We’re up to No. 27 on our Draft Board, and the honor goes to Swedish forward Marcus Nordmark. With Djurgardens IF’s J20 Nationell team this past season, Nordmark put up impressive scoring numbers with 38 points in 25 games. When he got a taste of the SHL with Djurgardens, Nordmark put up 1 point in 8 games, but did not look entirely out of place.
The puck skills with Nordmark jump off the screen, and he’s a pretty tantalizing package of creativity and dynamic offense that can flip a game in an instant. Alongside his teammate and top-10 projected pick Viggo Bjorck this past season, Nordmark’s game was a bit unheralded compared to Bjorck’s. That is largely due to Nordmark’s game-to-game, and shift-to-shift inconsistency. A perfect encapsulation of Nordmark’s inconsistency is seen in this profile from The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, with a quote from Djurgardens’ J20 coach Martin Linder Ost.
“Sometimes when you get hard on him, you really get what you want out of him. Sometimes you get the complete opposite. I still struggle to find his buttons, to be honest with you. Sometimes I manage, but sometimes I miss completely,” Ost said.
So, despite the high-end package of offensive skills that Nordmark provides, there seems to be significant concerns regarding his effort and coachability on a night-to-night basis. There is plenty to get into with Nordmark, so let’s dive into the positives and negatives of a potential Nordmark pick.
Pre-draft rankings
Ranked #46 by Elite Prospects
Ranked #55 by Sportsnet (Jason Bukala)
Ranked #21 by The Athletic (Scott Wheeler)
Ranked #61 by TSN (Craig Button)
Statistics
What’s there to like?
Outside of his limited impact in his small taste of the SHL, Nordmark was an offensive force everywhere else he played. In the J20 Nationell, Nordmark scored at a rate of 1.52 points per game, good for 11th in the entire league. Among 18-year-old draft eligibles, that scoring rate is the best in the class in the J20. For context, that outpaces guys like Alexander Command (1.47) and Niklas Aaram-Olsen (1.38). At the international level, Nordmark led the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup in scoring last summer with 12 points, and put up 37 points in 25 international games in his draft year. The results don’t lie with Nordmark, and even if there are concerns about his effort level, the scoring rate is undeniable.
Plainly, there’s offensive skills for days with Nordmark. In open-ice, Nordmark is so dangerous because he can beat you in a myriad of ways. While his one-timer needs a bit of work, Nordmark’s wrist shot is so quick and routinely beats goalies clean. If he’s got a clear lane to the goaltender, Nordmark is totally unafraid to pick a corner (like in the play below).
The other thing that’s so impressive about Nordmark’s wrist shot is how fast he can get the puck off his stick. Both with receiving passes from his teammates in dangerous areas and quickly releasing the puck, or deceptively releasing a puck off a couple of individual moves on a rush, Nordmark can go skate-to-stick-to goal so quickly. One example of many in the Nordmark highlight is linked below.
The other major plus in Nordmark’s game is his vision in the offensive zone and on the rush. So many times, Nordmark is able to hold the puck for just a second extra in order to create space for his teammates. He can simply execute passes that so many players in his age group cannot, creating so many chances through the middle of the ice for his linemates.
He also uses his legs and easy skating stride to create chances on the rush, selectively choosing when to drive to the net or find another passing option. Take the goal below, where Nordmark skates into the offensive zone, stops on a dime, and finds a teammate for the chance. At his best, Nordmark is a puck-dominant force that can create so many chances on his own accord, as defenses need to respect his shot, but he also has plus-passing skills. He’s really hard to contain when he is having one of his good days.
What’s not to like?
As alluded to earlier, the biggest issue with Nordmark is the concern about his effort and coachability. When you have multiple coaches (both his J20 Nationell and SHL coaches) who have mentioned this about Nordmark, you definitely raise your eyebrows at the trend. While people who are believers in Nordmark might say that these concerns about inconsistency and coachability will dissipate as he matures, there’s always a chance that will never actually happen. Right now, he’s susceptible to wild emotional swings on the ice, as well as games and periods where he just completely checks out. It’ll probably be a full organizational effort to reign Nordmark in a bit and unlock a more level-headed but still fiery version of him.
It’s not like Nordmark is really doing much to counteract these quotes and rumors about himself, either. In the recent survey from The Athletic that polled draft-eligibles, Marcus Nordmark notably picked himself as the answer to “Who is the most underrated prospect in the draft?” He was the only player to pick himself in this exercise, and it is probably this level of confidence (or arrogance) that has turned some people off.
In terms of his actual game (outside of the outbursts), Nordmark is such an unphysical player for a guy of his size. Regularly not engaging defensively, he gives up space towards the middle of the ice routinely to attacking players. In the games where he’s a bit checked out, his decision-making sorely lacks, and the pace of decision-making is nowhere near good enough. While his offensive puck skills are borderline elite for the class, everything else leaves so much to be desired. He’s quite the project in a number of ways.
