Detroit Red Wings 2018 draft pick: Jesper Eliasson
By Ash Thompson
The Detroit Red Wings selected Jesper Eliasson in the third round of the NHL draft. Not much is known about this Swedish netminder. Early reports look good.
The Detroit Red Wings added a little bit of goaltender depth with their third of three third-round draft picks. Jesper Eliasson is a Swedish prospect who has logged time on the U-18 Sweedish teams. His performance in the J20 Elit league last season was spectacular. In 19 games for the Troja Ljungby J20 Elit team, Eliasson posted a 1.93 goals against average and a .930 save percentage.
Eliasson is a 6’3″ 190 lb prospect who is about to make a jump in competition level. He is joining the Vaxjo Lakers of the J20 Super Elit league next season. Frankly, I don’t get the chance to watch a lot of Swedish J20 Elit league games. I can’t claim any level of expertise on this kid at all. Neither does anyone else. Finding more than a sentence of information on the kid at any outlet is nigh impossible.
I can tell you he had the best GAA and SVS% in the J18 Elit South/Spring) league during the 2016-17 season. He was also the J18 best U18 Goaltender, had the J18 Elit (South) best SVS% and won a U18 World Junior Championship Bronze medal during the 2017-18 season.
According to the Steve Kournianos, the Wings picked an unathletic but large goalie. Aggression and a quick blocker are nice features, but far from a total package. In the end only time will tell whether the Wings made a good or bad call. Goaltenders, even more than other positions, are a complete crapshoot in the NHL draft.
Next: Red Wings draft pick: Seth Barton
It has often been said that a goaltender does not truly reach his prime until he is about 27 years old. Anyone calling this a good or a bad pick right now is getting a little ahead of themselves.