With the international break in Europe for for all levels of national teams coming up this weekend, it was a light week for our European prospects, as they had few opportunities to get games in for their respective leagues, and in the Champions Hockey League.
Joonas Nättinen, JYP
With a goal and assist, Nättinen really showed that he was back to full health, and leading the team as the captain should.
It is clear that Nättinen’s leadership has been missed as the team seems to have steadied itself again from a rocky period. An overtime loss and a regulation time win makes sure that Jyväskylä doesn’t sink closer to the relegation zone.
Lukas Vejdemo, Djurgården HC
Vejdemo finally picked up another point, an assist on even-strength play. He passed the puck back to Ljung, who scored from the point. Vejdemo’s presence and vision in in the slot really stands out in this sequence, and probably shows why he was drafted.
He has great skating technique as well, but can’t really use it in the games to the same degree as he could in the juniors. Hopefully this point will result in a confidence boost.
Magnus Nygren, Färjestad BK
The skipper will be in the Swedish team facing Russia, Czech Republic and Finland in the men’s international tournament this week. It’s something I assume he will feel good about, as Färjestad took a beating by the hands of Växjö in the first game this week, a 5-1 loss where the Swedish champions finally showed up and proved it wasn’t a fluke they won the championship in April. Nygren was -3 on the night and didn’t look happy with it after.
Artturi Lehkonen, Frölunda HC
Lehkonen was supposed to be on the second line with Frigren and Janmark, but when Janmark ended up taking a roster spot with the Dallas Stars, Lehkonen he was demoted to the fourth line with no clear line mates.
Lehkonen and Frigren provides a dynamic duo, but there hasn’t been a third man that has gelled with them yet. When Lehkonen plays on the wing he ends up higher up on the ice, but if he’s playing down the middle it he’s mostly focused on defensive responsibilities.
The first power play unit really takes up the majority of the allotted two minutes, so the second power play unit with Lehkonen doesn’t get much time.
I am sure it can be worth it in the end as Frölunda looks like the early favorite for a deep play off run, but as a Lehkonen fan it is a bit frustrating.
Still, he is producing 0.7 PPG, so imagine what he could do with more opportunities. He is also playing all over the ice, and really shows his skill in the defensive zone as well. Neither of the goals he was on the ice for this week were his fault.
Martin Réway, Sparta Prague
Lots can be said about the situation, but one thing is clear, Martin Reway wants to play; he was the first to arrive at the Slovakian national team meeting, two and a half hours before anyone else!
What we do know is from sources in Slovakia that the Sparta GM Petr Birza and Slovan GM Maros Krajci met in Prague regarding Reway on Friday.
It seems that Sparta does want a player in return, and this could be a big problem as I would imagine not many players would want to move form KHL to Extraliga in the middle of the season. It might be the one thing that can really break this deal.
