Nashville Predators draft goaltender Magnus Hellberg with #38 pick

by Dirk Hoag on Jun 25, 2011 11:30 AM EDT in Nashville Predators News

With the #38 pick in today's 2011 NHL Entry Draft, the Nashville Predators selected Swedish goaltender Magnus Hellberg, a 6'5" keeper who should fit in well with fellow Scandinavian skyscrapers Pekka Rinne and Anders Lindback.

In Lou We Trust, SB Nation's New Jersey Devils blog, profiled Hellberg recently (I highly recommend you head over and read their article):

How does he stack up against his fellow goaltending prospects? That's a bit murky. The Goalie Guild has a top 100 of all prospect goalies, which appears to be all non-NHL goalies. The 2011 draft eligible goalies are near the bottom, which makes sense since most of the list are AHL netminders. Per their latest list (warning: it takes some time to load) Hellberg is ranked ahead of John Gibson (#1 NA goalie, #92), Christopher Gibson (#2 NA goalie, #90), and even Samu Perhonen (#1 European goalie, #97) at 88th. I'm not sure what goes into their rankings; nor do I know how valid they are. But it's someone's opinion that they think Hellberg is superior to other draft-eligible netminders.

Hellberg plays with Altuma in Sweden's second division, and put up a .935 save percentage and 2.05 Goals Against Average in 31 games last season, with 5 shutouts. I wouldn't expect him to come over to North America for a while yet. Drafting goaltenders this high is always a dicey proposition, as the development process seems especially long and uncertain for them.

Currently behind Rinne and Lindback, the Predators have a pending free agent in Mark Dekanich, and prospects Chet Pickard, Jeremy Smith, and Atte Engren under contract. Hellberg presumably won't put pressure on any of those guys for at least a year or two.

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Comments

A Goalie huh?

I was not expecting this since we have such a great pair of goalies now.

by Smashville98 on Jun 25, 2011 11:37 AM EDT reply actions

We need them taller… and more Scandanavian.

There's only two kinds of teams in the NHL: Predators and prey.

by Predanooga on Jun 25, 2011 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions

A Goaltender?

That’s a head scratcher as deep as we are at that position. I’ve not seen who was left, but ANY potential sniper should’ve been our 1st priority. Maybe DP has something up his sleeve that we don’t know about, but I don’t get this pick.

by SFPredsFan on Jun 25, 2011 11:37 AM EDT reply actions

Well… he’s got an awesome name…

There's only two kinds of teams in the NHL: Predators and prey.

by Predanooga on Jun 25, 2011 11:39 AM EDT reply actions

True that.

"Who own da Chiefs?!"
"Jesus, what did the old man trade for these a$$holes, a used puck bag? "

by predhead33 on Jun 25, 2011 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Hellberg isn’t even ranked in the top 100 prospects by THN. We took him at #38. We’re stocked with goalie prospects. We’re weak at skilled forwards in our system. Go put that puzzle together.

by Grizzledbear on Jun 25, 2011 12:01 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

frankly, THN is stupid if he's not in their top 100

by Sam Page on Jun 25, 2011 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions

What insight do you have that they do not to make that statement?

by Grizzledbear on Jun 25, 2011 12:44 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

none really

but I read plenty of reputable people saying Hellberg could be picked around #50. I’m not so much dissing THN as saying that plenty of people thought he was the best goalie in the draft so, it’s nothing to fret about. I haven’t read the THN guide, so can’t comment on it’s overall quality.

by Sam Page on Jun 25, 2011 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions

IIRC, he wasn’t even in the top 3 goalies according to ISS. It’s a bizarre pick, from a need standpoint to a ratings standpoint.

by Grizzledbear on Jun 25, 2011 1:01 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

IIRC

Central Scouting had them as their #2 Euro goalie. And I don’t look at it from a needs standpoint, but a strength standpoint. If you have the best goalie coach in the world, with a proven ability to turn tall goalies in Vezina candidates, you would want all the tall goalies. Then you can trade from your position of strength to make up for deficiencies. I guess it remains to be seen if Poile will trade from a strength this offseason though, ~~and get Parise~~ and get a scorer.

by Sam Page on Jun 25, 2011 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions

well-said

Was looking to see whether anyone had said this. We hear over and over again that you pick the best player available; they’re years from playing in Nashville! And it had occurred to me that if our scouts saw real potential, Korn is the guy to fully develop it. Yet everyone cries foul when we don’t draft a forward.

by LuvthePreds on Jun 26, 2011 1:25 AM EDT up reply actions

Question:

What if at every spot where we pick in the draft a Dman or goalie is our highest rated player at that spot? Logically, you simply can’t draft like that, which is why the “best player available” strategy has it’s limits. Every team needs a balance of players in their system, we have an imbalance in ours that just got bigger after this draft.

by Grizzledbear on Jun 26, 2011 1:44 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Also

if the Preds scout in Sweden (whose name suddenly escapes me) thought Hornqvist and Anders were good 7th round picks, I’m excited for a guy he wants us to use our first pick on.

