All week leading up to the 2012 NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh, we’ll be profiling top prospects who may hear their names called Friday in the first round. Nothing too in-depth. Just enough so you know who they are and what they’re about.
Sebastian Collberg (C)
Height: 5’11 Weight: 176 Shoots: Right
Team: Frolunda (SEL)
Country: Sweden
NHL Central Scouting ranking: No. 3 among European skaters
What kind of player is he?
Collberg is an intriguing prospect whose value could vary wildly. His lack of size will turn a lot of teams off, but his skill set will attract teams trying to hit a home run.
One thing to note is that Collberg succeeded at his age level, but struggled upon being promoted to Frolunda’s Elite League team. He scored nine points in six games for Sweden at the World Juniors and had 17 points in 21 contests with Frolunda’s junior team...yet failed to register a single point in 41 games with Frolunda’s elite team.
Of course, he joined that squad at 17 -- so it’s impressive that he even gained the opportunity in the first place.
Quotable:
“There are genuine concerns about whether Collberg, who’s willing to go into the corners but doesn’t yet seem to have the upper-body strength to win one-on-one battles, can adapt to the NHL. The scouting service HockeyProspect.com, however, has likened his nose for the net to that of Kitchener Rangers grad Jeff Skinner, who made the NHL to stay in 2010 with the Carolina Hurricanes.
“Collberg is certainly on a longer track to The Show, but in a very barren year for Canadian forwards in the draft, NHL teams could do a lot worse than take a calculated risk on a skilled but undersized Swede. It’s not a direct comparison, but there were people who scoffed at the Ottawa Senators in 2008 for drafting Erik Karlsson.” -- Neate Sager, Yahoo’s Buzzing the Net.
More draft profiles: