Anton Karlsson: Arizona’s Other WJC Representative
Anton Karlsson is someone to watch for Coyotes fans
So, for those of you who don’t follow me that closely, I’ve been fangirling like crazy over Max Domi for the last few weeks.
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He’s set to lead Team Canada in this winter’s World Junior Championship — although he doesn’t wear a captain’s letter, Domi has been one of Team Canada’s most consistent producers leading up to the start of the tournament. He averages around 2.18 PPG in the OHL as captain of the London Knights, and that has seamlessly translated to high point production on a top line with Sam Reinhart and Anthony Duclair in Connor McDavid’s brief absence from Canada’s lineup.
While going through the finalized rosters, though, I came across a player who might be as much fun to watch as Domi — and, if you’re a physical play kind of fan, might be even more fun.
That’s Anton Karlsson.
Of no relation to Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators (but the younger brother of Erik Karlsson of the Carolina Hurricanes, just so we all stay confused from here on out), Anton Karlsson was drafted 87th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in this last NHL Entry draft. He’s currently skating around in Europe, playing with Frolunda in Sweden’s monstrous hockey development system.
While he may never be the kind of point producer that Domi is, though, he was considered to be a lock for Team Sweden at these particular WJC — something that was news to me, since I don’t really follow Swedish hockey. Maybe I should, actually.
Anyways.
One of the biggest concerns surrounding Domi’s bff in Portland, Henrik Samuelsson, has been his skating ability — unsurprising for such a big skater.
At 6-foot-1 and 194lbs, though, Karlsson has made it clear to all watching that he has no issues with his skating ability or speed — and to top it all off, he really likes to hit people.
I’m not kidding: this is a literal quote from Hockey’s Future, where they rank Karlsson fourth on the list of the top 5 biggest hitters we should expect to see in the NHL soon.
"Anton Karlsson loves to hit people. He’ll hit anything that moves. It’s not that out of the ordinary to see a shift where he racks two, three, even four hits; it’s like he’s playing NHL ’15 in real life."
Karlsson is projected to be a fifteen-goal scorer in coming seasons, which isn’t all that high… and he’s a little known for being so eager to behave ‘like a crash-test dummy’ that he tends to get out of position on plays. He’s only seventeen, though… and if Team Sweden thinks he’s good enough to make their stacked IIHF WJC roster, then he’s clearly got some promise.
Team Sweden is considered a favorite to medal at the games this winter, so expect to get a good long glimpse at Karlsson as we head into the new year. He plays a pretty strong North American style of game, so prospect analysts consider him a lock to make the Coyotes roster sooner rather than later.
Did I mention he’s only seventeen?
He’s projected to play a more refined role in the NHL than Nick Ritchie or Nikita Zadorov, so Coyotes fans can be excited that this isn’t just another B.J. Crombeen waiting to work his way up into the lineup. Patience might be the recipe with this one — but with smaller guys like Joe Vitale, Max Domi, Tobias Rieder, and Lucas Lessio looking to play strong roles in the coming seasons, Karlsson might become a household name sooner than we think.
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