The second Swedish goaltender that I’d like to cover from the Elitserien is someone that I believe will be the face of the organization in three years (and no, Boyer, this picture is not of Boucher again).
Joacim Eriksson
Drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 7th round of the 2008 NHL Draft, Eriksson has lit up the Swedish hockey system. He was stuck playing behind Jacob Markström, one of the top Swedish goaltenders and a Florida Panthers prospect, for two seasons before moving this past season to Leksands IF of the Allsvanskan. In 38 games, he earned a 2.40 goals against average and 0.926 save percentage as well as an invitation to the Elitserien with Skellefteå.
Eriksson told EuroFlyers back in June, “The game is a lot faster in men compared to juniors. It felt really fast in the beginning and it took some time to get used to it. Then I went down to play a couple junior games and they felt slow.” The Goalie Guild currently ranks Eriksson as the No. 15 goaltending prospect on their top-100 list. The list also features Jonathan Bernier (Los Angeles Kings) as No. 1, Michael Neuvirth (Washington Capitals) as No. 4, and Thomas Greiss (San Jose Sharks) as No. 5, who will all be serving in back-up positions in the NHL next season (barring any upcoming signings or trades).
Between Michael Leighton, Brian Boucher, Johan Backlund, Sergei Bobrovsky, Nicola Riopel, and Brian Stewart, the Flyers have enough goaltenders in the system before introducing Eriksson. As a result, he will likely spend the next two years in the Elitserien developing his skills before making the transition to North America. This will benefit both Eriksson and the Flyers, as the Elitserien has better competition than the AHL and will give the team time to evaluate their current goaltenders.
C’mon man! That’s definitely Boosh!!! HAHAHA
When was the last time we had some truly interesting goalie prospects from Europe? I’m really interested in seeing what Backlund and Bobrovsky can do. Especially with that ginormous AHL contract Bobrovsky signed. Something about the names Backlund and Eriksson that inspire confidence in me when it comes to NHLers. Maybe we can be the Red Wings of the Eastern Conference with a half-Swedish all-star roster.