is also solid on his skates, showing good balance, which helps him to win his battles on the boards.
There is not much there offensively when it comes to Englund. He does make a good first pass out of his own zone, but he’s not likely to join the rush, preferring to play a stay at home defensive game. In the offensive zone, he makes the safe play, usually looking for a safe outlet around the boards rather than trying to make a play in the middle of the ice. If he does have an open lane, he will shoot, but his shot is just average.
In terms of style, Englund resembles Anton Volchenkov of the New Jersey Devils, especially when Volchenkov was in his prime. He isn’t going to get a lot of style points, but his game is simple and effective. If he reaches his potential, he can be a staunch shut-down defender in the NHL.
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