| 26 June 2009
George McPhee wasted no time thanking the city of Montreal, congratulating the Pittsburgh Penguins or honoring recent Hall of Fame inductees when the Caps finally made their selection.
With the 24th pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, the Capitals selected Swedish center Marcus Johansson. Johansson is billed at 5'11'', 189 and hails from Karlstad, Sweden. He scored two goals in the most recent World Junior Championship for Sweden's silver medal team.
He is currently a member of Farjestads BK of the Swedish Elite League and is expected to play in the SEL next year.
A two-way center, Johansson is likened to Valtteri Flippula and his favorite NHL players is Henrik Zetterburg. Certaintly not a bad player to look up to.
Johansson's is the third Swedish center selected in the first round by the Caps in five years. Perhaps I should consider changing the blog's Kremlin moniker to "Capitals Ikea Outlet."
Some scouting reports...
NHL Scouting Service - “Johansson has a good selection of shots with a quick precise wrist shot. His overall skill level and stickhandling give him room to move the puck and shoot. He is a player with good offensive instincts and fine understanding of his defensive duties. He can play both center and wing with a consistent hard working presence.”
Hockey's Future - "Johansson has impressive hockey sense, good technical skills and soft hands. He reads the play very well and is a skilled playmaker. Is also a speedy skater that does not shy away from the rough stuff, although he is not really a big time physical player. A team player with some leadership qualities. Has a shot he should use more often."
Debate will ensue over whether or not the Capitals reached for Johansson (I think so) but the Capitals are still missing a second-line center to replace the KHL-bound Sergei Fedorov. It is still unclear if Anton Gustafsson will be in Washington or Hershey next season, and Johansson has a history of concussion injuries that have fans unsure about the selection.
Regardless, the Capitals drafted for need, not the best player availible as it is argueable that Johansson could have been taken in a later round or traded down for.
With the Capitals recent love of Swedish centers, it's possible the Caps are looking to create a "Backstrom 2.0" and stick him with Alex Semin, but how soon it will be before either Gustafsson or Johansson are NHL ready remains to be seen.
Johansson, along with all of the 2009 NHL Draftees, are invited to the Caps Developmental Camp in mid-July.
The NHL Draft continues tomorrow and hopefully it won't take four hours to get through a single round. We'll have a re-cap of the second and final day of the draft tomorrow as well as grades and commentary.
UPDATE: Some video, thanks to Japers' Rink for alerting me to this.
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