Leo Sahlin Wallenius 2024 NHL Draft Profile - The Win Column (2024)

It’s that time of the year forThe Win Column’sNHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! The 2024 NHL Draft will take place on June 28 and 29 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

Up next is Swedish defenceman, Leo Sahlin Wallenius.

Who is Leo Sahlin Wallenius

Who is Sahlin Wallenius?

Sahlin Wallenius started off his career playing U16 hockey as a 13-year-old. He didn’t feature in too many games, only suiting up for 10. However, in those 10 apperances, he scored four goals and four assists for a total of eight points.

The following year, Sahlin Wallenius was once again on the Division 1 U16 team. He took some big steps forward in the 13 games he played. His goal-scoring improved to seven and his assists to 11. This means he finished with 18 points and over a point per game as a 14-year-old.

He then made the J18 team at 15 years old. The limited season and big jump definitely played a part in his struggle. In only five games, he put up two points.

In 2021–22, Sahlin Wallenius spent a lot of time switching between Vaxjo Lakers teams. Two U16 teams with SM and Region. In total, he played five games and scored three points. He also then split time with two J18 teams, which is where he spent a majority of his season. With both teams he played 15 games—for Region he scored eight points, for Nationell he scored six. Sahlin Wallenius then received a small stint with the J20 team. He only played five games and put up two points. Those two points won him the accolade of most points by a U16 junior.

By 2022–23, Sahlin Wallenius graduated from the U16 teams. He once again played for the J18 Region and Nationell team, mainly with Region. In his 16 games with Region, he scored seven goals and 15 points. He had the honour of scoring the most goals by a defenceman on a south team. In the additional four games he had with Nationell, he put up two points. Then as a 16/17-year-old, Sahlin Wallenius spent a majority of his time with the J20 Nationell team. He suited up for 30 games and the harder competition and likely limited playing time saw him score only eight points.

Walking into his draft season, Sahlin Wallenius needed to have a big year and that he did. It started with the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in the summer. Sweden played four games, placing fifth after beating Switzerland 3–2 in overtime. Sahlin Wallenius impressed in Sweden’s games, producing five points. Then his season in Sweden started. He had a very small stint with the J18 Region team, playing only three games and scoring one point.

Almost his whole year was spent with the J20 Nationell team. With them, he suited up for 43 games and got the production he desperately needed. 11 goals and 42 points was Sahlin Wallenius’ end-of-year statline. That picked him up a few accolades including most assists by a defenceman with his 31. He ended his draft season with a U18 World Juniors appearance. Sahlin Wallenius only put up three points in Sweden’s seven game run to a bronze medal.

Sahlin Wallenius’ strengths

Skating

Sahlin Wallenius’ main draw is his skating. Like many defencemen with great skating, Sahlin Wallenius brings strong four-way mobility to the table. Starting with his speed, he appears as a fourth forward a lot on the rush. He is great on the transition being able to weave or outspeed opponents. Most of the time it appears he’s being shot of a cannon.

In-zone, he can control play and cycle with his deceptive movement and quick cuts. Defensively, Sahlin Wallenius also uses his skating to his advantage. His speed also applies to his back skating and he can keep up with some of the fastest forwards in his league. He can close and control gaps well with his agility and he’s a great puck retriever.

Puck-moving abilities

In addition to his skating, Sahlin Wallenius brings in a package of fantastic puck-moving skills. This includes good vision, passing, hands, and puck control. Sahlin Wallenius’ vision really sticks out. He can anticipate a play and make the perfect choice for it. He can do this on the rush and find the teammate with the most space or he can do it while quarterbacking the power play. Creating a breakout is another time he uses this skill. He’ll either send an impactful long-range pass or skate closer to his option. His passing goes hand in hand with his vision.

