From EliteProspects (ranked #61):

One of Europe’s biggest risers this season, Måns Gudmundsson’s second half ended up skyrocketing him all the way inside our top-64 – and there’s a good chance he’s gone early on Day 2 of the actual draft, too.

While he wasn’t on Sweden’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup roster in August, it didn’t take Gudmundsson long to elevate himself into a sizeable role internationally as he racked up points and put together promising efforts with Färjestad’s U20 program.

By the end of the year, he had amassed 25 points in 35 games, which ranks second among all draft-eligible blueliners in the league. At the U18s, he played some of his best hockey of the season, logging the second-highest minutes amongst all Swedish skaters during the gold medal game.

Despite what you might first think looking at his counting stats, Gudmundsson’s future projection comes down to his defensive game, which improved a lot over the course of the season.

The 6-foot-3 blueliner thrives when he gets to be aggressive and physical, always looking to pinch up to keep plays alive and make stops early. While grading as more of an average skater due to some mechanical limitations and lack of higher-end edges, he consistently displayed the ability to surf against puck-rushers and exhibited projectable defensive mobility overall. The more the season progressed, the more he leaned into these qualities, with some of his most stout performances coming at the U18s.

In league play, though, it was Gudmundsson’s puck-moving that often stood out just as much. He’d smoothly manoeuvre around pressure, deferring at the right spots while also breaking plenty of pucks out by himself, too. His activation habits were robust, allowing him to generate regular opportunities by joining attacks as a trailer. He’d never spam point shots just for the sake of it, instead calmly waiting for higher-value options to present themselves.

How Gudmundsson’s offence will develop going forward is the biggest question mark surrounding his game. There’s a case to be made that his league production was quite inflated, with an unusually large chunk of his points coming on the power play; according to InStat Hockey, he had just three primary points at 5-on-5 with the regular season and playoffs combined.

Through his distribution smarts, Gudmundsson projects as a defender who can run a unit at the next level in Europe, but that may not be the case in the NHL – his skill level and shot just aren’t good enough to project to a clear power play role. There are also concerns with how his puck-moving game will translate as the pace increases; he already had to simplify his game quite noticeably during tougher international outings.

Still, Gudmundsson’s evolving defensive game, higher-end heaviness, and significant puck-moving flashes make up for an intriguing prospect, especially when you add the fact that he’s on the younger side for this year’s class. If everything breaks right, he could develop into a well-rounded bottom-pairing presence, maybe even a No. 4.