Prospect Update: Albin Sundsvik
By Thomas Harrington
A sixth round pick from 2020, Albin Sundsvik spent the past season playing in the SHL and internationally for Sweden. He’s one of the few Anaheim prospects who was able to play a significant number of games this past season.
Before being drafted, Sundsvik had split time between the SHL and the J20SuperElit, but was able to stay in the SHL for the entirety of last season. Overall, he played in 45 games for Skelleftea AIK and scored six goals and 14 points, a nice bump in production from scoring three goals and four points in 38 games the year before in the SHL. He was tied for ninth on the team in goals and was 11th in points.
Sundsvik also had a bit of a hot streak at the end of January and beginning of February, as he had three goals in a four game span and three multi-point games in a six game span. He’s more a checking center than a scoring one, so it’s nice to see the bump in his production.
Sundsvik also played for Team Sweden at the World Junior Tournament, scoring one goal and three points in five games. For a player primarily known for his defensive play, that was pretty good offensive production from him. Sweden didn’t have a great tournament, and they were without their top two centers. With them sidelined, Sundsvik was elevated in the lineup and saw some time on the team’s top line. This was his only World Junior Tournament, as he will be too old to compete in the tournament next year.
Sundsvik will return to the SHL next season in what may be his final season of hockey before coming to North America. My expectations for him are simple: to continue to play solid defensive hockey, while once again increasing his offensive output.
Sundsvik is a number of years from having a shot at the NHL. He’s got at least another year in Europe, and then if he does come stateside, he’ll spend some time in San Diego. So I think it could be anywhere from three to five years before he has a chance at making Anaheim’s roster. He may get a taste of the NHL sooner than that, but I think it will be that long before he’s in the NHL on a full time basis.
Sundsvik is currently unsigned. When the Ducks do sign him, it will be to a standard entry-level deal. However, if he doesn’t progress as hoped in the SHL, the Ducks could opt not to sign him and let his rights expire, letting Sundsvik become a free agent. However, Anaheim owns his rights until June 2024, so they have time to watch and let Sundsvik develop before that happens.
The next prospect update will be on Thimo Nickl.
Related Articles:
Prospect Update: Matt Berkovitz
Prospect Update: Sam Colangelo
Prospect Update: Bryce Kindopp
Prospect Update: Olle Eriksson Ek
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September 7th, 2021