William Lagesson has been on loan this season but returns to Canada. “Our loan agreement with William Lagesson, (rights) belonging to Edmonton, expired in April. Both Edmonton and Williams’s ambition is to play in Edmonton next season and we wish William good luck,” says General Manager Joakim Eriksson.

“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.”

“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.”

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.

Lagesson is a physical player who relishes one-on-one battles and can be extremely difficult to play against for opposition forwards. Still developing as a prospect, he has the height and demeanor of a prototypical shutdown defenseman. While his physical play is the most noticeable part of his game, Lagesson has a decent first pass and will jump up into the rush from time to time. He is a good skater for his size and has the makings of a good two-way defender.