Ottawa Senators Select Theo Wallberg 168th Overall
Another defenseman, another Swede
The Ottawa Senators have left the UND fandom and have now gone back to where they’ve always found their legends, Sweden.
Wallberg marks the 4th Swedish pick out of all 8 they’ve made today. Once again, they also go with a defenseman who is larger in size, the Sens seem to be following a theme of building a larger than life kind of team in the future.
He played on the J20 Nationell team and scored 23 points in 46 games played. He is committed to Dubuque of the USHL next year and is expected to join Ohio State the year after. It will be a while before we see him in Belleville or Ottawa but as a long-term project, he is looking like a very good pick.
Other than his great name, Wallberg is praised for his speed and his physicality specifically his efficiency in pinning opponents to the board and using his size for heavy hits. He has impressed with his powerful strides and confident zone entries, often creating space and supporting plays in the offensive zone.
He may need some work using his stick defensively and his long-range passes but he has many years of development ahead of him so it’s expected that he will work on his weaknesses.
Welcome to the Senators, Theo!