Red Wings prospect Simon Edvinsson is going faster than expected in Sweden – The Athletic
GOTHENBURG, Sweden – There is a board with magnets on the wall at Fredrik Sjöström’s office that allows Frölunda’s CEO to visualize his lineup. Or at least, it’s the practical use. It’s also a snapshot of a moment: where it stands with his club and where it stands for each player.
So, where was Simon Edvinsson on that wall of magnets before the start of the season?
“Well,” Sjöström said one afternoon recently, “I would say he was further down.”
Sjöström and Frölunda knew that Edvinsson – Red Wings number 6 from the draft 2021 – would play for their SHL team this year. They’ve had a spot in the front row for his rise, and know better than anyone else how big 6-foot-6 blueliner tools were. Ice skating. The skill. The length. The potential.
But the step from playing less than six minutes per game in 10 SHL competitions last season to being a full-time player this year was meant to be steep. To learn to play in different parts of the ice in Sweden’s toughest league. Where to play calmly and where to be aggressive. These are the typical challenges that young players – even top prospects like Edvinsson – face when taking the step to full-time professional hockey.
So when he stepped right in and started playing 20 minutes a night, in one of the SHL’s best teams, and then just kept doing it – steady and consistent … well, that was a bit of a surprise.
– I thought I could do it, said Edvinsson. “But maybe not so fast. To really learn everything, I thought it would take longer.”
Frölunda’s coach, Roger Rönnberg, has trained a pretty good young defender in his time. A few years ago, he had No. 1 selection Rasmus Dahlin during his draft year.