• PROSPECT-UPDATE ARCHIVE
No 2018 draft prospects did anything of note on this particular Monday, so it's time for a special player feature. The spotlight this week falls on Gavle Brynas Under-20 goaltender Samuel Ersson, one of the top junior netminders in Sweden.
A big goalie at 6-foot-2, he had a brief taste of playing against men in the SHL six days after his 18th birthday, allowing two goals over the final two periods of his lone start on Oct. 26. He stayed up for three more games as a backup before returning to the club's top junior team for the remainder of the season.
During the first half of the Under-20 regular season, Ersson led the North Division with 16 wins and ranked third with a .916 save percentage. During the second half, he led the Top-10 Division with 11 wins and again finished third in save percentage at .924 in 17 starts. The size and talent are there, so it's hard to imagine he will slip through this draft.
This video is from the third period of as Jan. 28 win over Vasteras. He made 16 saves in that period, and many are shown here: