Tobias Björnfot is designated an 'A' level player to watch by NHL Central Scouting. Jimmy Hamrin agrees and sees him as a 'being a late first round pick at this point'. He explains in a detailed report below.
A note on the 20-80 scale used below. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity
| Tobias Björnfot | 2019 NHL Draft Eligible |
|---|---|
| Position: D, Shoots L | H/W: 6-0", 187 lbs |
| Stats to date (GP-G-A-PTS-PIMS) | Djurgården, SHL (1-0-0-0-0) |
| Djurgården J20, SuperElit (17-3-4-7-8) |
CHELYABINSK, RUSSIA - APRIL 29: Sweden's Tobias Bjornfot #4 carries the puck while followed by Czech Republic's Michal Kvasnica #19 during bronze medal game action at the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship. (Photo by Andrea Cardin/HHOF-IIHF Images)
Skating: Strong skater. Moves smoothly and well in all directions. He is fast over both short and long distances. He has good skating technique, he is “sat” with lower body strength and glides well. He has long strides but when he accelerates his stride is a bit shorter. He has good top speed and is hard to beat with speed. Bjornfot can travel with the puck due to his skating as well. Grade: 60
Shot: Bjornfot has a good wrist shot. He shoots both hard and with a quick release. He can shoot through traffic. He is an okay goal scorer for a defenseman. He scored on 8% of his shots in his first season in SuperElit and is at that level again early this season. That is a strong number from the blueline. He rarely uses his slap shot effectively. Grade: 55
Skills: He has good control of the puck. It sits well on his stick and he is a good passer. His fail percentage is probably low based on what I have seen. He can deke through someone as well as to use a simple play. Across the blueline he moves well with his skates but also with good puck control. Grade: 55
Smarts: Bjornfot plays a two-way game and he is strong at both ends of the ice. He is poised and has leadership qualities. He has also shown good ability to adapt to a new stage. He has played one SHL game (with probably the most stacked team in the league this season) and during that game his performance really grew from shift to shift. He can quickly learn from his mistakes and adapt as needed. Bjornfot is most often on the right side of the puck and with his skating he is effective in shutting down the game or to at least slowing it down for the opposing attack. He reads situations well and rarely makes mistakes. He is a low-risk player in that regard and finds a way to perform under pressure. Grade: 60
Physicality: He is steady built with average size. He has good balance and can play physical when he needs to. He is strong along the boards and can handle pressure in front of the net as well. Grade: 55
Summary: A mobile two-way defenseman with top four potential. He does not have the high-end skillset to become a first pair defenseman but his smarts and stability make him a good top 4 or top 6 defenseman. Even though he does not have big point producing offensive potential he has good offensive elements. He is a strong passer, a good puck carrier and possesses a dangerous wrist shot. Tobias Bjornfot plays for one of the best teams in the SHL and will have a tough time cracking the lineup this season but the game he played – he played well, so I would bet he will see more SHL games as the season progresses. For the draft, I see him being a late first round pick at this point. His overall game and the lack of any significant hole in his game should make him attractive for the draft. He is a good bet to make the NHL.Overall Future Projection (OFP): 57.75