2026 NHL Draft Profile: Adam Andersson

Last year, I spent a lot of the season following Tinus Luc Koblar as I checked in on his teammate on Leksands' U20 junior team, Victor Johansson. I loved his combination of size, skating, and skill that hadn't quite come together yet to result in high-levels of points for the level. But I could see the tools and the potential, and Toronto wound up surprising even me by not just drafting him, but taking him in the late second round.

This year, while checking in on Koblar and Johansson in the pre-season and the first couple of games, there was this guy who kept catching my attention. To steal a term I learned from Will Scouch, he was what I call a "glitter guy" because while watching another player he kept sparkling and drawing my eye to him. So I have been watching and following this guy closely since the pre-season which for Sweden's junior league starts in early September.

That player was Adam Andersson, and boy has watching him this season given me a big case of déjà vu from following Koblar last year.

THE BASICS: STATS AND CONTEXT

• Position: Left-shot centre
• League(s): U20 Nationell
• Height: 6'4"
• Weight: 215 lbs
• Birthdate: Jul 2, 2008

Here are his draft rankings, as of writing this:

• TSN NHL Scout Poll: Not ranked
• Cam Robinson NHL Scout Poll: Not ranked
• Corey Pronman: 72nd
• Will Scouch: 27th
• Elite Prospects: 62nd
• Scott Wheeler: Honourable mention
• McKeen's Hockey: 48th
• Upside Hockey: 66th
• NHL Central Scouting: 20th (European skaters)

Let's get the other superficial similarities Andersson has with Koblar out of the way. He's also big, in fact he's a bit bigger (6'4" vs 6'3", and 214 lbs vs 198 lbs). He was also born in July making him on the younger side for his draft class. He also plays center. That's where the similarities end, or any that's left are stretches.

Andersson is Swedish born, and has come up with Leksands the past two years. Last year, he was on their U18 team as a 16 year old. In the first phase of the season, the J18 Region, he tied for the team lead in points with 9 goals and 29 points in 21 games. In the other phase, the J18 Nationell, he had only 8 points in 16 games. He had 2 goals in 6 playoff games to end the season, and also got into 7 games at the U20 level to play a bit with Koblar and Johansson.

This year, Andersson did have some games back with the U18 team during lulls in the U20 season, playing a total of 6 games and had 9 points. For the most part, he played at the U20 level, mostly as a middle six center, and had 17 points in 30 games. He got into 8 playoff games with no points. If that doesn't seem that high, I'll put a reminder out that Koblar actually had a lower point per game pace than that while playing a similar middle six center role.

This was also the first year that Andersson ever got to play internationally for Sweden, but boy did he make up for lost time. First, he played at the Hlinka Gretzky and had 4 points in 5 games, helping Sweden get to the finals where they lost to Team USA. He played in mostly a bottom six checking role with a heavier defensive usage.

Andersson then played for Sweden again at the WJAC for U19 teams (though Sweden always only brings U18 players). He was praised as one of their best players, putting up 6 points in 5 games while losing to Team USA in the finals again. He was used as what I can only call their top tier depth, playing a defensive and physical role at even strength but also getting some good powerplay time as the net front guy.

Third time lucky, Andersson was part of Sweden's gold medal winning roster at the World U18s and had 4 points in 7 games playing mostly as their fourth line center at even strength. He was getting matched up against other teams' top lines and relied on to shut them down, something he did well. In fact, the bigger the game the more they relied on him for it. His three highest ice times came in the three elimination games, first against Canada (15:06 in a 4-2 win, had an assist), then in the semis against Czechia (17:07 in 4-3 overtime win), and in the gold medal win against Slovakia (16:34 in 4-2 win, had a goal).

Outside of those, he played in 10 additional games for Sweden in various exhibitions and mini-tournaments, and had 7 points in those games. So in total, Andersson had 20 points in 27 games for Sweden this season.

So the impression you should be getting about Andersson is that he's been used as a checking line center, but has shown the ability to produce offensively while shutting things down defensively.

THE GOOD: PRO-READY ABILITIES & PHYSICAL TOOLS, OFF-PUCK SUPPORT

The biggest strength Andersson has is that he simply plays a pro-ready game. I have no doubt that he could follow in Koblar's footsteps and wind up getting a surprising amount of games at the pro level next year because of it. He has the size, strength and physical tools to do it already and on both sides of the puck.

Offensively, Andersson uses his size and frame to protect the puck from defenders, and can also use the boards where needed to shield it. He excels on the cycle and doing the dirty work along the boards, behind the net, in front of the net, etc. Despite being so tall, he knows to keep a wide base in those areas so it's a lot harder to knock him off balance.

Without the puck, Andersson can park himself in front of the net and very few players can move him. He sets smart screens on the goalies, has a good sense of timing and movement to pounce on loose pucks off rebounds or deflections, and how to position himself to take quick passes into the slot or to slip to the side of the net for a back door pass. He is very strong as an off-puck supporter and facilitator on offense. He routinely moves to make himself available to his teammates, and occupies the center-lane on breakouts to give a good outlet.

