Senators draft Fredrik Claesson 126th overall
The Ottawa Senators selected Swedish defenceman Fredrik Claesson in the fifth round, 126th overall. Claesson spent the last season at Djurgården in the Swedish Elite League, which was also home to Senators prospects Mika Zibanejad (6th overall 2011) and Marcus Sorensen (106th overall 2010).
Claesson is 6'0" tall and 198 pounds. He played 35 games last season and had 2 goals and 0 assists last season for Djurgården in the SEL. In 18 games for Djurgården's junior team, he tallied 2 goals and 3 assists in 18 games. Claesson was also a member of Sweden's 2011 Under-20 team, that featured Robin Lehner. He was ranked as the 27th best European skater by NHL Central Scouting.
Elite Hockey Prospects describes him as follows:
A solid stay-at-home defenseman. Claesson plays a simple and smart game without taking any risks. Has a pretty good shot, but does not use it too often. Could use some work on his puck skills.
The Senators have a couple of high end offensive defencemen in Erik Karlsson and David Rundblad, but Claesson is a defenceman in the traditional mold. While Karlsson, Rundblad and Jared Cowen likely locking up three of the top four spots in the near future, Claesson is still a decent pick to take late in the draft that can provide defensive depth in the organisation. He was the first defenceman taken by the Senators this year, following five forwards.