I’m am somewhat skeptical of drafting goalies in general, though.

by Sam Page on Jun 25, 2011 1:10 PM EDT up reply actions

As I said elsewhere, show me where we’ve traded any of these goalie or Dman prospects for a skilled forward. Parent was the only one. You can always put any draft in a good light by imagining a trade to be made with those drafted assets for something you really need, but there is little track record of this team doing that.

by Grizzledbear on Jun 25, 2011 1:22 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I'm sure he's fine, and we have Mitch...

but I really think a forward should’ve been taken here. This guy probably would’ve been around for the later pick of the 2nd round.

Regarding going 0-4 in the NHL Awards, I quote the great Hornqvist: "S**t's gonna happen."

by DonBorvio on Jun 25, 2011 1:31 PM EDT reply actions

That’s a good point. If we took him at #52 after taking a good forward at #38, no one would be upset with this.

If we knew for a fact that we were going to make a big splash in using some exsisting prospects for a skilled forward, this would all be fine and dandy, but it never happens.

by Grizzledbear on Jun 25, 2011 1:40 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I trust our scouts...

You’ve all said this before it’s a position that we have depth in, sounds like a reach to most people. I don’t get it. Couldn’t we have picked a forward or a higher rated player now then gotten him with our second pick in the round or even later?

by Brad Johnson on Jun 25, 2011 1:56 PM EDT reply actions

at least we know

that in the Polie interview that this was more than likely one of the players they were targeting. And think of it this way, we got Hallisuck and this goalie for Arnott.

by IG-PRED8 on Jun 25, 2011 2:10 PM EDT reply actions

woops

*Halischuk

by IG-PRED8 on Jun 25, 2011 2:11 PM EDT up reply actions

That they were targeting a goalie at that spot in the draft considering what our needs as a team are is even more bewildering.

by Grizzledbear on Jun 25, 2011 2:21 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

True

At least it was not a goalie in the first round, So far those have not panned out ( Unless Pickard really turns around).

by IG-PRED8 on Jun 25, 2011 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Well

at least Finley and Pickard are North American. Lucas Bergman’s picks at goalie have never let us down!

by Sam Page on Jun 25, 2011 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions

HE MIGHT BE THE NEXT BIG THING... BUT...

WE NEED OFFENSE! With what we have done with Goalies in the past I am not dogging this pick at all. BUT we have more pressing issues then someone in the net right now. We need scoring and we need it now. It was the 1st thing our Captain said after we went out against the Canucks. Unless we are going to trade some guys I don’t get this pick but I will trust the higher-ups on this I guess. I am still not on board with the “Banana Jerseys” though or a Snot wipe on GNASH’s face.

by Smashville98 on Jun 25, 2011 4:35 PM EDT reply actions

Listen to The Goalie Guild's breakdown of the pick...it's worth it!

http://thegoalieguild.com/2011/06/draft-analysis/

Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...
Follow me on Twitter: @SLakePreds

by Seth Lake on Jun 25, 2011 4:37 PM EDT reply actions

Sorry, Seth, though I value your opinions here, there is no amount of lipstick you can slap on this usage of a high 2nd rounder on a position we have more of than we have spots to play them in our minor league system to make it look good. At #52 after taking a skilled forward at #38, fine, but this was a lost opportunity that will set us back long term.

by Grizzledbear on Jun 25, 2011 4:44 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I'm not slapping any lipstick here...

I’ve never seen Hellberg play. I’ve read good things about him and had a really good conversation about him with a friend in Sweden last night that loves him. I was shocked that he was our first pick honestly. As someone said on HFBoards, I don’t mind Hellberg as our first pick, but I’d have preferred Saad to be honest.

Thing is though, we were definitely picking a goaltender this weekend. That was an absolute. Our cupboard is honestly pretty bare behind Rinne and Lindback (Smith is developing, but will be a No. 1? Engren is an untested project still, Pickard is a bust, and Dekanich is a UFA – all have turned pro and have no one behind them) and obviously Hellberg was our top rated guy at the position and likely on our draft board at that time.

