With the 2023 NHL Entry Draft right around the corner, join us for a look at three players with Champions Hockey League experience who could see themselves playing across the pond in the near future.
All three are also projected to be picked in the first round!
1. Axel Sandin Pellikka
18-year-old rising star Axel Sandin Pellikka spent four seasons rising through the ranks of Skellefteå AIK's youth teams until he made his big breakthrough into the first team in 2022/23. The defenceman jumped on for seven CHL games last season, displaying his nice puck skills, solid shot and two-way play against a variety of European opponents.
The Swede is an engaged blueliner and enters the NHL Entry Draft off the back of an amazing season in which he scored 36 points in 31 games for Skellefteå's U20 side and five points in 22 games for the SHL team's first team. He also played a combined 40 games for Sweden's U18 and U20 teams, scoring a very respectable 34 points.
Sandin Pellikka is near-guaranteed to be drafted in the Top 16 of the NHL Entry Draft so keep an eye on him from the get-go!
2. Tom Willander
Another defenceman on our Top 3 list is Tom Willander who spent 2022/23 playing for Rögle Ängelholm's U20 side but also got the chance to taste SHL and CHL hockey, jumping on to face Swiss mega club ZSC Lions Zurich on Game Day 6 in Europe's elite club ice hockey competition.
Willander - not to be mixed with ex-teammate William Wallinder - is described as a dependable, focused player with a type of fluidity to his game that is hard to find in players his age.
He reads the game well and is great at picking out passes to teammates, backed up by his 21 assists in 39 games for Rögle's U20 side last season.
A strong end to 2022/23 has seen Tom Willander move up the draft projections, possibly even into the Top 16 - let's see on the big night!
3. Otto Stenberg
Otto Stenberg has been playing for Frölunda Gothenburg since the U16 category and made his way to the first team of the four-time CHL Champions last season, playing 25 games for them, including two starts in the CHL.
He's a skilled, fast-paced forward who certainly doesn't lack on puck play. Stenberg enjoys playing on the rush, but he's a strong player off it also, keeping possession at all costs.
He's been a bit hit-and-miss this season which is why opinion varies on his first-round pick, but we think he could make it into the Top 32!
Stay tuned to our social media channels to be the first to find out how all three did at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft or return to our web later this week for a Draft review.