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Canadiens Prospect Review: Adam Engstrom Shines In Sweden

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Montreal Canadiens prospect Adam Engstrom

The Montreal Canadiens may have hit a home run at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Beyond their two first-round picks, the team put their hands on players such as Lane Hutson, Owen Beck, Vinzenz Rohrer, Jared Davidson, and Cedrick Guindon, all of whom rated highly when compared to pre-draft models.

And yet, there is a rarely-mentioned player in the draft class that may end up overshadowing his counterparts when it comes to surpassing expectations.

Adam Engstrom.

He’s a smooth-skating defenceman who turned heads in Sweden due to his excellent play for Rogle BK.

The 2022 third-round pick turned 19 in November, though it’s worth pointing out he initially earned a job on Rogle’s top defensive pairing as an 18-year-old, a rather impressive feat given how rarely teenage defencemen are given roster spots in Sweden.

Engstrom was eventually shifted around the lineup, but his creativity and offensive instincts continued to shine brightly.

By the Numbers

Engstrom scored six goals and 10 assists in 43 games, which may not seem like much for those who do not pay close attention to SHL games.

However, a quick overview of other scoring rates in the league gives us ample evidence to conclude his production was rather impressive given his age.

Engstrom led all SHL U-20 defencemen in scoring, with his closest competition earning just 10 points last season. Overall, he ranked third among U-20 players, trailing only 2023 top prospect Leo Carlsson (25 points), 2022 eight-overall pick Marco Kasper (23 points), and 2022 27th-overall pick Filip Bystedt (20 points).

Historically speaking, only 12 defencemen finished their U-20 season in Sweden with more points than Engstrom. It’s also worth noting Engstrom produced more points than players such as Victor Soderstrom and Erik Brannstrom, both of whom were among the first 15 players to be drafted at their respective drafts.

In addition, of the 12 defencemen that outscored Engstrom during their U-20 year, only two played fewer games: Moritz Seider and Rasmus Dahlin.

Engstrom’s excellent offensive production continued in the playoffs, where he earned three goals and two assists in nine games.

What The Prospect Experts Are Saying

Uffe Bodin, head of Sports Media at EverySportGroup

“To me, Adam was one of the biggest, positive surprises in the SHL this past season. When he came to Rogle, he barely had any experience of playing against men, but he proved early that he could handle it well. He grew as the season progressed and was basically their best defenseman in the playoffs.

“His offensive game is really intriguing as he has the skating ability and the confidence to join the rush. His decision-making can still be a bit poor at times, but it also got better as the season went on. I think he’ll get big minutes next season when he gets the chance to replace William Wallinder who has been signed by Detroit.”

Patrik Bexell, European Prospect Expert at HEOTP

“I think what stands out is Engström’s tenacity and drive, you give him an inch he takes a mile. He wasn’t supposed to play in SHL, but he did. He wasn’t supposed to play top pairing at the World Junior Championship but in the end, he did. And he wasn’t supposed to be one of Rögle’s best players (if not the best) in the SHL playoffs, but in the end, he was. This is what has impressed me the most.”

“His strong play is powered by great skating and Hockey IQ. His skating is very good, textbook even. His zone exits and first passes are strong, which adds another dimension to his game. Rögle wasn’t a very good team until they learned to trust Engström’s exits and breakout passes. His reach, skating and his understanding of the game help him in the defensive zone, but he needs to work on his physical game and his defensive reads next year to really be a first-pairing defender in the SHL.”

What Habs Fans Are Saying

As is often the case with a player developing in Europe, Canadiens fans are all over the board when it comes to establishing Engstrom’s potential.

Some think he has bottom-pairing potential, while others have a much more optimistic view of where he may land in the NHL.

Strengths

Skating. Skating. Skating.

Admittedly, I did not know much about Engstrom prior to his arrival at the Canadiens’ development camp, however, his silky-smooth skating quickly made him stand out from the crowd.

His lateral transitions are fantastic, and his clean first stride allows him to reach his maximum speed much faster than most of his counterparts.

Engstrom shines brightest in the offensive zone, where his creativity, mobility and vision allow him to serve as a quarterback, regardless of whether his team is on the powerplay or not.

He also possesses the type of confidence that allows him to attempt high-risk, high-reward plays, which is rather unusual for such a young defenceman in a professional hockey league.

His shot is not elite, though you’d be hard-pressed to argue it’s a weakness. Engstrom also has a penchant for taking the right type of shot at the right time, which served him quite well during his rookie campaign.

Weaknesses

Like most puck-moving defencemen, Engstrom needs to improve his defensive positioning when defending the rush.

He also tends to hold onto the puck for a little too long in the offensive zone, an issue he shares with fellow Canadiens prospect Lane Hutson.

Simply put, Engstrom needs more experience.

As it stands, he’s working through a trial-and-error development path, which puts an onus on maintaining his high level of creativity while also allowing him to improve upon his shortcomings in the defensive zone.

It’s the type of development path that often leads to issues in North America, where coaches tend to crush creativity in favour of a mythical form of defence that involves making little to no mistakes.

Truth be told, defencemen will make mistakes. Such is life on the blue line.

The most important question becomes whether their good plays outweigh their miscues, which is certainly the case for Engstrom.

What’s Next

Engstrom will continue to develop in Europe unless he manages to earn a roster spot with the Canadiens. However, despite his impressive skillset, there are very low odds the team currently considers Engstrom as a potential NHL player as of next season.

In a sense, developing in Europe is probably a safer bet for a player like Engstrom, especially when we consider few other prospects in the organization matched Engstrom’s impressive growth last season.

Coaching styles are slowly changing in North America, but there is always the risk a coach may want to mitigate his offensive prowess in favour of attempting to instill a stalwart defensive style of play, which is almost always a mistake that leads to a player who no longer relies on his strengths, and consequently, loses his confidence.

Playing in Europe allows some of his mistakes to go unnoticed, a significant advantage for a puck-moving defenceman.

Seeing as he’s already progressed well beyond Draft-day expectations, the Canadiens should be quite content with the impressive work Rogle has done in Engstrom’s case.

And they don’t have to worry about ice time given that William Wallinder signed his entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings, which means Engstrom will have an opportunity to play on Rogle’s top pairing, and more importantly, stay there throughout the season.

Adam Engstrom may not be the most popular Canadiens prospect, but thanks to his fantastic rookie campaign he very well may be the most underrated player in the prospect pool.