Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the daily column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. Each day I will bring you a new player profile or topical article in the lead-up to the 2015 NHL Draft. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow me on Twitter, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical profiles and scouting reports! Last Word On Sports is your new headquarters for everything “NHL Draft”! The following is a complete listing of all our 2016 Draft Articles.
Today we bring you a draft prospect who is getting a ton of buzz across the internet, and seems to be a favorite of various scouting services, Henrik Borgstrom. Borgstrom was passed over in last year’s draft. He spent this season entirely with HIFK’s Junior League team. This is an undercovered development league. He didn’t play in any major international tournaments either. As a result, we have personally seen no tapes of full game footage of this player, and are not ranking him.
However, because we strive to bring you the reader full draft coverage, we are going to quote what other sources have said about him and direct you to more quality pieces on Borgstrom. In this way you can trust that we will always bring you the straight goods (as we see them) on any prospect we cover, but will also strive to not leave our readers completely out of the loop when it comes to high ranking NHL Prospects. For this reason Borgstrom is an honourable mentions (not ranked by us, but by who is getting 2nd/3rd round draft buzz that we’ve noticed).
Borgstrom put up 29 goals and 55 points in 40 games with HIFK’s Under-20 team. He is committed to play next season for the University of Denver Pioneers. Salavat Yulaev Ufa drafted Borgstrom in the 2nd round, 50th overall, at the 2016 KHL Draft. Given his commitment to play NCAA hockey next season, this should not be a major concern.
Henrik Borgstrom: 2016 NHL Draft, Honorable Mention
Ranked #51 by Hockeyprospect.com
Ranked #137 by ISS Hockey
Ranked #79 by Future Considerations
Ranked #79 by McKeen’s Hockey
Ranked #9 by NHL Central Scouting (EU Skaters)
Ranked #35 in Bob McKenzie’s Scout Survey
Ranked #93 by Draft Site
Ranked #77 by the Hockey News
Centre — Shoots Left
Born August 6, 1997 — Finland
Height – 6’3″ Weight 176 lbs (191 cm / 80 kg)
TSN
TSN’s Craig Button says the following on Bjorstrom:
Projection: #2 Offensive Centre. Comparable: Richard Rackell
“Passed Over in the 2015 Draft but has made huge strides in his game. Smart, makes plays, can score, is assertive and finds ways to contribute with his size and his skill.”
Draft Site
Bill Placzek says:
“Second year eligible Finnish centre is big slick stick-handler who needs to work to further strengthen his lower body in order to add power and speed to his skating. He has good skills and vision, but little consistency. Needs to be better away from the puck, and continue to grow his offensive side. Displays some really good dangle in his possession skills but has trouble deciding what the read is and can look bad when things go south in transistion. Committed to Denver University where the team who selects him will expect to see upside.”
Over The Boards
Marco Bombino says:
“Borgström has been a very notable player in each of the six games I have seen from HIFK U20 this season. He’s an entertaining player to watch because he can slow the game down and will make plays that no one could anticipate. Borgström can dangle with the puck even when there are two or three players around him. Has great hands and playmaking skills – makes timid, heady passes in the final third. Also, he has a good wrist shot with a quick release. It’s difficult to defend against him because he can and will also shoot the puck. He’s a quick thinker and anticipates a lot of plays.”
Hockey’s Future
Hockey’s Future says:
“Borgstrom is a creative and skilled scorer with a variety of offensive tools. Another of the taller forwards to come out of Finland in recent years, he had a rather late growth spurt and does not yet have the strength and agility to take full advantage of that size. His defensive positional play and strength in one-on-one battles are areas that need addressing but should improve as he matures physically and gains experience at the college level.”
The Hockey News
The Hockey News says:
“Tons of upside, some holes in skinny Denver commit.”
Come back tomorrow for another feature on the 2016 NHL Draft.
Main Photo via Getty Images Sport.