Andersson acts as a connector to offensive sequences, acting as a needed link in a sequence of passes, like give and go plays, and with his size helps to to push the play in the desired direction even through heavy pressure. He supports the offense a lot in these ways even when he doesn't have the puck, and even if he isn't the one getting the points on the goals that come.

On the defensive side of things, we're getting to Andersson's bread and butter. He has very high level awareness, intelligence and positioning in his own end. He plays a structurally sound game when it comes to executing his team's system in the defensive zone – something that was far easier to appreciate on the international stage than in Sweden's junior league. He pays attention to the details that will make him the BFF of every coach he plays for. He supports the defensemen low in the zone, and will step in to lift sticks, shut puck carriers down by pinning them on the boards, and so on.

Throughout his defensive game (and offensive actually), Andersson plays with a relentless motor and a high level work ethic. You will not see him take off shifts, and maybe it's just his style of play but he often looks pretty intense. He works hard in a physical manner, he forechecks aggressively and backchecks just as hard. This is the other reason why coaches will always love him.

THE FLAWS: LIMITED OFFENSIVE SKILL AND PROJECTED CEILING

When it comes to Andersson's weaknesses, you can basically point to any kind of offensive skill you can think of and include that. Not that he's truly awful or devoid of skill in that area, but none of it is at a high or dynamic level. He doesn't have a lot of dangles he can use to break down defenses to beat guys off the rush or just in open ice. He'll get by defenders by passing it off and skating to the dangerous area, by protecting the puck and overwhelming defenders physically.

Andersson also doesn't have a great shot, and as I just mentioned he doesn't have the hands to really create his own shots. The shots he gets are from going to the net and hunting for rebounds, deflections, and passes to tap in. It's not that there isn't any value in that, but it means that his offensive game, as of right now, projects to be pretty limited relative to other prospects you may want to take in the second or third rounds. Even the one offensive area I would say is his 'best', which is passing the puck, is also pretty limited.

So we're looking at a guy who has a ton of utility as a depth center, but whose strengths right now rely a lot on his physical advantages. That's something where the gap he can exploit over his peers will only get more and more narrow as he plays in better leagues where there will be more guys who are as big as he is.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

So, why do I still really like the idea of taking Andersson in the same area of the draft as Koblar was taken last year? There's a combination of reasons. Part of it is because this draft doesn't seem as deep or as strong as most years, and the other forwards who seem to be more realistic as possibilities to be available in the late second round have just as many doubts and flaws. Andersson may seem as a 'safe' pick, but I'm saying I would pick him with the gamble being that some parts of his offensive game can be developed and improved enough to make him more versatile as a big power-center.

In fact, like with Koblar in his draft year I saw Andersson make a lot of improvements through this season alone. His confidence handling the puck rose by a lot. He wasn't handling it like a live grenade, and the decisions he was making with it were more decisive and effective without being as rushed or prone to turning it over. Again, even if he wasn't flashy, he doesn't need to be to use things like a give and go where he gets it off the boards to a teammate then powers his way to the front of the net and taking some defenders with him. Come this spring, most scouts also recognized his ability to positively impact his team's offense improved by leaps and bounds compared to the fall.

The other thing that improved a lot was Andersson's skating. He wasn't a bad skater to start the year, and though I saw some scouts question his mechanics a bit there was never a question that he was able to get around at an above average level. I recall one scout said something like "his mechanics don't matter as much when his output is as good as it is". He can still make some improvements here, mainly his explosiveness – which if you remember all my other profiles is something I mention for most prospects. He's not likely to be considered an elite skater, but being above average with his size is more than a good enough combination to have.

Even with his offensive skills seeming relatively limited, Andersson is just so damn effective I don't think it matters. He can drive transitions at a high level because his skating is quite good and his handling or passing is good enough. He can help his team offensively by being so good defensively his line doesn't have to spend as much time in their own end, but can push it into the offensive zone instead. Like... watching all the highlights in the videos I'm sharing, does he seem like he's completely without skill? He's not a bum with the puck, he's just not as good as others ranked in this range, when those others are equally or more weak at the things Andersson is really good at.

If you work with Andersson a lot with Toronto's development coaches, I think there's more to get out of those parts of his game. Better decision making, a few more tools and tricks he can use in various situations to not be a turnover risk, maybe improving his shot especially for a guy who will have most of his shots coming from dangerous areas close to the net, things like that.

Honestly, I will also admit that one of the reasons why I like the idea of drafting Andersson is imagining both him and Koblar on the same line utterly terrorizing teams with their size, speed, and physical play. Stick an all skill winger with the two of them who would be more than able to cover for them defensively and that could be a fun and responsible third line.

Thanks for reading!

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