In 2021, Frölunda youngster Liam Dower Nilsson was 81st on the consensus draft board our deputy editor Jared Book puts together during every pre-draft process. Eventually, Liam ended up falling to the fifth round and selection 134 where he was scooped up by none other than notorious ABBA and IKEA lover Steve Yzerman and his Detroit Red Wings.
In the two years following that draft, Liam has struggled to make a name for himself at the SHL level. After making his debut in 2020-21, he has only managed one single goal and five total points in 37 played games. A few weeks ago, we got the news that starting this autumn, he will instead feature for sleeping giant Björklöven in the Swedish second tier, HockeyAllsvenskan.
This year, Liam’s younger brother, Noah, enters the draft. Currently listed at 51st place on our consensus board, chances are that the younger Dower Nilsson becomes the highest drafted member of the family.
Birthplace: Strömstad, Sweden
Date of birth: April 25, 2005
Shoots: Left
Position: Centre
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 183 lbs.
Team: Frölunda HC J20 (J20 Nationell)
Noah played an excellent game with Frölunda’s oldest Junior team this year. His 26 goals and 54 total points led the team and kept him among the league leaders.
As demonstrated by those stats, Dower Nilsson is an offensively gifted player. He can produce points both through his impressive shot, and through his sneaky, savvy playmaking ability.
Against his own age group, he can dominate games through sheer willpower and spatial awareness. Passes are delivered on a dime, and when opponents cut in to take away the passing lanes, Dower Nilsson turns into the sharpshooter himself, finishing off chances without hesitation.
He plays his game in a smart and tactical way, producing with efficiency and reading the ice better than almost any player in the Swedish J20 Elit. He is, however, not the fastest player when it comes to pure foot speed.
It is possible that this can be improved with the right training, but as of now, young Noah remains one of those highly skilful Junior players whose potential at the next level has a somewhat wide margin, due to the lack of a high-end skating pace.
Preliminary Rankings
Dobber Prospects: #58
Elite Prospects: #64
FCHockey: #75
Hockey Prospect: #30
Hadi Kalakeche: N/R in Top 75
McKeen’s: #75
Bob McKenzie (TSN): #48
NHL Central Scouting: #17 (European Skaters)
Corey Pronman (The Athletic): #106
Scott Wheeler (The Athletic): #43
As the season wore on, he saw himself slide further and further down many draft boards. Perhaps due to his lack of first-team action? Seen by many as a first-round talent early on in the season, the scouting outlets now seem fairly set on Dower Nilsson being available for the taking once we kick off the second day of drafting. If he takes the necessary steps during this summer’s pre-season, using a second-rounder on him could turn into a potentially high reward.
Just like every good Swedish team, there are always holes to fill on the roster when NHL franchises poach on SHL talent in every post-season. Some of those created roster spots are filled by incoming, proven talent, like John Klingberg’s brother Carl. Others have to be filled by young emerging talent from the team’s own youth academy. Dower Nilsson should be well-positioned for one of those spots, as the main producer on a quality Junior team in 2022-23.
Frölunda continues to churn out high-quality talent year in and year out. In the last 15 drafts, 47 players have been drafted out of the Gothenburgian talent program.
Among the 47, we see everything from NHL stars Erik Karlsson, Rasmus Dahlin, and Lucas Raymond to former Montreal Canadiens hopefuls William Lagesson, Joni Ikonen, and Sebastian Collberg.
Since Stevie Y took charge of his beloved Red Wings back in 2019, Detroit have been responsible for selecting six players out of Frölunda. This means that out of the 10 players chosen from this Swedish side since that year, 60% have received a ticket to Motown post-draft. With this in mind, odds will be good that Detroit decides to reconnect the two Dower Nilsson brothers using one of their three second-rounders this year.
In 2019-20, Theodor Niederbach dominated for the Frölunda J20 team, registering over a point per game, without ever getting a chance in the SHL side. Three years later, he has already moved clubs twice, failing to make an impact at Rögle, before moving down to HockeyAllsvenskan with MoDo.
This summer will be huge in determining whether he will emerge at the SHL level, like an Elmer Söderblom, or if he will have to take one of the more winding roads to reach the top, like Niederbach, or like his own older brother.
Patrik Bexell
