Calgary Flames prospect update: LW Filip Sveningsson
It’s time for another Calgary Flames prospect update! Let’s check out seventh-round pick Filip Sveningsson, who has a super cool last name.
With the Calgary Flames hiring Hakan Loob as their pro European Scout, let’s continue on with the Sweden trend. Filip Sveningsson was the fifth and final draft pick for the Flames at the 2017 NHL Draft. The Flames drafted him in the seventh round with the 202nd pick. At the time, he was coming off a 15-goal campaign with the HV71 J20 of the SuperElit. He was also called up to their senior affiliate in the SHL, but was left off the scoresheet in the two games.
The player he likes to model his game after is fellow Swede Peter Forsberg.
Via Calgary Flames:
“It’s not so easy, but I try to be like him. He’s just so skilled and a great passer that can really do it all. The skill and delivery he has with the puck is just so special that really makes for being a great hockey player and I want to have that.”
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This season, he again played with the J20 team, but missed a few games due to a shoulder injury. He finished the season with 17 goals and 39 points in 35 games, a career high. This put him at second on the team, but first in points per game, and was ninth in the league. He also had a whopping 63 PIM . He was called up a couple different times to the SHL, but he was again scoreless in the 11 total games.
Sveningsson had an impressive playoff campaign, registering four goals and ten points in six games which led the team, but wasn’t enough for the Anton Cup.
Starting the 2018-19 season, Sveningsson will be playing for the IK Oskarshamn of the Allsvenskan, the second highest league in Sweden (after the SHL). This could also be easier to call up Sveningsson to play in the SHL.
While he didn’t make the World Juniors this past year, he’s also just 18 years old. There’s no doubt he’s getting looks for this upcoming championship, especially since he’s played for Sweden at multiple Junior championships already.
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The nice thing about him is that since he’s still young and playing in Sweden, the Flames still have a couple more years to make a decision on him. It’s hard to predict where he’ll be in five years, especially for a player of his calibre. But anything’s possible.