The Red Wings drafted 6’3,” 212-pound forward Charlie Forslund with the 176th overall pick in this past June’s NHL Draft, “taking a flyer” on a player who dominated in an under-18 league and then Falu IF of the HockeyEttan, which is two steps removed from the SHL.
At this point, Forslund has signed with Mora of the Swedish Allsvenskan, and, as Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff notes, the Red Wings are hoping that better on and off-ice training should help Forslund fulfill his potential as a Swedish-born power forward:
Forslund will be taking his game to another level next season. A higher level. He’ll be skating with Mora in the top Swedish junior league. That’s the same club for which Red Wings top pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygard was performing last season.
“That organization has done well with good, young hockey players,” Draper said. “That kind of played into it and that’s going to be important development-wise. Going into a good organization, he’ll continue to develop.”
With the possibility of an NHL future now a realistic dream for Forslund, this new challenge is also exciting to him.
“I look forward to doing that,” Forslund said of playing for Mora. “It’s not so far from home. It’s gonna be big. They take care of the junior players.I think that’s a good step for me.”
Continued (paywall story); very few people other than Draper and the Red Wings’ scouts have actually seen Forslund play in person, so he’s something of a mystery prospect. He could end up being a diamond in the rough, and, as Duff suggests, he could end up being just all-round rough, too.
