No not that one; The other one. Not Nicklas ... Nils.Expect an announcement at some point from UAA regarding the addition of Nils Backstrom to this years UAA roster. Nils was a 9th round choice of the Red Wings in 04 is from Sweden and is a nice late addition to the lineup.
Hockey's Future has this scouting report:
Bäckström was selected as one of the last players in the 2004 NHL draft, and there are reasons for that. He is a slightly built defenseman who has good skating ability and is a solid puck carrier. On the downside, he is very weak and has no strength in his upper body. He doesn’t really have the offensive skills to be a strictly offensive defenseman, but he isn’t good enough in his own end either. This makes it hard for him to take the next step in his development, which is to play in the top league in Sweden. This season he has developed his game slightly and is more of an offensive weapon on his junior-A team. He has five goals and 14 points in 32 games. He has also made his first appearance in Elitserien and will most likely take on a bigger role on the team next season. Even though his development curve points at the right direction, it looks like it won’t go all the way to the NHL. He will most likely spend his career in the Swedish leagues.Maybe he's just a late bloomer? I'll have more about him in the Rookie Class preview.
3 comments:
I like what I read about Nils on the Red Wings Central website:
"Good vision and hockey sense ... reads the game well at both ends of the rink ... style slightly weighted to the offensive end ... quick hands and good puck skills ... smooth, mobile skater ..."
The Red Wings have his rights for two more years.
As with all the rookies I'll be looking forward to see how he looks on the ice ... nothing wrong with defenseman that can skate but his strength in his own end was pretty strongly questioned.
I don't think Detroit will worry too much about losing his rights unless he makes a dramatic improvement in their eyes. Otherwise we've probably got him for four years.
He may have the skills to bring the puc up the ice on a power play. We need someone strong in that area.
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