Three Red Wings Prospects Named to Sweden’s Preliminary World Junior Roster

Photo by Martin Rose/Getty Images

On Tuesday, Team Sweden released its 23-man preliminary IIHF World Junior U20 roster for the upcoming makeup tournament that will be held again in Edmonton and Red Deer in August. Amongst the players named to the roster, Red Wings prospects Simon Edvinsson, Theodor Niederbach, and William Wallinder could be representing their home country in a couple of months. 

The Red Wings’ top prospect, Simon Edvinsson, had an excellent season in the SHL playing for Frolunda, scoring two goals and 17 assists in 44 games. Edvinsson’s season would be recognized amongst the rest of the league as he was nominated for the SHL Rookie of the Year and won the EliteProspects Award for the best junior-aged player in the SHL.

In the two games before the 2022 World Junior Championship was canceled, Edvinsson was arguably Sweden’s best player, especially against Russia, where he even scored a breakaway goal. 

Edvinsson will be relied on heavily in August in all situations, and the tournament will be a nice warmup before the Red Wings training camp.

Niederbach was also on the original roster for Team Sweden back in December and provided secondary solid scoring behind the likes of William Eklund and Alex Holtz. In the two games played, Niederbach scored twice, including a quick-release goal from the slot on Sweden’s powerplay.

In 51 regular-season games with Frolunda, Niederbach scored nine goals and added seven assists. Niederbach had an up and down regular season with Frolunda in terms of deployment, which eventually led to his decision to move SHL clubs to Rogle, where he’ll likely get more opportunities to play higher in the lineup.

Initially left off of Team Sweden’s WJC U20 roster back in November, Wallinder forced himself back into the conversation for the restart of the tournament after an excellent regular season. 

In 47 games with Rogle this season, Wallinder scored four goals and 15 assists and was voted the SHL’s Top U20 player. Wallinder took a significant jump in his development In Rogle’s system under head coach Cam Abbott, especially in transition. With his size (6’4 190 lbs) and skating ability, Wallinder is a unique prospect and will likely be a regular for Sweden in August.


Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply

JJ Peterka Traded to the Utah Mammoth

The Utah Mammoth have acquired forward JJ Peterka from the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo receives Michael Kesselring and Joah Doan in return for Peterka. There were no draft picks involved in the trade. JJ Peterka will also have a contract extension in place as he is traded to Utah. He signed a five-year contract worth $7.7 […]

Read More

Paul Maurice Defines Coaching Legacy with Second Stanley Cup Win

“They need a new voice,” were the words said by current Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice on the day he resigned as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets. Many ‘what ifs’ came to mind if Maurice had stayed in Winnipeg. Where would the Jets be now? Where would Florida be right now? So much […]

Read More

The Florida Panthers Journey To Back-To-Back Stanley Cups

Last year was a dream, this year was an achievement. Those were the words HC Paul Maurice said about the Panthers winning their second straight Stanley Cup. Last season, I recapped the several-year journey it took Bill Zito & his front office to build a Cup-winning team in addition to the Cats’ season-long journey. And […]

Read More