How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?
Organizationally, Nordmark would be an immediate infusion of high-end skill into the prospect pool. Nordmark is another winger, but he’s also played all three forward positions throughout the year. His skillset probably fits better on the wing long term, but it’s possible that a team could project him down the middle.
In addition, it would be fascinating to see the Flyers handle a player with a very unpredictable temperament. Organizationally, we know that “culture” has been a big part of the rebuild, and a player like Nordmark would be a litmus test for it. Only time will tell if Nordmark is able to establish a more consistent level of play, demeanor, and overall effort, but it’s a potential home-run pick if things work out.
Could the Flyers actually get him?
Yes. We think there’s a lot of variance with where Nordmark could be selected, as there may be some team in the 20s (or even high teens) that take a swing on Nordmark’s elite puck skills. On the flipside, considering the character concerns, it’s also within the realm of possibility that he falls all the way to the second round at pick No. 53. Guys like this fall every year, and it’s really hard to know the level of importance that teams will place on the character concerns.
What scouts are saying
“Nordmark has a lot of NHL traits. He’s 6-foot-2, skates well, is a highly gifted puck handler and can both pass and shoot the puck like an NHLer. He’s a flashy forward who can break open a shift. His effort level is just OK, though. He’s not soft, but he’s certainly not a hard-to-play-against type and fades into the background for stretches and has a lot of bad habits. He has top six winger tools but there’s a lot of holes in his games he will need to work on.”
-Corey Pronman, The Athletic
“Nordmark blends high-end skill and hockey sense to create high-quality chances in the offensive zone. He routinely picks apart opponents in his own age group and has been truly dominant internationally. But scouts are worried that he’s a ghost defensively and that if he doesn’t control play offensively, he won’t be good enough to crack the NHL. He has lazy habits that get him into trouble under pressure and it doesn’t feel like he’s taken enough steps forward to fix that throughout the year. So he’s polarizing, which isn’t surprising for a 17-year-old with so much room to grow. Is he legit? Scouts aren’t sure yet.”
-Steven Ellis, Daily Faceoff
“Nordmark is always an interesting player to watch. His puck skills and how dangerous he is every time he touches the puck is fascinating. When he pushes pace he can explode past defenders and he has a lethal wrist shot as well which he can fire well skating at full speed. He had a sick shot hitting the crossbar in this game. He also had an excellent look late in the third but got robbed by the goalie. He has the ability to be a dangerous weapon from the outside, which very few players in an age group have. His puck control and speed can look elite without effort. In his best sequences, he looks like a player that we should be discussing as a top-15 pick in the draft. On the other hand, you can’t ignore his poor body language, inconsistent temper, and not finishing his checks and ignoring defensive assignments. He also tends to overplay the puck and his decision-making isn’t consistent either. He is still a candidate for the early second round because of his skills. The NHL will need to research how his potential to develop into a pro player looks like. I see him as a top-six forward prospect with a low chance of making that role from what he shows now.”
-Jimmy Hamrin, Elite Prospects (April 30 Game Report)
Added to the poll is Brooks Rogowski, an imposing 6-foot-7 center from the Oshawa Generals of the OHL.
“I have mixed feelings about Rogowski — an MSU commit who got an “A” rating from NHL Central Scouting in their preliminary players to watch list and then ranked No. 14 on their midseason list of North American skaters and No. 21 on their final list — and I’m not the only one. Some see a 6-foot-7 center with good hands and skating who played big minutes for the Gens as a go-to player this season on both their power play, where he has the dexterity and soft skill to play the net-front and get sticks on tips and rebounds, and their penalty kill. Others see a big player who doesn’t involve himself or impose himself nearly enough for their liking and are turned off by his lack of intensity — a concern many also had with Bruins first-rounder Dean Letourneau, who has now figured it out, but Letourneau had even more skill/finesse/athleticism at the same age.
Rogowski does get low into an active base in his stride for his size. He does read and anticipate play well defensively. He will make little plays around the net. I’ve seen him play a lot in the OHL and internationally (including most recently at U18s, where he was just OK but also apparently dealing with a wrist injury), and I fit more into the latter camp, though the tools obviously make him interesting. We’re also exiting out of a couple of drafts where big OHLers Kieron Walton and Ilya Protas have become top prospects for their organizations, though I’m very confident Rogowski is more in the Walton tier if things progress than the Protas tier. Development will be key for Rogowski, and he’ll be in good hands at Michigan State, which helps. He’s a fine-to-good prospect. I just don’t think he’s a top-40 one.”
-Scott Wheeler, The Athletic
