Lias Andersson is a Swedish forward who played with HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) this past season, scoring 9 goals and 10 assists in 42 regular season games. Despite the lack of gaudy numbers, his is drawing some very interesting comparisons and could end up being one of the steals of the 2017 NHL Draft.
Name: Lias Andersson
Position: C/LW
Date of birth: 13 October, 1998
Birthplace: Smogen, Sweden
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 198 lbs
NHL comparable: Henrik Zetterberg
ISS Hockey: #29
McKeen’s Hockey: #15
Future Considerations: #13
NHL CSS: #3 (European Skaters)
Here is what Future Considerations had to say about him back in 2016:
“A smart, mature, two-way center…good decision-making, leadership qualities and advanced understanding of the game…a true three-zone player…defensively responsible…will drop to block shots or get his body in passing lanes…dangerous forechecker who reads the defense and uses an active stick to disrupt…covers up the ice for his teammates on the backcheck and always gives an honest effort…doesn't commit a lot of mistakes and plays a very calm game while in puck possession…has solid offensive instincts…protects the puck very well and uses all of his frame to hold opponents off the puck…possesses a nice, quick shot release…not a flashy puck handler, but can carry it up ice and distributes it well…goes to the net and plays in traffic…has solid vision and the ability to set up his linemates…has good balance and generates healthy amounts of speed…a potential two-way guy in the Zetterberg mold.