His vision wouldn’t be as impactful if he didn’t have the skill in passing he did. Making the simple play or doing something flashy is something you can both expect out of Sahlin Wallenius. He uses his hands and puck control to move around and be dangerous all over the ice. Working his way through opponents, keeping possession when pressured, or working inside the zone, Sahlin Wallenius does pretty well at all. He’s got quick soft hands and has the reflex to pull off more risky moves.

Smarts

A high hockey IQ allows Sahlin Wallenius to have good awareness in both zones and be able to adapt. Just like I mentioned in the section before, he can anticipate the play and read it before it develops. He knows and understands the development of play and the habits his opponents might have. Placing himself in the right position for what he reads usually works out well for him.

This can be defensive by breaking up passes or removing space for his opponent. It can also be offensive, adapting to the changing play, depending on the defensive structure or the situation that suddenly appears. He plays with poise, is great at making decisions under pressure and can handle physical play without making too many dumb mistakes.

Sahlin Wallenius’ areas of improvement

Physicality

Sahlin Wallenius isn’t the biggest defenceman, but it is not very often you see him attempt to perform in the physical aspect of the game. Using the other skills he has to gain the advantage is what he prefers but that doesn’t work in every situation. He’s not aggressive enough physically in a situation such as a board battle. He might sit back and watch or he’ll be easily outmuscled due to a lower effort.

Other situations could be facing down an opponent or trying to clear the zone. He’s hesitant to try to be physical which can result in extra pressure for the attacking team. This can come in the form of rebounds, puck possession, etc.

Deciding when to shoot

A projectable and versatile shot is something Sahlin Wallenius has, but his decision-making of when to shoot might be a problem. He’s got a decently hard and quite accurate wrist, snap, and slap shot. It’s not like he shoots into blocked lanes, he’s pretty good at avoiding that and doing something with an open area. The problem is the time he takes to shoot. He tries to be perfect and wants the best chance he can get. That’s good except when it takes away any danger the shot might have generated.

Sahlin Wallenius’ comparables

For a comparable, I could see Oliver Kylington for Sahlin Wallenius. Kylington is a very smooth-skating defenceman with some speed to him. He’s got pretty good hands and an offensive game that can be capitalized on. A lack of physical aggression can be seen just like Sahlin Wallenius.

Fit with the Flames

Defencemen prospects are definitely a need for the Flames. Right shots are needed more than left shots but Sahlin Wallenius wouldn’t be a bad add. He’s got a more projectable two-way game than any current Flames prospect. His super nice skating also wouldn’t be a bad add eventually with how slow the Flames have been in the past few years.

Summary

Leo Sahlin Wallenius is a defenceman with great skating who has spent his entire career so far in his home country of Sweden. He brings good offensive skills with his vision, passing, hands, and puck control added to his skating. He has lots of potential to be a power play quarterback, but also struggles with timing to shoot and physical aggression can be seen but those things can be worked on. I see Sahlin Wallenius projecting out to be a #4 defenceman for a competitive team.

Risk: 2/5

Reward: 3/5

NHL Comparable: Oliver Kylington

Projection: Number 4 defenceman

Check out all of The Win Column’s individual player profiles of selected 2024 NHL Draft prospects:

Macklin Celebrini | Ivan Demidov | Artyom Levshunov | Sam Dickinson | Cayden Lindstrom | Berkly Catton | Cole Eiserman | Zeev Buium | Konsta Helenius | Zayne Parekh | Carter Yakemchuk | Anton Silayev | Tij Iginla | Adam Jiricek | Michael Brandsegg-Nygard | Liam Greentree | Igor Chernyshov | Trevor Connelly | Aron Kiviharju | Michael Hage | Ryder Ritchie | Sacha Boisvert | Nikita Artamonov | Maxim Masse | Cole Hutson | Beckett Sennecke | Dominik Badinka | Emil Hemming | Henry Mews | Terik Parascak | Alfons Freij | Charlie Elick | EJ Emery | John Mustard | Luka Misa | Tanner Howe | Lucas Pettersson | Matvei Gridin | Dean Letourneau | Leo Sahlin Wallenius

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