Prospect Update: Albin Sundsvik

By Thomas Harrington

Anaheim’s sixth round pick from 2020, forward Albin Sundsvik, played in the SHL for the fifth straight season.

Sundsvik played in a career-high 52 games for Skelleftea AIK and scored three goals and 11 points last season. His eight assists were tied for his career high and his 11 points were the second-most of his career; he recorded 14 in the 2020-2021 season. Sundsvik appeared in a career-high 17 playoff games and scored three goals.

I had two expectations for Sundsvik coming into this past season. First, his point totals had fallen from 14 to nine over the previous two seasons. I wanted him to increase his point total and at least match what he did in the 2020-2021 season. While he did increase his point total to 11, he didn’t hit the 14 point mark, so he partially hit this expectation. Second, I wanted him to average more than the 12:40 of ice time that he had in the 2021-2022 season. Unfortunately, his average dropped by 12 seconds. So he essentially averaged the same amount of ice time as the previous season. While it’s good that his time on ice didn’t decrease in any significant way, it’s also disappointing that it did not increase.

This coming season, Sundsvik will be back in the SHL but on a different team. He left Skelleftea AIK for Rogle BK. Rogle has been one of the better teams in the SHL in recent seasons, and he’s looking forward to that challenge. They are also known as a good development team, another reason why he decided to switch.

Sundsvik has never put up big offensive numbers, but hopefully he is able to get a few more opportunities with his new team. My first expectation for him will be to match the 14 points that he had in the 2020-2021 season. My second expectation for him is to play in every game for his new team.

Sundsvik is still a number of years away from making it to the NHL, if he makes it. Sixth rounders rarely do, though Nikita Nesterenko, whom Anaheim acquired from the Minnesota Wild, was a sixth round pick, so it can happen. Hopefully he can follow Nesterenko’s path and make the NHL someday. For now, he’s got another year in the SHL ahead of him, and if he comes to North America after that, he’ll probably spend at least a season in San Diego before he has a chance to be called up to Anaheim. So the earliest we could see Sundsvik in a Ducks uniform likely isn’t until the 2025-2026 season, and that’s only if he needs one season in the AHL before being ready for the NHL.

Sundsvik is currently unsigned. Anaheim holds his rights until June 2024, so they have less than a year to sign him. Given that his new deal with Rogle is for two years, it does feel unlikely that he signs with the Ducks before the deadline next summer, but it could still happen. If he has a truly great season with his new team in the SHL, then there’s a chance that the Ducks could try to sign Sundsvik. However, if struggles this coming season, the Ducks will probably let his rights expire.

The next prospect update will be on forward Benoit-Olivier Groulx.

Related Articles:

Prospect Update: Gage Alexander

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Prospect Update: Michael Callow

Prospect Update: Connor Hvidston

Prospect Update: Lukas Dostal

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September 8th, 2023