Prospects Watch
Sniper Axelsson quietly heating up in Sweden ...

By Matthew Wuest - www.RedWingsCentral.com
February 12, 2007

There is perhaps no prospect in the Detroit Red Wings’ system with more goal-scoring potential than Dick Axelsson.

From his goofy nickname — Hat-Trick Dick — to his developing knack for finding the back of the net, the 19-year-old left-winger is an intriguing prospect who is starting to heat up in Sweden’s second-tier league.

Axelsson has 13 goals and eight assists for 21 points in 22 games with Huddinge, despite missing the first two months because of a contract dispute. Seven of his goals have come on the power play for last-place Huddinge, which is 6-26-7 and has just 87 goals in 39 games (2.2 per contest).

“He’s a natural scorer,” said Red Wings director of European scouting Hakan Andersson. “He has a great feel inside the blue line — score, pass ... whatever. Put him with a good center — he can be a real finisher.”

Axelsson signed a summer tryout deal with Djurgarden of the Swedish Elite League while still under contract with Huddinge. When the tryout went better than anyone expected, the contract dispute arose.

“Djurgardens thought they were going to send him back, but after two exhibition games, the coach (Hans Sarkijarvi) said, ‘I realize this kid is much better than I thought — I want to keep him,’” Andersson explained.

Huddinge kicked up a fuss and a nasty legal battle ensued.

“Finally, Djurgardens stepped in and said, ‘It’s more important for the kid to play than for us to argue — go play for your home team,’” Andersson said.

Axelsson was actually eligible for the 2005 NHL entry draft but wasn’t selected. The Red Wings drafted him last summer in the second round (62nd overall) out of Sweden’s rarely-scouted third-tier league. They previously uncovered Jonathan Ericsson and Johan Ryno in the same league.

The 6-foot-2, 198-pound Axelsson grabs plenty of attention for his penalty-minute totals. He had 157 minutes in 28 games last season and he’s already accumulated 101 in 22 games this season. He’s competitive and involved, but the Red Wings aren’t touting him as a physical force.

“In Sweden, you never see anybody hit, to tell you the truth,” said one scout who has watched him closely. “He just competes hard.”

Axelsson missed the world junior championship in Sweden because of a knee injury, but he’s been adding strength to his slim frame and is expected to join Djurgardens in the Swedish Elite League next season.

“He’s going to play in the elite league for sure next season and I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes a real point-producer,” Andersson said. “He’s got that potential in him. We have high hopes for him.”

HOT: Goaltender Jimmy Howard (Grand Rapids, American Hockey League) returned from an ankle injury this week and posted back-to-back victories, including a shutout. He stopped 63 of 66 shots and was called up to Detroit on Sunday ... Forward Darryl Bootland (Grand Rapids, AHL) hasn’t had a great season, but he’s on fire lately with four goals and three assists in four games ... Forward Jan Mursak (Saginaw, Ontario Hockey League) has picked up his game after a brief lull. He has three goals and four assists in four games.

COLD: Defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (Grand Rapids, AHL) has cooled somewhat after an amazing start. He has two assists and is a minus-4 in his last nine games. He has also sat out the past few games with an injury ... Defenseman Nils Backstrom (Alaska-Anchorage, NCAA) has gone without a point in his last seven games.

NOTES: Defenseman Sergei Kolosov (Cedar Rapids, United States Hockey League) billets with RoughRiders head coach Mark Carlson, according to kcrg.com ... Defenseman Kyle Quincey (Grand Rapids, AHL) has been sitting out with a shoulder injury recently.

