“A strong defenseman that can put up some points, but plays more convincingly in his own zone. Likes to get involved in the rough stuff and has a pretty good physical game. Strong positionally, but could work some on his skating skills.”

After two seasons at UMass, Lagesson returned to his home country of Sweden on a loan by the Oilers to play in the SHL last season. Last year with Djurgardens, the young defender recorded one goal and 13 points in 49 games. He is expected to come back over to North America this season and although it might be a stretch for him to make the Edmonton Oilers roster out of training camp, Lagesson will be a solid addition to the Bakersfield Condors defense corps.

William’s a big, stay-at-home defenceman. He’s a little older, bigger, stronger and he needs to play more games. This will really help him and his development.

He’s a guy I had rated around 60. I’ve seen him play well many times, he’s a player I really like. At the U-18 level, in the tournament in February and in April, he was a top player for Sweden U-18s). He’s a physical defenseman he skates well and defends well. I don’t think he’s a sterling offensive player, but he has average puck moving ability. He won’t be in the World Juniors this year. I think this is a guy who is going to be a very good prospect and the Oilers got good value where they picked them.

He’s a physical, tough defender that could be a nice fifth or sixth blue liner for a NHL team down the road. His -3 plus/minus doesn’t look impressive when looking at it alone, but he’s on a woefully inept defensive team at UMass. He performed very well in all three zones at the World Juniors, and has proven he can be an aggressive, mean defenseman in his own end.