Whereas Leo Sahlin Wallenius is a safe pick without much upside (at the moment), Alfons Freij has more promise. Freij was the only defenceman that provided any real offence for Sweden in the World Under-18 Championship where he recorded six points (2G, 4A) in seven games.
His offence has a solid foundation of spatial awareness. His shot is mechanically perfect, and everything is aided by his exceptional skating. The one thing that stands out is his defence which sits a step below his offensive play, but that’s something that he will get to work on at a higher level this upcoming season as the Växjö Lakers have already agreed to loan him out to Björklöven in HockeyAllsvenskan. He will play professionally against men rather than spend another year with the U20 team in Växjö.
Birthplace: Sölvesborg, Sweden
Date of birth: February 12, 2006
Shoots: Left
Position: Defence
Height: 6′1″
Weight: 196 lbs.
Team: Växjö Lakers (U20)
As seems standard with Swedish defencemen, the skating is where it all starts, and Freij might be the best skating defenceman in the whole draft class. He uses his speed and quick turns to shift direction quickly, causing opponents to look lost as he passes them with ease. He also sees the ice well, finding the right passing and shooting lanes most of the time, and if worse comes to worst, he has his strong skating to rely upon.
Freij has a good shot that he can use with deception, accuracy, and pace. His team will rely on him in the offensive zone and on the power play for those abilities. Combine this with good vision and a good hockey IQ on the offensive side of the game, and it is easy to see why he gets as many points as he does in the U20s.
When it comes to his own end, his skating benefits him both in regard to retrievals and zone exits, and he projects quite well at a higher level in both those areas.
It is interesting that one can have a strong hockey IQ at one end of the rink but lose it at the other end. As easy as Freij sees the ice in the opponent’s end is as difficult as he finds it covering angles and lanes in his own. The good thing is that if you have one and work on the other, you should get better, but this is clearly the area that he needs to work on. The problem for me is that Björn Hellkvist, who will coach Björklöven next season, usually lets players work on what they are good at (see Mattias Norlinder and Emil Heineman) rather than what they need to improve upon..
Freij sometimes gets tunnel vision. He wants to shoot and sometimes struggles to change his thought process. This leads to situations where he shoots into coverage, which becomes a turnover. At the moment, the positive outweighs the negative in regards to this, but it is something to follow closely as he moves to the professional ranks.
Rankings
Dobber Prospects: #26
Elite Prospects: #37
Hockey Prospect: #27
Hadi Kalakeche: #21
McKeen’s: #19
Bob McKenzie (TSN): #41
FC Hockey: #43
NHL Central Scouting: #13 (European skaters)
Corey Pronman (The Athletic): #83
Scott Wheeler (The Athletic): #39
It is easy to compare Freij to teammate Sahlin Wallenius; and to follow that line you do get a bigger and better skater in Freij. I would also want to point out that Freij’s offence is better and there is a clear pro game in him with that in mind, but because of his tunnel vision, it is more hit-or-miss with Freij. Both need to work on their defence, but Freij has better retrievals and his skating helps him with zone exits. Växjö has been able to secure a loan to a professional team next year, something that they haven’t done for Sahlin Wallenius, again something to hold in Freij’s favour.
Freij also reminds me a lot of Filip Broberg, who’s had a good playoff run in the NHL this year, and Freij can look to that development curve — slow and steady rather than being throw into the deep end — as his path to success. Again, just as with his teammate, Freij will have a pro career, but it has a better chance of being in the NHL due to the offensive talents he possesses.
