The NHL regular season is officially underway, meaning that hopeful fans are already looking ahead to the 2025 draft to see what kind of talent could be awaiting their favourite team.
While Swedish players like Anton Frondell and Victor Eklund are already making a name for themselves as top prospects, others are flying under the radar. These underrated players could prove themselves as dark horses of the 2025 NHL draft and are ones to keep an eye out for.
1. Oliwer Sjostrom (Lulea HF J20/J20 Nationell)
Oliwer Sjostrom is a left-handed defenseman out of Umea who has only begun to prove himself as a serious contender for the 2025 NHL draft.
Although undersized for a defenseman (5’11, 176 pounds), he has been able to develop a fast style of play and impressive one-on-one defence. He uses his mobility to create breakouts or carry the puck himself, creating scoring opportunities repeatedly. He is not afraid to use deception and trick plays to assist his teammates in getting on the scoreboard, which illustrates his high Hockey IQ. He made impressive progress last season as he played in the country’s junior league.
Sjostrom accumulated 24 points in 38 games, the highest point total among the defensemen on his team. He also ranked 5th in total points among U17 players in the J20 Nationell. While his name is not consistently showing up as a first-round prospect in this year’s draft, Oliwer Sjostrom could prove himself to be a valuable pickup for a team that needs to deepen their defensive pool.
2. Carl Axelsson (USHL Sioux Falls Stampede)
Carl Axelsson, a Swedish goaltender, began playing in the USHL this season, which could yield good results for him in this year’s NHL Entry Draft.
Playing in the US will get more eyes on him and increase his chances of becoming a no-brainer pickup for a team looking to fill a goaltending spot. In 2023-2024, Carl Axelsson played with Skelleftea AIK J20, tallying a 22-10-0 record in the regular season and an 8-1-0 record in playoffs. One of Axelsson’s biggest strengths is size, standing at 6’4 and 183 pounds.
He has committed to the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and will likely begin playing with them in the 2025-2026 season. In his four games so far with the Stampede, he’s averaged a .837 save percentage and has a 1-1-0 record.
3. Oscar Davidsson (HV71 J20)
Oscar Davidsson is an 18-year-old forward from Orebro who flies under the radar. However, Davidsson is a playmaker. This season with HV71, he has tallied 15 points (6G, 9A) in 19 games.
At 6’1 with time to grow still, Oscar Davidsson is a large physical presence on the ice. He quickly finds open shooting lanes, creating opportunities time and time again. He is stellar on the faceoff and is known as a two-way center. He could work on his speed before playing at the NHL level, but with time and practice, he will be a force.
A team looking for someone to play alongside a star center could benefit from drafting Davidsson in 2025.
4. Eddie Genborg (Linkoping HC J20)
Another guy with a large, physical presence on the ice is Eddie Genborg. He is 6’2 and 185 lbs. at just 17 years old–clearly, size is his advantage. He is a heavy hitter and plays with a lot of energy. The forward has notched 27 points in 19 games with Linkoping HC this season and represented Sweden’s international junior team in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
While he is a playmaker, his talent lies not so much in what he does with the puck, but what he does without it– something scouts like to keep an eye out for. Eddie could be a phenomenal pickup for a team looking to build up their physicality and size.
5. Melvin Novotny (Leksands IF J20)
The final underrated Swedish player to keep an eye on this season is Melvin Novotny, a forward from Taby. Novotny is playing with Leksands IF J20 and represented his country in this year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he got three points (2G, 1A) added to his stat sheet. In the 20 games played with Leksands IF this season, Melvin Novotny has found the net eight times and totalled 13 assists. His biggest strength is his passing ability– Novotny consistently finds open passing lanes and helps his teammates secure the puck to score. He creates offensive opportunities often. His skating speed could use some work to bring him up to the elite level he needs to be on to play full-time in the NHL, but with time and development, he could prove to be a solid pickup for any team.
This year’s prospect talent pool continues to develop and grow as the season goes on, and more players will begin to prove themselves as serious contenders for a draft spot in 2025. Keep your eye on Sweden–they just might surprise you.
