Sometimes you just want to take a teenager that has played against men in his draft-eligible season. The value of playing against grown adults so early on in your development is so high — it just exposes a player to more actual offensive tendencies and habits from players who are their peers, which helps development on both sides of the puck. That’s why Swedish center Gustav Hillstrom should be considered by teams as a very good second-round pick in the upcoming 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
Hillstrom started off his season playing junior hockey with Brynas IF but was on such a heater he earned his SHL debut later in December and finished his season with 18 total games played at that top level, where he scored one goal and two points. Production isn’t really all that important though, just being around the best players in Sweden while being so young is something that should give him a step up on some other prospects.
If a team wants someone who doesn’t really have a bad part of his game, but isn’t really going to end up at the top of your lineup, Gustav Hillstrom feels like a surefire bet.
Pre-draft rankings
#35 by NHL Central Scouting (EU Skaters)
#134 by Elite Prospects
#69 by FC Hockey
#30 by The Hockey News/Tony Ferrari
#52 by McKeen’s Hockey
Bio
DOB: January 20, 2007
Birthplace: Gavle, Sweden
Position: Center
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 176 lbs
Shoots: Right
Statistics
What’s there to like?
Hillstrom is a pretty simple player. There isn’t anything flashy but when playing with Brynas in the J20 Nationell this season, he was able to produce scoring chances thanks to using his body with extreme intelligence; closing players out, protecting the puck, and generally being very difficult to play against.
He does not lack in effort and there is just a baseline of talent when it comes to Hillstrom and how he is able to make his team better when he is on the ice. And, sort of kind of, that’s all there is to say.
If you came up with someone in this entire draft class that is the middle of the middle on most tools, it would probably look very close to Gustav Hillstrom. Nothing flashy and nothing makes you jump out of your chair with excitement, but there aren’t many moments that he would want to take back. Just an extremely solid hockey prospect that has already played in the top domestic league available to him and did not look out of place whatsoever.
Maybe the ceiling is something like a middle-six center after several years of development, but that’s where we are at this point of the draft.
What’s not to like?
The main thing to not like about Hillstrom isn’t even anything to do with the player himself. If a team takes Hillstrom in the second round, it would be betting more on his projectability than taking a big swing on a player’s potential. Sure, you could get someone in this range that is either going to end up as a point-per-game player in the NHL or barely make a dent in the AHL; or you could take Hillstrom and at the very worst, you get a dependable bottom-of-the-lineup player that is homegrown. That’s what’s not to like, the thought process of the pick.
Hillstrom’s skating could do some work to maybe elevate him to the NHL pace, and he doesn’t really have a purposeful shot, but his game is more about grinding out his opponents into exhaustion and taking advantage of them not being as focused as he is. It’s a different sort of production, but it’s not that swing.
How would he fit the Flyers’ system?
Hillstrom would be a fun fit. Of course, we don’t know who the Flyers are going to be taking with their first-round picks, but if we assume that they will be prospects that have high ceilings and players that we can think of being top-of-the-lineup types of players, then adding Hillstrom to that group and what players they currently have, is solid. It’s not like we would be very excited about having this kind of player in the pool, but if you want to think about the future of the Flyers’ bottom six then this player can pretty much be there as the third-line center or even a very good fourth-line guy just because he is such a solid bet.
Hell, we’ve seen Noah Cates become a middle-six center on this team and if Hillstrom reaches his potential, he can be exactly that. Those types of players underneath a potential top six group of Michkov, Konecny, and someone like a James Hagens, Porter Martone, Caleb Desnoyers, Jake O’Brien (whoever they take at sixth overall), feels like a good balance.
Could the Flyers actually get him?
Most certainly. Given how the pre-draft rankings look like from people more in the know, and the fact that Hillstrom is not even mentioned in the two-round mock drafts that The Athletic have been putting out, the Flyers could be able to select Hillstrom even with their third-round pick, if they want.
Or, if they really fall in love with the player — and we know that they already reached a big on Jack Berglund last season — then with their fourth of four second-round picks, they could just snag him so no one else does, even if it is 20 or so selections higher than expected.
What scouts are saying
“Hillström profiles as a big-bodied centre who brings two-value and leverages his size to his advantage. At the junior level, he regularly outmuscled opponents in puck battles and established body positioning by knocking his competitors out of balance before scooping the puck to his team. He’s got a solid work rate on both sides of the puck, sprinting to cover lanes and using his reach to interrupt opponents in the defensive zone. At times, he can be a bit too reckless and get exploited by skilled opponents, but as he learns to angle attackers more precisely, he’ll become an even more effective defensive player. There’s also an offensive dimension to Hillström’s game. He’s not a particularly dangerous shooter, but has a knack for timing his movements to the net front for rebounds and other opportunities. The sequence that led to his first career SHL goal is a good example of this, as he managed to sprint from the corner to the slot behind the defender’s back before receiving a pass from the point before burying it.
As a distributor, though occasionally capable of making a creative play, Hillström is mainly visible through making simple plays off the rush, deferring to others before rushing the net to create space for them. It helps that while Hillström’s stride isn’t mechanically perfect and his agility could stand to improve, he has a solid top speed and reaches it rather quickly.
Given Hillström’s profile as a big centre with physical skills and decent skating ability, we’re almost certainly going to see him getting picked, likely somewhere in the middle portion of the draft. As far as things stand right now, the upside seems limited due to the lack of higher-end offensive abilities, but he has a moderate chance of turning into an NHL depth option, with the outside chance of becoming something better.”
—Elite Prospects 2025 NHL Draft Guide
“I’m not sure there’s a centre in this draft who combines off-puck intelligence and pure skating ability in this class outside of the top group. He’s just pasted to opponents in the SHL, getting involved in play often showcasing flashes of skill that elevates his game and those he plays with. He’s a little bit outmatched in the SHL as he is, but he’s also been playing on the wing in my viewings which is not where he has been playing for the junior team. He’s a long term bet in my view as he could fill out, add another gear and gain some more offensive confidence, but the SHL is a great place for him to develop and learn. He’s got a solid frame to build on, and while I think he’s going to end up a few slots lower on my board at the end of the year, he could be a really great bet to make at the end of the first round this year. In reality he could go significantly later than he should, but plays the centre position exactly how I would want it to be played. Good skill, exceptional smarts with a skating ability to always be in the right places, and offensive headroom to develop, but likely brings a good 200-foot impact to the game that could pair with almost any kind of player on his wings.”
–Will Scouch, scouching.ca
Now with Hillstrom come and gone, let’s add someone who might be a little bit more familiar to the Flyers: London Knights defenseman Henry Brzustewicz.
“A 6-foot-1, right-shot defenceman capable of playing a solid two-way game, Brzustewicz has the foundation necessary to transform into a high-end prospect over time and under the influence of the Knights. In most shifts, Brzustewicz plays a quiet and supportive style of game. Rotating ahead of plays, denying the middle, pushing opponents wide, and walling off the front of the net, he contains the opposition. When they put themselves in vulnerable spots, he engages, skating forward at them, and pushing them off the puck. He retrieves it and moves it to his partner, prioritizing safety over creativity.”
—Elite Prospects 2025 NHL Draft Guide
