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Axel Boberg / BILDBYRÅN
NHL Entry Draft 2019

Post-Draft Prospect Profiles: Simon Lundmark No. 51 to the Winnipeg Jets

Thu, 11 Jul 19 00:00:17 +0000
Christoffer Hedlund Contributor - Dir. of European Scouting
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Simon Lundmark’s 2018-19 season swung up and down like a rollercoaster. He had a rough start in the SuperElit but slowly started to hit those peaks as the season progressed.

Although Lundmark was never a dominant player in junior, he played a key role in Linköping having one of the best defences in the entire SuperElit, before earning a call to the SHL. Lundmark never stood out in the SHL but he played his role and showed that he could defend well, even in one of Europe’s best senior leagues. As Linköping’s SHL-season ended early, Lundmark went back down to the SuperElit for the playoffs. Just as before, he did not shine, but was a solid piece for Linköping when they made the journey all the way to the final.

Due to the fact that Lundmark is a late 2000-born player, Sweden hasn’t called on him to don the Tre Kronor often. He played for Sweden at the 5 Nations tournament last February, but that’s it.

Scouting Report

Lundmark’s strength as a skater comes from his ability to take long, fluid, efficient strides. He keeps his feet moving whether he’s on or off the puck, and covers a tonne of ice as a result. The only limitations for Lundmark are in his first two-steps and top-end speed. Those handicaps leave him susceptible to oncoming forecheckers who pin him down in the offensive zone alarmingly often. For the most part, Lundmark’s balance and agility compensate for the lack of speed, but it’s something that will only be more easily exploited as he rises up the ranks of hockey.

Lundmark often starts the transition game with a long range pass. He has good vision from his own zone and is able to spot passing lanes all the way from his own net, but the quality of his passes are inconsistent. Sometimes, Lundmark will hit a teammate with a great, tape-to-tape stretch pass to start an odd-man rush; other times, he’ll fire off a wobbly, sloppy pass that isn’t even close to hitting the mark. Some of that, I suspect, is a result of Lundmark’s inability to maintain engaged at a high-level for long periods of time.

While Lundmark’s often a transporter of the puck from the defensive zone, there is doubtless room for improvement in that regard. Lundmark plays at a low pace and generally lacks determination with the puck, often holding onto it for far too long — though the opposition never seems to mind.

The veil of calmness that Lundmark carries easily lifts itself under pressure from opposing forecheckers, resulting in poor decisions and turnovers. The antidote for Lundmark will be making quicker decisions with the puck and making simpler ones at that.

These problems arise for Lundmark far more frequently at the SuperElit level than when he’s in the SHL, as he seems to play a much simpler, more secure game with the puck at the professional level.

On the other hand, Lundmark hampers his offensive contribution when he plays as simple as he does in the SHL — his game is a bit of a double-edged sword that way.

Moving forward, Lundmark needs to find a much better balance between not making mistakes with the puck in his own zone and being an asset for his in transition.

Another aspect to take into consideration is that despite having a big body to work with (6-foot-2 and 201 lbs) Lundmark doesn’t thrive with physical play when he has possession of the puck. Lundmark is prone to suggestions of softness, and when he coughs up the puck rather than absorb contact to make the right play, it’s easy to understand why.

His competitiveness is not that high, and Lundmark doesn’t play with a lot of edge to his game, which often shines through when it comes to how he handles (or in some cases avoids) physical contact initiated by an opponent. This happens a fair amount along the boards, where Lundmark will take the long route to a puck to avoid contact and often leave emptyhanded as a result.

While many have labelled Lundmark a two-way defenceman, he doesn’t have the best offensive instincts. It’s rare that you’ll find Lundmark leading a rush, much less joining one. Instead, Lundmark functions more as a complementary player offensively. Lundmark mostly moves laterally along the blue line in the offensive zone. In rare instances, though, Lundmark jumps into the high slot when the moment calls for it — something he should look to do far more often than he currently does, as he has many of the tools necessary to support that sort of initiative.

In the offensive zone, Lundmark is a good short range passer and sees the ice well. He typically doesn’t make the most complicated plays, but is efficient in his puck distribution and can spot, and take advantage of, less than obvious passing lanes. His passes in the offensive zone are often hard, distinct and tape-to-tape, which enables the puck-receiver to directly make a move once they get the puck. Lundmark also has good puck control and handles the puck quite well, as long as he’s unmolested by the opposition. On the blue line, he stays calm, handles the puck and waits for passing lanes to open up rather than throwing it away for the sake of making a quick or flashy play. Lundmark isn’t a creative player and he does not use his puck skills to try to stickhandle his way past opponents; instead, he prefers to keep it simple and to play with less risk involved.

While shooting from the blue line, Lundmark prefers to use his wrist shot, but it does not have a lot of power and isn’t the fastest either, as he has a slight wind up time when he fires it off. Lundmark’s shots too often get stuck at the closest blocking forward or in the traffic behind him; when Lundmark is under pressure it often looks like he doesn’t aim at all and just throws the puck at chance towards the net. He should be more determined and confident when he shoots, but he also must work on improving his release and the overall quality of his shot as it is a clear weak part of his offensive game.

The defensive part of the equation is where Lundmark is at his best. He’s already shown that he can hold his ground at the SHL level, which is always a great sign. Lundmark plays a smart, solid defensive game off of the puck, and uses his mobility well to cover large chunks of ice. He’s rarely stationary unless that’s what the moment asks of him, and does a good job of tracing the puck. Lundmark also has a strong positional game; he has good awareness while defending and plays with his head up, checking his surroundings, so he can quickly adapt to what is happening around him.

In the neutral zone, Lundmark reads the game well and can step up on a player that will receive the puck before it’s there to stop an attack. He makes calm, thoughtful decisions on when to step up on the puck-carrier. Even though Lundmark isn’t overly physical, he can play the body when it’s necessary.

Lundmark’s gap control, and the way he defends the blue line, is superb for his age; he’s hard to get by 1-on-1 as he consistently makes good reads, actively uses his stick to control the situation and when he manages to steer the puck towards the boards he utilizes his body to prevent the puck moving player to squeeze past. He is also a good backwards skater, which helps him tremendously while defending the blue line, and allows him to stay in control even against speedier forwards.

Lundmark’s strong stickwork is not limited to preventing zone entries. It is good all around the defensive zone; he has good reach, works well to cut off passing lanes, to make poke-checks and to dictate where the opponents can skate.

Where Lundmark most needs to grow as a defender is on the physical side of things — board battles, in front of the net, etc. Even with a big-time size advantage, Lundmark’s competitiveness and determination were such that smaller players in the SuperElit were able to win most of their puck battles against him.

Lundmark also has to work a bit on his first steps, as they hinder him from keeping up with quick forwards.

Outlook

Moving forward, Lundmark will continue to play for Linköping HC in the SHL — his contract with them expires in 2021. Lundmark will most likely benefit by staying in Sweden for another two or three years, to get time to transition his game from junior to senior hockey and learn how to play to his strengths while minimalizing his mistakes with the puck and working on his weaknesses.

Lundmark shouldn’t be expected to become an offensively productive player in the NHL, but a solid defensive piece that can contribute in the offensive zone at times, while also having the ability to help his team start the transition game when it’s needed.

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