Red Wings Future Stars: Jonatan Berggren
By Nick Seguin
5 years agoIn talking about the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, nobody is down playing how good the Red Wings made out with their ten picks. One of these picks, Jonatan Berggren, was projected by many to be a late first round pick.
Alas, dominos don’t always fall where they should at the draft, and when Berggren was still available at 33rd overall, the Wings selected him with their third pick.
The selection came on the heels of the Wings escaping the first round with two of the best steals in the round with Filip Zadina at #6 and Joe Veleno at #30, but the hype for Berggren wasn’t any less.
This 5’10” Swedish winger is a dynamic skater and a smooth playmaker. He loves being the primary leader of the attack by carrying the puck in and driving to the net. Legendary Red Wings European scout Hakan Andersson sees Viktor Arvidsson-like potential in Berggren, who joins a long line of Swedish players in Detroit. No pressure, kid.
BY THE NUMBERS
Berggren’s had a long career of offensive success in Swedish junior hockey. Only last year, he put up 57 points in 28 games of the SuperElit league. It earned him a call-up to Sweden’s biggest league where his offense dried up as he faced men for the first time and had to think the game at a higher level. This is common for 18-year-olds and the Wings would rather him go through these going pains in the SHL rather than the NHL.
He’s also seen great success at the International level. He was a big part of Sweden’s bronze medal World Junior team last Christmas, contributing five goals and ten points through the team’s seven games. Sweden is one of the greatest exporters of talented hockey players so for Berggren to be given the responsibility that he was on the International stage is very telling.
LOOKING FORWARD
Expect Berggren to head back to Sweden for the start of next season. The roster in Grand Rapids has gotten to be a little crowded with their free agency signings (and will be especially crowded if Filip Zadina ends up there) that Berggren would be fighting far too hard for ice time.
In Sweden, he can gain more experience in a professional league like the SHL and get the ice time that he deserves. He won’t spend too many development years there, though. I could see him being in Grand Rapids in 2019-20 and ready to be on the Red Wings roster full-time in 2020-21.
Berggren is going to be a very exciting player and I could see him, on Joe Veleno’s line, causing problems for defensemen across the NHL for a long time.
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