Top 25 Under 25, no. 20: Andreas Englund
The Senators first pick in the 2014 NHL draft enters our last at #20.
The Ottawa Senators have used their first draft pick to acquire a Swedish defenceman twice in their history: picking Erik Karlsson 15th overall in 2008 and trading the 16th overall pick in 2010 to acquire David Rundblad who was then flipped with a second round pick for Kyle Turris. Picked 40th overall, Englund will either become or be turned into the equivalent of a first line centre or the best defenceman in the league right?
Englund spent most of last season with the Djurgården junior team but also played 19 regular games with the senior team in the HockeyAllsvenskan (the second tier of Swedish) as well as all 10 of their postseason games helping Djurgården gain promotion. This along with his play for the Swedish national U18 team (and possibly a drunken plea from a Sens fan) led to Englund being drafted by Ottawa.
Englund had just two points in 29 games and he described himself as:
I’m a defensive defencemen and I try to make simple plays and play physical.
As with most players drafted out of Europe, Englund will stay in Europe for at least a season and hopefully establish himself as a regular player on a men's team as well as contend for a spot on the Swedish U20 national team. If everything works out, then Englund could one day be a top four defenceman that plays against the opposition's best players.
