Red Wings first round draft pick Simon Edvinsson engaged in a lengthy conversation with Hockeysverige.se’s Leo Buttafuoco Olsson today, and here’s a rough translation of their chat:
Edvinsson Grows in Frolunda: “There is no better place to be”
The great talent Simon Edvinsson is predicted to have a very bright future. This past summer, he was selected as the 6th player in the NHL draft, and already the 18-year-old has excelled in the SHL. With Froulnda, he will remain for the rest of the season, with only one goal in sight:
“We will have a Swedish championship gold,” he says to Hockeysverige.se.
Simon Edvinsson is one of Sweden’s greatest talents, which he has demonstrated during the start of the season with Frolunda.
This summer, the 18-year-old was selected as the 6th player in the NHL draft by the Detroit Red Wings, and the goal is to one day join the team, but first and foremost, his focus is on achieving success at home.
“It feels good and fun that it’s finally started. Glad that I got to play in front of an audience, and now the restrictions have been removed, so it will be a lot of fun to experienced a packed Scandinavium [stadium]. It’s positive and right now it feels really fun,” he says to Hockeysverige.se.
Before the season, Frolunda inked a contract with the experienced defenseman, Christian Folin. Folin and Edvinsson have played together during the beginning of the season, and they’ve found good chemistry.
“I mostly play with Folin, and his inputs during the game have made the game much easier. He has all the experience that you can hope for, almost, and it will be a help for me both defensively and offensively. Also (Kristofer) Naslund has helped me a lot, and it’s a conversation you have with all of these people, and they try to help me along the way. I pick up a lot of what they say and what suits me. It doesn’t have to be everything, but we come up with good things.”
What kind of input do you receive?
“It’s not really about big things, but mostly it’s small things that he comments to me on the ice about, that make the game easier for me. He’s very good defensively and it’s hardly possible to get past him. He helps me with everything, for example, the game at the edges of the rink, and everything. We both feel that we’ve found each other quite well defensively, and also regarding our passing game. He may have given me a little more freedom offensively and pushed me there, but we keep an even and good keel between us there.”
“It’s a promise”
A little more than a week ago, Edvinsson passed the 100-minute mark in terms of minutes played in the SHL, and he was then rewarded with a rookie contract. The contract covers two years and it was a dream come true for the young defenseman.
“It’s something you didn’t think would happen as a child, but it’s still been a goal and it’s extremely nice to finally be able to do it. Now I just have to keep challenging myself every day. I want to continue learning and there’s no better place to be than with Frolunda. There’s not much I want to change in terms of the way I feel right now.”
The contract extends over two years; how do you see it playing out?
“I’m staying with Frolunda this year. After this year, we’ll see what happens. I’ve started talking to them about it a bit, but nothing big yet. We’ll see what happens next year, simply put, but first, it’s about this year.”
In a senior context, Edvinsson has found the net once, and the goal came during his loan to Vasteras last year. In the SHL and with Frolunda, he hasn’t been able to break the deadlock, but it shouldn’t be long before that happens, he says.”
“There have been no goals, but they will come soon,” he says and laughs.
Is that a promise?
“I can say that. It’s a promise.
“First we will have SHL gold”
Despite the fact that the season has only just begun, and the focus right now is on Frolunda, the NHL and Detroit are of course already in Edvinsson’s thoughts.
“It actually feels extremely good. They’re a team under construction, and they already have many good and skilled hockey players. Then there are many Swedes as well, and a good management staff with Steve Yzerman as their GM, and I have a lot of contact with (Niklas) Kronwall. You get to learn new things every day, almost, and as often as you talk.”
What has Detroit said about your future and their expectations?
Everything depends on how well I do it, and now it’s up to me to prove how good I am to be part of this journey. It’s really up to me, and a lot of it is about what I do. They haven’t communicated any special expectations to me; they’ve said more that I should focus on myself and that I should try to get better every day. I shouldn’t take anything for granted, but all the tips and so on have really helped a lot, and I really do not have much to complain about right now,” he says, and adds:
“It’s a sickly good hockey team and the fans around the team should be incredible. I love it.”
How much contact do you have with Detroit?
“Kronwall and I probably talk at least once a week, and then we talk about both everything on and off the ice. It feels really good.”
Edvinsson has his future in his own hands. The goals are clear for both the future and in the here and now.
“The NHL is what you aim for, but first we must have a Swedish Championship gold,” he says with certainty.
