GOALIE?
By Lowetide
10 years ago
David Strehle is a writer for "The Fourth Period" and reports tonight that G prospect Joacim Eriksson is about to sign with an NHL team. Could that team be the Oilers?
Eriksson was a 2008 7th round pick by the Flyers (196 overall, all but the cleaning staff and scouts were gone by then) and has been mentioned several times by Jonathan Willis as a player worth following since that time.
Earlier this month, Jonathan had this to say about him:
- Willis: Joacim Eriksson. With Raanta out of the picture, the 23-year old Eriksson is likely the best European goalie still on the market. The 6’2” Swede was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2008 but the team opted not to sign him, something that now appears to have been a mistake. Eriksson posted a 0.931 save percentage in Sweden’s top league this season (after a 0.935 save percentage season in 2011-12) and was even better in the post-season, managing a 0.952 save percentage over 10 games as he backstopped Skelleftea to the league title. The question is how interested he is in coming to North America – there is no doubt NHL teams are interested in him. Eriksson would be a contender for an NHL backup role but would likely start off in the number three role for a major league team.
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
A lot of good things came from Sweden–and maybe this young goaltender is one of them. Edmonton has a need, a shallow free agent pool and Eriksson is the best Euro G currently available.
Sounds like a match.
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