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Swedish prospect likes being a ‘pain in the neck’ for opposing players

Karlsson

Players eligible for the NHL Draft do many things to get noticed. Getting under the skin of the opposition, well that’s a pretty good way to garner attention from just about anyone in the rink.

Take Anton Karlsson, the 11th-ranked European skater by NHL Central Scouting and a member of Frolunda’s junior team in Sweden, for example: “I think the scouts see a warrior in my game,” Karlsson recently told NHL.com. “I’m a big player, big size (6-foot-1, 187 pounds). I like to hit bodies and just be a pain in the [neck] for the other team.”

That could be a very sought after kind of quality. The first round of the draft goes next Friday (June 27) in Philadelphia. The Florida Panthers have the No. 1 pick for right now.

Given where he stands on Central Scouting’s list, it would appear Karlsson would top out going late in the first round.

“He likes to play physical and he gives it everything he has on every shift,” Goran Stubb, the NHL Director of European Scouting told NHL.com “Any team drafting him will be happy; he’s a good prospect.”

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