The following is this season’s statistical report to date:

NAME TEAM LEAGUE GP G A PTS PIM

A H L
Matt Ellis Grand Rapids AHL 47 16 18 34 36
Darryl Bootland Grand Rapids AHL 46 16 10 26 152
Jonathan Ericsson Grand Rapids AHL 45 4 19 23 72
Eric Himelfarb Grand Rapids AHL 41 9 10 19 28
Derek Meech Grand Rapids AHL 47 2 13 15 32
Ryan Oulahen Grand Rapids AHL 49 7 7 14 30
Kyle Quincey Grand Rapids AHL 39 2 11 13 84
Evan McGrath Grand Rapids AHL 34 3 3 6 23

E C H L
Evan McGrath Toledo ECHL 9 6 9 15 12

R U S S I A
Igor Grigorenko Togliatti RUS 40 10 10 20 69
Alexander Seluyanov Magnitogorsk RUS 45 3 7 10 74
Gennady Stolyarov Moscow Dyn. RUS 29 5 3 8 37
Evgeni Bumagin Togliatti RUS 24 1 3 4 8
Pavel Agarkov Klin RUS-2 14 9 6 16 16
Andrei Maximenko Klin RUS-2 43 13 2 15 22

F I N L A N D
Andreas Sundin Jukurit FIN-2 45 21 20 41 33
Juho Mielonen Ilves Tampere FIN-J20 6 2 4 6 22

S W E D E N
Miroslav Blatak Mora SWE 45 4 14 18 30
Mikael Johansson Farjestad SWE 48 5 7 12 34
Johan Ryno Timra SWE 33 5 6 11 22
Anton Axelsson Frolunda SWE 44 4 3 7 14
Christofer Lofberg Djurgarden SWE 34 0 4 4 6
Tomas Kollar Sodertalje SWE-2 28 12 10 22 48
Dick Axelsson Huddinge SWE-2 23 13 8 21 101
Johan Ryno AIK SWE-2 14 2 7 9 14
Mattias Ritola Leksands SWE-2 26 2 4 6 6
Christofer Lofberg Huddinge SWE-2 12 2 1 3 14
Mattias Ritola Leksands SWE-J20 12 5 7 12 16
Anton Axelsson Frolunda SWE-J20 2 4 2 6 4
Christofer Lofberg Djurgarden SWE-J20 3 2 0 2 2
Johan Ryno Frolunda SWE-J20 2 1 0 1 2
Stefan Blom Arlanda SWE-3 21 4 4 8 20
Mattias Ritola Borlange SWE-3 5 2 3 5 12

C H L
Jan Mursak Saginaw OHL 48 21 46 67 38
Cory Emmerton Kingston OHL 35 24 34 58 20
Darren Helm Medicine Hat WHL 49 21 36 57 49
Shawn Matthias Belleville OHL 53 32 25 57 53
Logan Pyett Regina WHL 55 11 39 50 80
Jakub Kindl Kitchener OHL 41 7 36 43 90
Jeff May Prince Albert WHL 55 8 29 37 78
Bretton Stamler Seattle WHL 57 7 15 22 131

N C A A
Justin Abdelkader Michigan State NCAA 25 11 11 22 64
Nils Backstrom Alaska-Anch. NCAA 26 1 7 8 34

U S H L
Nick Oslund Tri-City USHL 34 4 11 15 8
Sergei Kolosov Cedar Rapids USHL 37 1 8 9 60

The following is this season's statistical report for goaltenders to date:

NAME TEAM LEAGUE GP W-L-O GAA SPCT
Stefan Liv Toledo ECHL 3 1-1-1 2.29 .936
Daniel Larsson Djurgardens SWE 23 -- 2.53 .911
Jimmy Howard Grand Rapids AHL 30 14-12-1 2.79 .907
Logan Koopmans Toledo ECHL 13 9-4-0 2.81 .913
Stefan Liv Grand Rapids AHL 21 9-10-1 3.07 .894

LEAGUE LEGEND: AHL -- American Hockey League; ECHL -- East Coast Hockey League; RUS -- Russian Elite League; RUS-2 -- Russian second level; FIN -- Finnish Elite League; FIN-J20 -- Finnish under-20 junior league; SWE -- Swedish Elite League; SWE-2 -- Swedish second level; SWE-3 -- Swedish third level; SWE-J20 -- Swedish under-20 junior league; OHL -- Ontario Hockey League; WHL -- Western Hockey League; NCAA -- National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1; USHL -- United States Hockey League.