Top 20 Detroit Red Wings Prospects To Watch In 2019-20
By Tyler Kotila
Jonatan Berggren, Skellefteå AIK, 3 points in 2018-19
Some people may consider this ranking a bit high for a player who recorded just 3 points in 18-19, but the 19-year old was sidelined with injury much of last season. Jonatan Berggren’s season was primarily lost due to a lower-back injury.
We know all about back injuries in this city, we don’t have to look back to far to remember the reason captain Henrik Zetterberg was forced to retire due to a persistent, reoccurring back injury. It is wise to allow the back to heal and that’s what his Swedish Elite team did. He only appeared in 16 contests last season recording a mere 3 assists. With the same club, he’s started this season with 2 assists in 4 games.
Shawn Horcoff (director of player development) had a few comments in an article published by DetroitRedWings.com over the summer that continue to give us hope that Berggren will indeed grow into a top-nine or better forward with the Detroit Red Wings.
"He’s a kid that brings good skill, he’s a good skater. But he’s another one, he’s just young, he’s had to learn about the physical side of the game. He’s maturing in terms of trying to figure out what he’s going to need to do in order to give himself the best chance of playing in the NHL. I’ve talked to him plenty of times during the summer. He has a good workout program, a good off-ice program set up for him in order to put that necessary strength on. He’s in the same boat as a lot of other young, skilled good players, we’re trying to make them, especially on the development side, we’re trying to make them figure out sooner rather than later that it’s not so much how much you weigh, it’s how strong you are. You need to have a certain level of strength in order to play in the NHL nowadays."
Early Expectation: Jonatan Berggren is an above-average skater with plenty of stick handling skills that will translate nicely at the NHL level. He can glide through traffic maneuvering his way into high scoring areas, but finishing is becoming a concern. His shot is a bit below average at the moment for the NHL. At the moment it appears Berggren is more of a playmaker than a scorer.
He’s a hard-working forward who refuses to take a shift off. He’s excellent away from the puck; he will hound a puck carrier until he can force a turnover or the puck carrier to defer elsewhere. His size is a bit concerning, but in today’s NHL it is far less worrisome than in the past.
His skill-set would be perfect if he were a center. He’s quicker than fast and can stickhandle defenders into a pretzel. He’s a player that still has top-six potential in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings once he fully develops. I believe he’s still a year or two away.