The year started out quite well for Filip Eriksson on a team that would become LeMat trophy winners at the end of the season. He scored a goal in the pre-season games and received good minutes in the first two regular games of the season. Then, disaster struck. Eriksson got injured in an SHL game and broke a metacarpal in his hand as he struck the boards hard. He was away for almost six months, leaving a gap in his development, and his exposure before the draft was limited.
He returned to Växjö’s SHL team just before the playoffs, and he is considered a Swedish champion after playing a grand total of two minutes in the playoffs.
Birthplace: Ljungby, Sweden
Date of birth: November 5, 2004
Shoots: Left
Position: Centre
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 172 lbs.
Team: Växjö Lakers (SHL)
He has good vision, good hockey IQ, and a good understanding of the game overall. He was always a small player on his teams growing up, and had to rely on smarts and speed to play the game.
In a sign of maturity, he chose to stay with his local team for an extra year, which was important for his development. During that year he really stood out, as Troja-Ljungby outperformed expectations in both age groups where Eriksson was present – the U18s and U20s – during the 2021-22 season. Over the last year he has grown, but it means that he now is more of a lanky player rather than a small one, and he will still need to fill out over the next season.
Eriksson is a natural centre, but he could be moved to the wing for his first real season in the SHL. It is at centre that he finds the balance between creativity and effectiveness with ease, and once he gets everything else in order the development can go quickly.
Where Eriksson needs to improve is in the physical attributes, and one could argue that he is half a year behind due to the hand injury. His skating foundation is good, and once he has filled out he should benefit from both the added weight and height. One would think it would be the same way with his shot, as there will be new movement and a new mass to work with.
The positive thing is that Växjö is a deep team, especially at centre, and getting even close to the SHL is good in that regard. In the limited action in the U20 league, Eriksson was a point-per-game player.
The fact that Växjö has decided to sign him to a rookie contract even if he hasn’t played the customary 100 minutes of SHL hockey speaks to the faith they have in him as a player. In an interview posted on the team’s own website, general manager Henrik Evertsson explains the decision.
“We saw Filip during pre-season games with our SHL team, and we are convinced that he has a big hockey future ahead of him. It is rare to see such a young player have that understanding of the game at that age.” The rookie contract is signed until the end of the 2024-25 season.
It is clear that the Lakers organization considers Eriksson part of their SHL team for next season. He will start fighting for the 12th jersey, but Champions Hockey League action to start the year means that he should get early opportunities with the Lakers at a high level.
In the end, he would follow a similar path to Victor Stjernborg, a Chicago prospect, who has had the time to mature in the system and hasn’t been rushed, but rather developed and been given a chance to grow with the experience and expectations.
Overall this is a safe pick from the Canadiens. There is clear upside in the pick and he seems pretty sure to reach an SHL level. The question is how far he can go from there.
When Eriksson signed his new SHL contract in March he said it was a dream come true. Another dream came true during the last minutes of this year’s draft.
