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Post-Draft Prospect Profiles: Tobias Björnfot No. 22 to the Los Angeles Kings

Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports © Bildbyrån
NHL Entry Draft 2019
2019-06-26, 21:30
Christoffer Hedlund
Contributor - Dir. of European Scouting
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The scouting community had their eyes on Tobias Björnfot for a good long while leading into the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Björnfot earned ‘Best Defenceman’ honours in 2016 playing in the TV-Pucken Tournament as a 15-year-old, and then topped that with an MVP award when Djurgården won the Under-16 Championship in that same season. Not only did Björnfot score more goals than any other defenceman in the tournament; he also led all blueliners in points.

In the following season, Björnfot graduated to Djurgården’s J20 team in the SuperElit and made a solid first impression with 22 points in 42 games as a rookie. Björnfot then travelled back down to Djurgården’s J18 team to play a crucial role in their run to a Gold Medal. As if that wasn’t enough, Björnfot finished the year on Sweden’s U18 World Championships roster as one of only three players with a 2001 birth year.

It was well-earned attention for Björnfot. There’s no disputing that much. And in that spotlight, Björnfot has done nothing but reinforce his case as one of Sweden’s best defensive prospects for this year’s Draft. Björnfot played with an ‘A’ on his chest for Djurgården J20 and rightfully won the ‘Best Defenceman’ award at season’s end. At this year’s U18s, Björnfot wore the ‘C’ and helped lead Sweden to their first gold medal in the tournament’s history.

And another thing! Björnfot went on to play for Djurgården IF in the SHL, taking shifts in the regular and post-season alike. That’s a sign that always augurs well for one’s future in the NHL.

Scouting Report

Björnfot might not be as flashy as some of the other top-rated Swedish defensemen for this year’s Draft, but there are still plenty of things to like about his game. In fact, I’d argue the simplicity of his game is almost a strength unto itself.

To Björnfot’s credit, he’s a strong, powerful skater with a good initial burst that allows him to gather speed quickly. Björnfot’s strides are long and fluid, and he maintains an upright posture throughout. Another of his strengths as a skater is the ability to change tempos, going from overwhelming power to something a little more elegant when the moment calls for it.

Björnfot isn’t as fast as some of the other puck-moving defencemen at the top of the Draft, but he gets around well enough to move the puck from coast-to-coast as a puck-carrier.

Björnfot has a lot of interesting offensive tools to his disposal; he is an above average passer in the offensive zone and while his vision isn’t elite, it is still a competent enough to spot more than obvious passing lanes in the offensive zone. He can use his mobility to laterally move the puck along the blue line or into the offensive zone to open up his opponent’s defensive structure and if he spots an opportunity to set up a teammate, he is capable of making a good play with the puck to take advantage of the situation. When there are no passing lanes to be found Björnfot stays patient with the puck and rarely rushes a decision just for the sake of making one, from that point he can make a creative play, like faking a shot or a shooting for a deflection to surprise his opponents, if it is needed.

Even though Björnfot isn’t an offensive defenceman, his playstyle allows him to anticipate openings, create odd-man rushes or join the attack in the second-wave when it’s safe. In the actual offensive zone itself, Björnfot tends to be a bit riskier, particularly without the puck as he penetrates deep into the offensive zone looking to receive a pass and do damage.

Björnfot has good puck skills, decent hands and he rarely makes major mistakes while handling the puck. The way Björnfot displays those puck skills isn’t with overly flashy dekes — the type that leads to those critical errors. It has more to do with his ability to shield the puck from opposing players.

In scoring situations, Björnfot owes to a diverse set of tools that offer him the ability to beat a goaltender many different ways. There’s a surprisingly good backhand in Björnfot’s arsenal of shots, and the quick release on his wrist shot gives him the ability to generate good velocity on his wrister. Björnfot uses his wrist shot most often from the point, often finding a way to get it through traffic in a pinch.

In his own zone Björnfot is as good as it gets with the puck at this age; he plays a very mature game, he rarely, if ever, gets stressed and his decision making is top notch. Even while under heavy pressure Björnfot stays calm, composed and utilizes either a teammate or the boards to solve the problem at hand and he never throws the problem to his defensive partner just to save himself. He has a strong and accurate first pass to start the transition and he can quickly recognize a chance to turn the play, even while getting forechecked by an opposing player.

Björnfot’s defensive game has improved a lot as last season progressed. Earlier on, he could struggle with positioning, but he’s clearly learned from the mistakes he makes and now his positional play is well above average. Much of his defensive work revolves around his defensive hockey sense and his mobility. He has good gap control, often stays in full command of the situation while defending the blue line and uses his skating to force opponents that try to beat him on the outside towards the boards before he pins them up against it to get a stoppage in the attack.

Björnfot is very active in the way he attacks or challenges the puck-holder and will quickly get close to the puck holder to put pressure and to cut angles. He reads the game very well and can anticipate and intercept passes with his stick to create turnovers in the defensive zone. One part that he could improve is that he can be a bit slow to recover rebounds around the crease, but overall Björnfot’s defensive game is very strong for his age and has very few weaknesses.

A very important aspect of Björnfot’s game is his qualities as a leader. He leads by example and often steps up when his team needs someone to do so, whether it is by shutting down the opposition’s best line, blocking a shot or through individual performances in the offensive zone to score a goal — Björnfot usually finds a way to be the one to step up. He is mentally strong and the rare times he makes a mistake he does not let it get to him and instead steps up to play better and prevent the same thing from happening again. Björnfot also has the ability to completely take over a shift, or consecutive shifts, where he is completely dominant all over the ice, it does not happen every game but when it does, he seems to be playing at a level above everyone else on the ice.

Outlook

While Björnfot was named the best defender of J20 SuperElit last season, it’s my belief that he’d most likely benefit from playing some more junior hockey moving forward, to further polish his offensive game and to gain more confidence in his offensive abilities.

During the 2019-20 season, Björnfot will most likely play both in the SHL and J20 SuperElit. He has signed a contract with Djurgårdens IF that will expire in 2021. Until then, he will most likely see quite a bit of ice-time in the SHL and when the contract expires it seems like a good point for Björnfot to look to make the jump to North America and fight for a spot on the Kings roster. In the near-future, Björnfot will play for Team Sweden at the World Junior Hockey Championship Summer Showcase tournament held in Plymouth, USA, in July/August.

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