Everyone in the 2nd round has question marks about them. That’s why they weren’t first rounders, however Hellberg provides a skill set that matches Rinne and Lindback and is one of the fastest rising players in the draft. If he turns out to be a No. 1 goalie down the line…then I don’t see how you can argue that he’d set the franchise back and any player that busts as your top pick in any draft is definitely going to set you back.

Only time will tell, but I think we got a guy that could be an impact player (No. 1 tender) here. We didn’t have a first round pick. We got a guy that we really liked. That I honestly can’t argue with…

Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...
Follow me on Twitter: @SLakePreds

by Seth Lake on Jun 25, 2011 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions

If, and it is an if considering what Rinne could earn as a UFA after this season, Rinne is signed long term here, where does this new guy play? If, as you suggest, high picks like Pickard and Smith are busts, what does this say about our scouts? If they didn’t get it right with those two guys, doesn’t that cause some concern over this pick as well? And were there not highly ranked goalies still to be available at our #52 pick? This was a wasted opportunity to address an orginizational wedakness and we once again failed to address it.

As for our cupboard being bare, we do not have one forward prospect projected to be a 1st line player. They’re all 2nd liners IF their skating improves. I hate to use the term “no brainer”, but this was as close to that as possible in needing to use that 1st pick on a skilled forward, and there were a few left at that spot.

With the drafting philosophy that we have, we will always be lacking in the scoring department.

by Grizzledbear on Jun 25, 2011 5:09 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Different scouts...

Dekanich, Smith, Pickard, and even Brian Finley were all scouted by our North American scouts. Rinne, Lindback, Engren, and now Hellberg were scouted by our scouts in Europe (Lucas Bergman and Janne Kekäläinen) who have a much more established pattern of drafting goaltenders.

Hellberg fits a mold that Mitch Korn has had success with and that has blossomed in the NHL. He is a good understudy for Rinne and Lindback till his time comes. Remember that everyone that was drafted today is likely 3-5 years away from making an impact at the NHL level.

Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...
Follow me on Twitter: @SLakePreds

by Seth Lake on Jun 25, 2011 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions

To the last point first, that really is not so cut and dry that 2nd round picks are long term projects. As I mentioned in the draft thread, Stepan from the Rangers is a top 6 forward already in just the 2nd year since he was drafted (maybe 3rd year, have to double check that) and Ryan O’Reilly made the Avs lineup right out of the draft, both being recent 2nd round picks. If you don’t take skilled players with your 1st or 2nd round selections, you’ll never give yourself a chance to find a Stepan type player (how did we miss out on him anyway?).

Our Euro scouts clearly do a superior job in spotting talent than our NA scouts do, which makes me throw the question out, do you feel as I do that we need to make changes in our NA side of scouting? Using up a 1st round pick in Pickard and a 2nd round for Smith in the last 5 drafts is what I’m refering to when I talk about setting an organization back. Imagine if we had instead used those picks on some of the forwards available in those drafts? We might not be fretting about our lack of skill in the developmental system if we had.

But what annoys me more than anything is that for three drafts in a row now, we have not either moved up in either the 1st or 2nd rounds or made a deal to acquire a skilled NHL forward using any of the surplus of Dmen or goalie prospects that we’ve drafted in recent years. This is the problem I have with the “we can trade a Dman/goalie prospect for a forward” talk: we never do that! We have not moved a single Dman or goalie prospect since the Forsberg trade to acquire some needed scoring help. No organization can be successful by being passive like that.

by Grizzledbear on Jun 25, 2011 7:13 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I definitely agree with you here. Hellberg might be great, but he would’ve been there for our second pick – no doubt. And if not? Oh well, draft one next year. We need scoring forwards and to develop them.

Khokhlachev was still available. He’s played in the OHL for a while, and he would’ve been here with his former Captain, Ryan Ellis. No reason to think he would bolt to Russia and the KHL, except we think every Russian will act like Radulov did.

This pick is a D-. Hellberg fits like a glove, but probably could’ve pick him later. Much later.

Regarding going 0-4 in the NHL Awards, I quote the great Hornqvist: "S**t's gonna happen."

by DonBorvio on Jun 25, 2011 9:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Yep, it’s very unlikely anyone was going to take him before we picked at #52. He was the 8th ranked goalie by ISS, who tend to overrate Euro prospects a bit anyway. Just a bizarre pick.

