Sweet Swedes
Calder Trophy Candidates Tobias Enstrom & Nicklas Backstrom

By Carl Danbury

They are connected in several ways. Both play for NHL teams in the Southeast Division and have made the transition from the Swedish league to the NHL seem somewhat seamless. In fact, both Nicklas Backstrom and Tobias Enstrom have made such a deep impression on NHL veterans, coaches, scouts, broadcasters and fans that they are in contention to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie.

While Enstrom’s Atlanta Thrashers struggled in late February and early March and will miss the Stanley Cup playoffs, Backstrom’s Washington Capitals are in a battle for one of the top eight spots in the Eastern Conference. These sweet Swedes contributed mightily to their respective teams despite their inexperience at the NHL level.

Another Star in Washington

Comments About Backstrom Red Wings’ professional scout Pat Verbeek “Some guys like Backstrom can see a fast game unfold before them, but in their mind it is slowed down. The good players are able to do that. That’s why they are able to make plays under pressure because they understand where players are and their peripheral vision is better than the majority of other players. Canucks’ rookie defenseman and fellow Swede Alex Edler “He has the ability to create things on his own, he’s that talented.” Television analyst and former NHL player Craig Laughlin “He’s a fantastic kid. He has confidence off the ice and hangs around with leaders like Ovechkin. He carries himself like a pro. Everything is business with him. There are no oscillations for him emotionally whether he has four assists or none. He is always on an even-keel.” Backstrom “I never put pressure on myself actually. If people think I am going to dominate, they’re wrong. I just want to play my game, to set-up my teammates. I try to pass the puck as well as anyone. I think it’s important to be a good passer if you are going to make it in the NHL”

Backstrom, the Capitals’ No. 1 pick (4th overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, was expected to make an impact at some point. Few could have anticipated that he would lead the Caps in assists and play more than 18 minutes a game at the tender age of 20. Backstrom hails from Gavle, Sweden, a university town of about 92,000 people north of Stockholm.

While not the speediest skater, Backstrom is shifty and sees the ice extremely well. His traits are purely Swedish, which means he utilizes a pass-first mentality. He hits open teammates with crisp passes, and can handle the puck like a marionette with a puppet.

Since Jan. 19, when the Caps reached the .500 mark for the first time since Oct. 24, Backstrom has displayed the confidence of a learned veteran. He will complete his rookie season with more than 50 assists.

Backstrom began the season as a winger for former Caps’ bench boss Glen Hanlon, but when Bruce Boudreau replaced Hanlon, Backstrom was immediately switched back to his natural position of center. He and teammates have flourished with Boudreau behind the bench compiling a 26-16-7 record in their first 49 games for a coach that spent the majority of his career in the minor leagues.

“Once he started getting acclimated to the league, I was fortunate enough to come in at that same time,” Boudreau said. “His vision is incredible. We wish he would shoot the puck a little bit more, but his vision and knowing where guys are and where they are going to be is above where any 20-year-old should be.

“It is going to be interesting to see where he is in five years,” Boudreau said.

Capitals’ television analyst and former NHL player Craig Laughlin said he wasn’t sold on Backstrom early in the season, but his opinion changed as the season unfolded.

“The thing about Swedish players and I played with a few, he reminds me a lot of (former Caps forward) Bengt Gustafsson, is that they have tremendous poise and patience. He’s not the fastest player, but he is extremely fast East-to-West,” Laughlin said.

Comments About Enstrom Thrashers captain Bobby Holik “Forget his size. Forget his age. Enstrom has a feel for the game. You don’t see that often any more. That’s what separates the really good ones from the average or below average players. He has a great feel for the game. Like Tiger Woods he’s well conditioned, he’s technically sound but he has a passion. Toby has a passion, everybody should, but he also has a feel for the game. Those things you can’t teach. It’s good to see because, he’s 23-years-old but as far as hockey goes he’s very mature and far ahead of other guys his age. Flyers’ head coach John Stevens “Enstrom caught my eye the first time we played them. He’s not a very big guy, but he holds up to the physical play because he’s so smart. His intelligence makes up for his size. His play away from the puck and his responsibility defensively is what really catches your eye for a young defenseman. Enstrom “I always had confidence in myself. I know what I can do and know I have the skills to play in this league. I worked hard for it. But, you can’t say I am going over and take a spot, but everything worked out fine for me. Since then, the coaches have been great and let me play my game. That’s what got me here and I am glad I can play here with that same style.”

“Arguably, he is going to be the rookie-of-the-year and he should be. (Chicago’s Patrick) Kane has had a great year but Backstrom is the No. 1 center [for the Caps] playing with the world’s best player in (Alexander) Ovechkin. That’s hard to do.” Laughlin said. “He’s thinking, ‘I’ve got to pass, I’ve got to get Ovie the puck.’ He’s learned how to play his own game. He’s just been spectacular. I wouldn’t have said that a month into the season, but he’s going to be a star in this league.”

Backstrom recently has centered both Ovechkin and Viktor Kozlov on the Caps’ top line. Kozlov, who has played both wing and center during his 15-year NHL career, centered another prolific goal scorer from Russia like Ovechkin, Pavel Bure.

