The media hype happened somewhat by chance, in December 2019. The reporter assigned to cover the Tampa Bay Lightning for the site The Athletic, Joe Smith, was visiting Örnsköldsvik, a small Swedish town of 30,000 souls located more than 500 kilometers from Stockholm to trace the roots of Victor Hedman.
This special envoy from Florida was also trying to unravel the secret ofOvik. How on earth could such a small town produce so many NHL stars, not only Hedman, the Lightning star, but brothers Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Markus Naslund and Peter Forsberg.
Towards the end of his very long report, Smith wondered if this great line of hockey players who played for the local professional team, Modo, will have successors.
“In five years, (Mattias Norlinder) will win the Norris Trophy,” Per Hagglund, a journalist who covered Modo’s activities for more than 30 years and watched Forsberg, Hedman and company grow, told him. He’s a Nicklas Lidstrom, so intelligent, good hands, ease on skates. He will be the next Modo player who will be talked about. »
Norlinder, 19, had been drafted in the third round by the Canadian six months earlier. He had gone under the NHL’s radar in his year of eligibility since he had spent almost the entire winter with the Modo junior club, before earning a call-up at the end of the season, and surprised by collecting 6 points in 14 games in the first pair of defensemen with former Atlanta Thrashers Tobias Engström. He had 12 points in 25 games on the clock during Joe Smith’s visit.
It was almost too good to be true. An obscure third-round pick, drafted by the Canadian after Cole Caufield and Jayden Struble in 2019, compared to the legendary Nicklas Lidstrom? This one was not only Swedish, a left-handed defender, but he had also been a third-round pick, 30 years earlier.
Hagglund wasn’t a coach, but he had watched this cohort of Swedish stars grow over the decades. You don’t compare a 19-year-old to one of the most illustrious defensemen in the history of the National Hockey League without being sure of his shot.
Joe Smith almost apologized on the line two days after the publication of his report when The Press had joined him. “He didn’t say he would become the next Lidstrom, but that he reminded him of Lidstrom. This is Modo’s best hope since Hedman according to him. He is not the only one in the team’s entourage to hold him in high esteem. Norlinder is part of their new wave. »
The Press may have moderated expectations, but the damage was done. The clips from Sweden over the following months and years showed us spectacular offensive flashes, enough to feed the beast. In truth, his defensive game still had serious flaws.
Norlinder finally showed up in Montreal two years later, in September 2021, with the desire to earn a position with the Canadian. He was awaited with great excitement. The general manager at Modo, Frederik Sjöström, a former NHL hockey player, added in an interview with Sportsnet colleague Eric Engels, mentioning “ natural skills that will make your jaw drop. »
Norlinder was good, without being bad, in his first professional training camp in North America, but certainly no match for young Kaiden Guhle, drafted a year later, two years his junior.
However, he was allowed to play six games in Montreal, six others in Laval, without much fanfare, before allowing him to return to Sweden to complete the season there. The balloon had just deflated.
There was no more waiting a year later, in September 2022. His demotion to Laval, with six other American League players, didn’t even make the headlines. He had even been beaten in the hierarchy by Otto Leskinen and Corey Schueneman…
Norlinder spent the entire season in Laval last year. His 19 points in 67 games were not very encouraging for a defender supposedly renowned offensively. William Trudeau and Nicolas Beaudin even passed in front of him. The next Nicklas Lidstrom wasn’t even a mainstay in the American League!
Rumors surfaced for a few days this summer about the end of his association with the Canadian. The organization quickly denied this false news, and Norlinder made sure to set the record straight upon his arrival in the metropolis.
And then there you have it, with only one preparatory match to play at training camp this year, Mattias Norlinder, who we hadn’t expected for two years now, is still with the club. His chances of starting the season in Montreal remain slim, but he responded favorably to a major challenge Monday night in Toronto against the Maple Leafs and their big stars.
In the absence of injured Mike Matheson, Norlinder, 23, completed the first pair of defenders with David Savard. Not only did he score his team’s first goal with a point shot, not only did he show a lot of confidence as the only defender on the first wave on the power play, but his blood -cold, and his skills, allowed him to keep the puck in the enemy zone at the end of the third period, before seeing CH equalize on Josh Anderson’s goal.
Norlinder played 18:57, the highest total after David Savard and Jordan Harris, whose minutes were inflated by five power plays from the Leafs, compared to three for the visitors. The former Modo prospect had Matthews, Tavares and Marner in his hands all evening and he didn’t look bad in his zone even if defensive play is not his main asset.
That he is still in discussions in October, even if his chances of starting the year in Laval are greater than playing the first game of the Canadian season, already reveals great perseverance on his part.
Another young Senators defenseman on waivers
In June 2018, the Ottawa Senators drafted 26e ranks a right-handed defenseman in the Alberta Junior A League, Jacob Bernard-Docker, about 20 spots after the fourth overall pick, Brady Tkachuk.
A year later, Ottawa set its sights on another right-handed defenseman, Lassi Thomson, at 19e rank, four places after Cole Caufield and three after Alex Newhook.
Unable to crack the Senators roster for four years, Thomson was placed on waivers this weekend and claimed by the Anaheim Ducks. Bernard-Docker suffered the same fate on Monday. Tyler Boucher, the club’s first pick, tenth overall, in 2021, has been injured since the start of training camp, but he hasn’t even produced at a point-per-game rate in the junior ranks.
The Senators have not drafted in the first two rounds in the last two seasons and have been unable to sign Shane Pinto due to salary constraints. This is an atypical situation for a club that has been excluded from the playoffs for six years.
Fortunately, the young core is solid with players drafted in the top 5, Tim Stützle, Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson. But we will have to start winning eventually, otherwise Ottawa could lose its bet due to multiple costly decisions.