I’m uneasy with taking Russian players with early picks due to not being sure about them staying over here, but with Grimaldi, Jurco and Rattie being taken early in the 2nd round, why not take a chance on a highly skilled kid like Khokhlachev? If it works out, you may have the steal of the draft.

by Grizzledbear on Jun 25, 2011 9:50 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Yep, and the Bruins picked him up. Shows you an example why they are a Cup team and we are not.

Regarding going 0-4 in the NHL Awards, I quote the great Hornqvist: "S**t's gonna happen."

by DonBorvio on Jun 25, 2011 10:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Hellberg might be great, but he would’ve been there for our second pick – no doubt.

I don’t see how you can ever say this. I heard about other teams thinking of him as a 2nd/3rd rounder.

by Sam Page on Jun 25, 2011 10:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Who? Maybe someone would have, but so be it. No one would have been disappointed had we taken a skilled forward with that pick.

by Grizzledbear on Jun 25, 2011 11:08 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Hellberg will be at Prospect Camp this week

He arrives in Nashville tomorrow…

Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...
Follow me on Twitter: @SLakePreds

by Seth Lake on Jun 25, 2011 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Here's something to ponder.......

In the past 5 drafts, we’ve taken a grand total of 5 forwards with 12 picks in the 1st & 2nd rounds of those 5 drafts. IIRC, that’s Spaling in 2007, Wilson in 2008, Budish in 2009, Watson in 2010 and this Finnish kid this year. That’s basically 2 bottom 6 guys, 2 (hopefully) 2nd liners and a big question mark with Budish. Took 3 goalies and 4 Dmen in that same 5 drafts. Using some of those picks like Pickard and Roussell on skilled forwards would have helped a lot in addressing this lack of high end forwards in our system and made the Hellborg pick not such a bizarre thing.

by Grizzledbear on Jun 25, 2011 11:23 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

Really enjoyed seeing the interview; he seems like a very likable guy.

by LuvthePreds on Jun 26, 2011 1:30 AM EDT reply actions

It kind of makes sense if...

It’s always good to draft goalies, especially good ones. The problem I have now is that the Preds aren’t going to have enough room. So what do you do when the goalie cupboard if full? Utilize those assests in the form of a trade. Instead, Dekanich probably walks this year and they get zero compensation for him. Smith and Engren will push for the backup against Lindback, or at least that is the story, and Pickard needs his hard drive rebooted. He went into neutral as soon as he came out of juniors and got passed right up in the depth charts.

by BrianAdsFan on Jun 26, 2011 9:18 AM EDT reply actions

Man, I wanted the Devils to draft Hellberg.

Hell on Ice/In Lou We Trust/Twitter
Talking toilet, you may call me Jane.

by Kevin Sellathamby on Jun 26, 2011 9:21 AM EDT reply actions

Sorry, bud. We collect goalies like Jon Gruden collects QBs.

Regarding going 0-4 in the NHL Awards, I quote the great Hornqvist: "S**t's gonna happen."

by DonBorvio on Jun 26, 2011 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Or Lou collects left wingers

Hell on Ice/In Lou We Trust/Twitter
Talking toilet, you may call me Jane.

by Kevin Sellathamby on Jun 26, 2011 7:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Can you spare one? ;)

by Grizzledbear on Jun 26, 2011 8:55 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

take Rolston.

Hell on Ice/In Lou We Trust/Twitter
Talking toilet, you may call me Jane.

by Kevin Sellathamby on Jun 27, 2011 7:15 AM EDT up reply actions

Was thinking that other guy with the initials ZP. :)

by Grizzledbear on Jun 27, 2011 11:18 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

A little surprised, but...

I originally hated this pick, but it’s growing on me. Check out this info on Hellberg, particularly under Career Highlights:

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=13297&lang=en

And admit it… the possibilities with that name are endless… Welcome to Hellberg, The Gates of Hellberg are CLOSED, Hell:Snowballs::Hellberg:Pucks, etc.

Now, if I really wanted to stir the pot, I would suggest that this might be a sign of trading Rinne in 2-3 years… Oh, damn. Just stirred.

by Leeyore on Jun 26, 2011 10:37 PM EDT reply actions

Well, with Rinne becoming a UFA after next season, I would imagine he would negotiate a NTC in any new contract he signs. Soooo, if moving Rinne were in the cards, it would either be now or not in a long time, assuming we re-signed next off-season. The uncertainty of being able to re-sign Rinne may have been the reason we drafted this kid. Who knows…….

by Grizzledbear on Jun 26, 2011 11:04 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions