Lukas Vejdemo – taking the patient route to the NHL
It’s a hockey debate that always seem to be raging in Sweden. On one hand, you have the people that feel it’s better for a prospect to stay on home ice and develop slowly in the SHL. On the other, you have those who argue it’s better for your development if you move to North America in your late teens to prepare yourself for life as a pro and adapt to the smaller rinks, lifestyle and habits of North American hockey.
As you might imagine, there’s no right or wrong in this debate. It’s all a matter of what solution fits the one unique individual. Swedes like Gabriel Landeskog, André Burakovsky and Rickard Rakell choose the OHL route and succeeded quite well, Gustav Nyquist, Carl Hagelin and Gustav Olofsson played college hockey and reached the NHL, while Henrik Lundqvist, Henrik Zetterberg and Jakob Silfverberg waited until they were well past their 20th birthday before heading across the Atlantic. All of these players have enjoyed varying degrees of success and it’s obviously impossible to know whether their fate would have differed had they chosen another career path.
These days, it’s pretty common for Swedes to leave for North America right around the time they turn 20. For example, out of the eleven Swedish players picked in the first three rounds of the 2015 NHL entry draft in Florida, only four are playing in Sweden at the moment. And among those, Robin Kovács has returned home after spending one season in New York Rangers’ system, while Kevin Stenlund has been loaned to reigning champs HV71 by the Columbus Blue Jackets. That leaves us with two players out of that crop that are currently unsigned, injured goalie Felix Sandström (Philadelphia) and forward Lukas Vejdemo (Montréal).
Lukas Vejdemo. Photo: Bildbyrån/Andreas L Eriksson
21 year-old Vejdemo is the intriguing player here. He was considered a long shot to make the NHL when the Canadiens picked him 87th overall, but his progress with Djurgården this season has created optimism about his future.
While most young Swedish players would jump on the opportunity to sign an NHL deal, Vejdemo has donned a more cautious and patient approach. He feels like he’s a work in progress and a player that will benefit from staying on home soil a few years.
“NHL is obviously the main goal for me. But I don’t feel like I’m in a hurry to get there. It’s more of a long term goal”, he says. “I’m in my third season in the SHL and I still feel like I’m growing in this sweater every year. SHL is a really good league and there’s no reason for me to move (to North America) too early and get stuck in the AHL. I feel like I want to be ready and feel that I have performed the best I can here before I leave.”
After struggling to live up to expectations last year, Lukas Vejdemo and Djurgården have simultaneously taken a great leap forward this season. The team currently sits third in the standings, while Vejdemo has improved on the ice as well in the stats column. Last season, he had four goals and eight points in 48 games. This year, he surpassed that outcome quickly, picking up six goals and 13 points in his first 25 games. Including this beauty against Linköping, Thursday night:
Här leker Lukas Vejdemo bort bortamålvakten till 5-3 för @DIFHockeyse. #twittpuck pic.twitter.com/L5bwTS7mnG
— C More Sport (@cmoresport) December 7, 2017
Djurgården head coach Robert Ohlsson likes the improvements Vejdemo have made to his game and applauds his work ethic.
“I feel like, this summer he decided that he was going give hockey a chance and give himself a chance to reach his dream”, Ohlsson says. “He has worked much. much harder than before and invested more of his time in hockey. You can see the results right now.”
“The dream” is obviously the NHL. As for the Montréal Canadiens, it’s not like Lukas Vejdemo doesn’t talk to their scouts because of his long term approach. On the contrary. He keeps in touch with Swedish scout Christer Rockström, who even helped him get in contact with strength and conditioning coach Daniel Hedin to further improve his results in the gym and, hence, on the ice.
“It has helped me grow even stronger and improve my skating even more”, Vejdemo notes. “I feel like I’ve gotten a better push in my first few strides and it makes a huge difference.”
Lukas Vejdemo would like to make even more improvements in his game before plying his trade in North America, but readily admits that the Montréal Canadiens will have their say in his future plans.
“We’ll se what they feel is best for me and how the rest of the season progresses”, Vejdemo says. “I want to finish this season before I make a decision. We’ll see what happens, but I rather spend an extra season in the SHL than one extra in the AHL.”