Like Kozlov often did when playing with Bure, Backstrom creates space for others by pulling up in the offensive zone using his excellent stick handling abilities to allow his linemates to find seams in the defensive coverage.

“He’s a fast learner. Right now, you can’t tell that he’s a rookie,” Kozlov said. “He is playing like a mature player. When he started playing center and getting more ice time, you could tell he was getting more confident.”

While some observers might suggest that Backstrom is compiling his startling number of assists because he is playing regularly with Ovechkin, Thrashers’ associate head coach Brad McCrimmon playfully asked, “Which came first the chicken or the egg?

“Maybe the reason Ovechkin is scoring so many goals is that Backstrom is passing to him,” McCrimmon offered.

Capitals assistant coach Jay Leach concurred with McCrimmon.

“If Backstrom is playing with anyone who can score just a little bit, that guy is going to benefit,” Leach said.

“He reminds me a lot of (Hall-of-Fame center) Ronnie Francis. He can pass, he can check, he’s got that certain savvy about him. And, defensively he is very aware of what’s going on,” Leach added.

Tampa Bay forward Andreas Karlsson, from Luvika, Sweden, said Backstrom will eventually be a big star in the NHL.

“I think he is a little bit like Forsberg, not as aggressive, not as strong, but definitely thinks one step ahead, I think that’s his best asset,” Karlsson stated. “His passing game is already at the highest level,”

A Future All-Star Defenseman

Enstrom, a smooth skating rarely shaken defenseman, has been the Thrashers’ best blueliner since the first drop of the puck this season. He has been dominant at times, not from punishing hits or clearing a path in front of goalies Kari Lehtonen or Johan Hedberg, but by playing keep away from opposing teams and making accurate passes to teammates everywhere on the ice.

At 5’9”, 170 pounds, Enstrom isn’t exactly the prototypical NHL defenseman, nor is he the cookie-cutter rookie who gets flustered under the pressure of a two-man forecheck. Enstrom has the ability to control the pace of the game with his extraordinary ability to twist, turn, glide, accelerate or stop while maintaining control of the puck.

While much was expected of Backstrom in Washington, 8th-round NHL draft picks stand minute chances for success, particularly “undersized” defensemen.

Born in Nordingra, Sweden, a town of just 2,000, he is a breath of fresh air within an often-stagnant defensive unit. Were it not for Enstrom and solid defensive partner and countryman Nicklas Havelid, Atlanta’s push for a second straight playoff appearance might have ended in October rather than early March.

Enstrom averaged more than 24 minutes of ice time per game, which is the highest mark on the team and far more than any other rookie defenseman. He plays in all situations for the Thrashers getting more than five minutes of power-play time and three minutes on the penalty kill per game.

Despite having no points during the Thrashers’ recent 9-game losing streak and just one goal in a 32-game stretch, he is still invaluable to his team. Heading into the final 5 games of the season, Enstrom had five goals and a team-high 33 assists.

Perhaps the best example of his abilities came in a shocking 10-1 loss to Buffalo, Jan. 18, when he and defensive partner Havelid had a plus-minus rating of plus-1.

“Yeah, we lost 10-1 and he and Havelid were plus-1,” said Thrashers’ general manager and head coach Don Waddell. “That is amazing. When you give up 10 goals, and only score one, and two of your players are plus-1 that says a lot. It is pretty remarkable.”

Waddell said that Thrashers’ European scout Bernd Freimuller was the first in the organization to see Enstrom play, but that he watched Enstrom closely during the World Championship last year.

“Usually the guys playing [in the World Championship] are the best players in the world not playing in the NHL playoffs and I thought he was Sweden’s best defenseman,” Waddell said. “One thing that really stood out was his composure. I never saw him panic with the puck. There were guys hitting him, running him, forechecking him and he always seemed to make the right play with the puck. You can’t teach that.

“Did I think he would be our No. 1 guy in ice time and basically our No. 1 defenseman? No.” Waddell admitted.

McCrimmon said Enstrom has been a pleasant surprise in some ways, but once you get to watch him regularly and see his abilities his success isn’t so surprising after all.

“He played five years in the Swedish Elite League, which you can argue is the best league in Europe, so he had been playing with men for a long time. Granted, it’s a little bit different style of hockey, but at the same time you still have one-on-one battles for loose pucks, and people check you trying to take the puck away from you,” McCrimmon said.

McCrimmon said playing defense in the NHL is all about, “Position. Position. Position.” Enstrom has learned that aspect of the game quickly.

Buffalo’s defenseman Henrik Tallinder said he had never seen Enstrom play prior to this season but finds him remarkable. “As a young Swede it’s not easy to come into the NHL and be as dominant as he has been,” said the Stockholm native. “It’s amazing how quick it [his development] has been for him. Usually, it takes a year or two before you really get settled in.

“He’s not flashy. He’s like (Detroit’s Nicklas) Lidstrom a little bit.”

Tallinder pointed to Enstrom’s positioning and composure to draw the comparison to Lidstrom, one of the best defensemen in the NHL.

“You have to find ways to be able to handle guys in this league,” Tallinder said. “If you can’t move them, you have to do something else. That’s what he has been doing.

McCrimmon, who doesn’t enjoy making comparisons, said simply: “He’ll be the next Toby Enstrom.” SU