Nils Hoglander signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.
"Nils is a dynamic player with a high skill level and a strong work ethic," Canucks general manager Jim Benning said. "He's a creative playmaker with great hands and goal-scoring abilities. We're pleased to sign Nils today and look forward to seeing continued development in his game next season."
Benning said he thinks the forward has the potential to become a top-nine player upon entering the NHL, and perhaps better.
"Well, he could," Benning said, "because he played in the Swedish Elite League this year and never looked out of place, played in the top nine, and that's kind of where I see him playing in the NHL. He'll be a top-nine player, and I think once he's up and going and after he has a year or two under his belt, I think he could be a top-six player for us."
The 19-year-old forward scored 11 points (five goals, six assists) in seven games to help Sweden finish third at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship. He scored the most impressive goal of the tournament, a lacrosse-style goal against Finland in a 3-2 overtime win Dec. 26.
"When I was younger," Hoglander said, "I always liked to try crazy things with the puck and with the stick and just have fun with the stick and the puck and take that out to the ice too. I don't know what I am thinking when I do it, it's just coming up in my head and it works, I score on it.
"In Sweden we call it the Zorro goal."
Hoglander scored a similar goal for Rogle of the Swedish Hockey League on Oct. 29. Hoglander was selected in the second round (No. 40) of the 2019 NHL Draft. He scored 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in 41 SHL games this season.
He said he thinks he can be a more effective player on the larger North American ice surface despite his size (5-foot-9, 185 pounds).
"It can be better for me to play on small ice," Hoglander said. "When I play my game, I like to play fast hockey, quick hockey, go to the net.
"When I protect the puck, that's my strength, not just stick-handling. I work out a lot, I'm pretty strong ... I think I'll win the puck, and nothing else.
"I will show people that I can play against bigger men. I trust my body and my game."
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