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2023 NHL Draft prospect profile: Oscar Fisker Mølgaard turns defence to offence

Not facing much of a challenge in the Danish Junior leagues in his early teens, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard moved to Sweden as a 16-year-old to join Jönköping’s HV71 system. Even the Swedish under-18 level wasn’t testing his abilities enough, so he moved up to the under-20 level in short order.

In the 2022-23 season, not even that league could come up with a fitting trial for his skill set. He was producing above a point per game versus players who hadn’t matured at his rate. After posting 17 points in the first 12 games, he was brought into the professional team for his first taste of SHL action.

He alternated between the top club and the under-20 squad over the next few weeks, leaving in mid-December to help his country in the IIHF’s Division IA World Juniors. Upon his return to Sweden, the yoyoing between levels came to an end as he saw regular SHL time for the rest of the year. In the end he played 41 games at the top level versus 21 with the under-20 squad.

Birthplace: Denmark
Date of birth: February 18, 2005
Shoots: Left
Position: Centre
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 163 lbs.
Team: HV71 (SHL)

As you would expect, he finally bumped up against some resistance in one of the top leagues of the world, with just seven points in those 41 games. He added just one goal and two assists to his tally in that lengthy 24-game stretch to end the year, and toward the end his ice time, which had been in the 12- to 15-minute range for much of year, began to dwindle as the grind of a season started to catch up to him.

He finished with some playoff games with the U20s and even at the under-18 level he hadn’t seen all year. The offence was still available to him at those lower levels, scoring three goals in five post-season games.

There was one more item on his itinerary with the season complete in Sweden. At the end of April he joined his compatriots for the World Under-18 Championship in Angers, France. He factored in on 12 of the 26 goals Denmark scored to be named best forward of the tournament, but a loss to Japan on the opening day ultimately proved his team’s downfall. It missed out on promotion to the Top Division by one point, despite defeating the team that earned that spot, Kazakhstan, by an 8-3 score in the round robin.

There is clearly some offensive talent to work with based on his play versus those of a similar age, and even his seven points were the most by a U18 player in the SHL this year. But his greatest value comes in other aspects of the game.

He is very comfortable with possession of the puck, thanks to a combination of great skating ability and quick hands. He’s capable of manoeuvring from one end of the ice to the other with the puck on his stick, one of the most successful transition players in the class.

He doesn’t just wait for the puck to get to him before turning the play up ice. He’s relentless along the boards and in open ice to steal the puck from opponents, making the takeaways himself to begin counter-attacks. That work ethic is what helped him keep his place in the SHL in the second half of the year, and kept his goal differential positive despite the lack of personal production.

The most notable thing about his defensive style is how slight he is. He’s listed at just 163 pounds, but his dogged determination to win possession makes him seem much bigger than he is. His feet are always moving and his stick is always active versus larger players trying to shake his coverage.

For someone constantly poking and prodding offensive players, he hasn’t been called for many penalties, and perhaps his lack of size has been a benefit in that regard. As he physically matures over the next few years, those battles should only become more efficient, saving his energy for transition and offensive plays.

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The will to get into the contested areas also takes him to the front of the net in the offensive zone, so many of his puck touches come in high-danger areas. He doesn’t have the finishing ability to make the most of that proximity, more comparable to Marco Kasper than Lucas Raymond who showed similar expected-goal values in their draft seasons. With the rest of his skills at a professional level already, Mølgaard can afford to devote significant time to improving that part of his game.

Preliminary Rankings

Dobber Prospects: #26
Elite Prospects: #24
FCHockey: #38
Hockey Prospect: #43
Hadi Kalakeche: #26
McKeen’s: #81
Bob McKenzie (TSN): N/R in Top 80
NHL Central Scouting: #18 (European skaters)
Corey Pronman (The Athletic) #36
Scott Wheeler (The Athletic): N/R in Top 64

He projects to be a very effective bottom-six forward at worst, or a solid middle-six player in a complementary transition and defensive role for more skilled linemates. His understanding of defensive positioning and his success in battling opponents will make him a coach’s favourite for key end-0f-game situations and penalty-killing minutes.

He’s going to be a positive-impact player for his team, one who’s consistently on the ice for more goals for his team than against, but there are bound to be some fans of his NHL team that lament the lack of offensive production from all the quality looks he will receive if he doesn’t make improvements to his shot.

There is a lot of value in such a player, but teams often prefer to target offensive forwards or defencemen with their highest picks, so Mølgaard could be waiting until the second day of the draft to get selected. It shouldn’t take long for him to hear his name once Round 2 begins, and the club that picks him is bound to be very happy with the selection when he becomes a regular member of the NHL lineup.

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