After a European forward went 25th overall on our Community Draft Board, we have a European defenseman to talk about with the next selection, as Swedish defenseman Helge Grans has been snatched up with the 26th overall pick. The towering blue liner, who is currently in his third SHL season, skates well and can make an assortment of plays with the puck on his stick. Grans has a lot of tools general managers covet, but could some of the concerns around his game drop him even further in this week’s NHL Entry Draft?
BSH 2020 Community Draft Board, No. 26: Helge Grans
2019-20 Season
Team: Malmo Redhawks (SHL) and Malmo Redhawks J-20 (SuperElit)
Statistics: 1 G, 2 A in 21 GP and 4 G, 23 A in 27 GP
Pre-draft rankings
No. 6 (European skaters) by NHL Central Scouting
No. 28 by Future Considerations
Not ranked by ISS Hockey
No. 26 by The Athletic/Wheeler
What’s there to like?
He’s a 6’3” right-handed offensive defenseman that is confident with the puck on his stick and is a strong skater. Although he’s never produced a high goal-scoring season outside of a U-16 campaign back in 2017-18, Grans has a decent shot and does a good job finding lanes to utilize it, as he’s also a good transition player who is able to recover well to cover up his or his teammates’ mistakes on the rush. Thanks to his size, he’s able to use his reach to both maintain possession in the offensive zone.
Those in the draft community have noticed Grans in a positive light, as he jumped 15 spots in the European Skaters Central Scouting Rankings from his mid-term rank of 21st to his final ranking of sixth for the biggest leap of anybody in the top 10. On top of that our friend Alexander Appleyard likened him to former Philadelphia Flyer Andrej Meszaros in terms of playing style and also thinks he isn’t done adding to his already enormous stature. Meszaros may not be the sexiest name to pick out of a hat in terms of ‘first-round pick hype’ but you could do a lot worse than a guy who manned the blue line for 10 years in the NHL.
What’s not to like?
Concerns over his decision making, defensive zone coverage, and the fact he isn’t extremely physical for his size. The lack of physicality may not be a deal breaker to most clubs, but if Grans never improves his on-ice decision making it could greatly limit his potential at the highest level. He feels somewhat like Phil Myers in that he possesses a lot of the tools you want in a modern defenseman, but every once in a while he completes or reads a play that makes you go ‘what were you even doing there?’ Luckily for us Myers doesn’t consistently provide questionable plays, but if a defenseman makes enough terrible decisions with and without the puck it essentially cancels out whatever physical gifts they may have.
How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?
Although the Flyers have a handful of good defensemen who will be on the roster for years to come and another pair of blue liners likely to reach the same point one day in Cam York and Egor Zamula, you can’t shy away from a prospect with high-end potential because it may feel as though the organization is loaded at the position for years to come. With that in mind it seems likely general manager Chuck Fletcher and company may lean towards selecting a forward at 23rd overall, but there’s an argument that can be made for investing another pick into the defense. There’s no certainty that York or Zamula have success in the NHL, and once you get past those two there aren’t many home runs in terms of defensemen likely to become game-changers at the next level in the Flyers’ pipeline.
Could the Flyers actually get him?
Looking at where he’s projected to go it seems likely Grans will be available when the Flyers pick at 23. Most mock drafts have him going later than 23rd in the first round or not in the first round at all. As an international player considered a project there may even be a chance Grans falls even further and it feels like it wouldn’t be completely out of the question that he’d be there when Philly picks again at 54 in the second round. That’s not something Fletcher should bank on if he’s interested in Grans, but if he’s forecasted to go late first/outside the first round already and he may not have as many eyes on him as a North American player with some noted flaws, it’s a possibility. If he goes 23rd it might be a little higher than most anticipated the Swedish blueliner to go, but if the concerns over his decision making dissipate quickly this season the perception of the pick may quickly swing from ‘reach’ to ‘steal’.
We’ll make two additions to the poll:
Lukas Cormier – D, Charlottetown Islanders – 6 G, 30 A in 44 GP
‘Cormier projects more as an offensive defenceman. His shooting ability and his propensity for backdoor plays separate him from his counterparts. He can catch a cross-ice pass and fire the puck before the goalie can react. Cormier’s shot also serves as a playmaking tool; he aims his cannon at the stick of teammates and creates rebounds for them to pounce on.’ – Elite Prospects
Zion Nybeck – LW/RW, HV71/HV71J20/HV71J18 – 1 G, 0 A in 15 GP/27 G, 39 A in 66 GP/6 G, 4 A in 4 GP
‘Nybeck plays the game bigger than he is. He has a simply immense work rate and indomitable drive underpinning his game. His fore-checking means that opposition defensemen rarely have time to make clean passes and find lanes. He will go to the danger areas around the net and along the boards and battle with all his might. The Swede has some Danny Briere-like qualities to him in the offensive zone. He is very agile, and has good speed – though he probably could do with getting a bit faster to make the jump to the next level given his size. He has a high hockey IQ that is palpable every time he hits the ice, and he sees gaps in defenses that most players don’t. In terms of shot he has a nice release that he gets off quickly. His soft hands also mean that he can make opposition players look silly at times. But he is not just offence only. Nybeck is a very good penalty killer who is also attentive to his own zone at 5v5.’ — Smaht Scouting
2020 BSH Community Draft Board
- Alexis Lafreniere — LW, Rimouski (QMJHL)
- Quinton Byfield — C, Sudbury (OHL)
- Marco Rossi — C, Ottawa (OHL)
- Tim Stützle — LW/C, Manheim (DEL)
- Cole Perfetti — LW/C, Saginaw (OHL)
- Lucas Raymond — RW, Frölunda (SHL)
- Jamie Drysdale — D, Erie (OHL)
- Alexander Holtz — LW/RW, Djurgardens (SHL)
- Yaroslav Askarov — G, SKA (KHL)
- Anton Lundell — C, HIFK (Liiga)
- Connor Zary — C, Kamloops (WHL)
- Seth Jarvis — RW/C, Portland (WHL)
- Jake Sanderson — D, USNTDP (USHL)
- Noel Gunler — RW/LW, Lulea (SHL)
- Jan Mysak — C, Hamilton (OHL)
- Jack Quinn — RW, Ottawa (OHL)
- Jacob Perreault — RW, Sarnia (OHL)
- Mavrik Bourque — C, Shawinigan (QMJHL)
- Dylan Holloway — LW, Univ. of Wisconsin (NCAA)
- Rodion Amirov — L, Neftekamst (VHL)
- Hendrix Lapierre — C, Chicoutimi (QJMHL)
- Kaiden Guhle — D, Prince Albert (WHL)
- Braden Schneider — D, Brandon (WHL)
- Dawson Mercer — C/RW, Chicoutimi (QMJHL)
- Lukas Reichel — LW, Berlin (DEL)
- Helge Grans — D, Malmo Redhawks (SHL)
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Please use your vote below to answer the following question: If all of the players listed were available when the Flyers were on the clock, who would you want them to pick?
Who should be No. 28 on the 2020 BSH Community Draft Board?
| Emil Andrae | 7 |
| Kasper Simontaival | 9 |
| Lukas Cormier | 0 |
| Zion Nybeck | 1 |
