Euro Vision: Hakan Andersson Spots Future NHLers for Detroit

Originally published in Michigan Hockey in 2004

By Lucas Aykroyd

For NHL teams, succeeding in the annual NHL Entry Draft can be as risky as investing in precious metals on the stock market. Fortunately for the Detroit Red Wings, Hakan Andersson has proven his worth by consistently assembling a great portfolio of prospects. As Detroit’s chief European scout, he spends his time scouring the Old World for youngsters who often have superior puckhandling and passing skills compared to their North American peers, but, as he’ll admit, don’t always have the same intensity or physical strength in their teenage years. Still, there’s time to develop, as NHL teams retain the rights to drafted Europeans in perpetuity, unlike North Americans, who become draft-eligible again if they’re not signed within two years. And a glance at the rosters of Detroit’s three recent Cup-winning squads (1997, 1998, 2002) reveals the value of selecting European talent, with names like Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Pavel Datsyuk. Meanwhile, Jiri Hudler and Tomas Fleischmann are expected to make an impact in the years to come. Andersson spoke with Michigan Hockey by phone from Raleigh, North Carolina during a break at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft on June 27.

Michigan Hockey: Let’s start with some background on yourself and how you got involved with the Detroit organization.

Hakan Andersson: I live in Stockholm, Sweden, and I’m married. I played hockey until the age of 19, when I quit to do my compulsory military service. I was approached by the Red Wings back in 1990 after their former European scout, Christer Rockstrom, went to work for the New York Rangers. Christer and I were friends from the hockey world in Stockholm. He recommended me to them, and I’ve been working for them ever since.

MH: What is the essence of your job?

Andersson: My job is to cover every league in Europe where there’s a chance of finding future NHLers. So I stay in close touch with our scouts in various countries. In Moscow, we have Yevgeny Yefimov; in Prague, it’s Vladimir Havluj. It’s just a lot of travelling, making travel arrangements, finding out where and when teams are playing. It goes on from September to April.

MH: How many games per year do you see?

Andersson: Around 200, on average.

MH: Breaking it down, how many of those are in the Swedish Elitserien, the Finnish SM-Liiga, and so on?

Andersson: It varies. Mr. Havluj has the Czech Republic and Slovakia pretty well covered, and Russia is covered too. I’ve usually got to cover Finland on my own. Countries like Switzerland and Germany are starting to produce some players, too. But overall, I’d say it’s pretty evenly split between the big European hockey countries.

MH: How do you communicate with the Wings?

Andersson: I have an ongoing conversation with [Wings GM] Jim Nill. We speak every week: “What have you seen? Where are you going? What do you think?” I report about how our prospects are doing. Of course, we also use computers a lot.

MH: What’s your basic philosophy when it comes to drafting European players?

Andersson: Every player is such an individual. You have to look for something that you can build on. You never find complete players at the age of 18 or 19. There’s always a projection factor. With the Wings, we’re a skilled team, and we maybe favor those skilled guys a little bit. Jim trusts his scouts, and over the years, we’ve gotten a feel for what we need to bring in.

MH: How do you explain the success Detroit has had drafting Europeans in the later rounds?

Andersson: Mostly luck! [laughs] So many guys are picked every year. Obviously, we’ve seen something we liked in those late picks. But to have a Pavel Datsyuk or a Henrik Zetterberg develop into a special player after being picked in the sixth or seventh round, you need luck. I would say it comes down to 30 percent hard work, 30 percent good eyes, and 40 percent luck.

MH: Is there a guy who sticks out in your mind as a real surprise success?

Andersson: It was fun to see Tomas Holmstrom make our team and win the Cup. He was picked early in my years with the team [257th overall in 1994]. He isn’t your typical European style of player, but especially in the 1998 playoffs, his numbers were almost as good as our top players, with half the ice time. The way I found him was that a friend of mine coaching in Sweden told me that Holmstrom was playing really well for him. I’d seen him in the tryouts for the 1973-born World Junior team, with Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund and so on. I said: “I’ve seen that kid, but he’s very small, isn’t he?” At the tryouts he was 5-10 and 165 pounds, and he didn’t make the team. Now this was two years later and my friend said: “No, no, he’s 6-0 and 200 pounds.” “Wow, what the heck happened?” I realized that I had to get up to Lulea and check him out. Holmstrom played in the second highest league in Sweden, and then he went up to the top league and made the national team after we drafted him. He actually played even more aggressively in Sweden than he does here, but the NHL has such a high pace that he realized he can’t go chasing guys in the corners over here. He’s such a mentally tough person that it doesn’t bother him to take the punishment in front of the net.

MH: How did you find Datsyuk with the 171st pick in 1998?

Andersson: That was his second year of draft eligibility. The first year I didn’t even see him. I remember going to see Dmitri Kalinin’s team and they were playing against Datsyuk. Back then, he was 5-9 and 160 pounds, but I saw the skill in him. He was a hard-working little center who made plays and could beat guys. I put him down as a guy for us to draft. I actually thought he would make Russia’s World Junior team that year, but he didn’t. That helped us as far as having him available so late. When the time came, I said: “This guy has so much skill that even if he’s small, we should give him a try.”

MH: And it was similar when you picked up Zetterberg in 1998 in the 210th spot.

Andersson: Jim Nill saw Zetterberg when he came over to Sweden that year. He was one of a couple of guys I mentioned as a potential mid-rounder. After we drafted him, his development just took off. I can’t give you an explanation, but he just got stronger and quicker and much better.

MH: What do you do after the NHL Draft is over each year? Do you set goals?

Andersson: July is a month off for me. Then it starts again in August: planning, a couple of summer tournaments. Like I said, it’s an ongoing process. I’m comfortable doing this job. If the Wings ever asked me to do something in management in the future, I would consider that, provided my wife is also interested.

Future European Wings: The Class of 2004

In one of the most wide-open NHL Entry Drafts in recent history, Detroit used five of its eight picks on Europeans. Hakan Andersson gave us the low-down on the top three.

Johan Franzen

Born: December 23, 1979
Hometown: Vetlanda, Sweden
Height: 6-2
Weight: 207 pounds
Position: Center
Club: Linkoping
Drafted: 97th overall

“Big guy, good balance, strong on the boards, good faceoff guy, won the plus-minus award in Sweden. Really a good two-way player, with ability to do things with the puck and solid defensive play. We believe we can sign him and he’ll play for us somewhere.”

Siarhei Kolasau

Born: May 22, 1986
Hometown: Novopolotsk, Belarus
Height: 6-2
Weight: 187 pounds
Position: Defense
Club: Minsk
Drafted: 151st overall

“Good size, needs to fill out, good skater, plays a physical game. OK with the puck, but the offensive game isn’t his main forte. Eventually he’ll have to leave Belarus to continue developing.”

Anton Axelsson

Born: January 16, 1986
Hometown: Ytterby, Sweden
Height: 6-0
Weight: 183 pounds
Position: Left wing
Club: Frolunda Jr.
Drafted: 192nd overall

“He’s a speedy player with good hands and work ethic. He reminds you of his older brother, P-J Axelsson. He had a troublesome year with some injuries, so that may have affected where he was picked. I couldn’t believe he was still available.”