It’s that time of the year for The Win Column’s NHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! The 2024 NHL Draft will be held on June 28 and 29 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
Next up is Swedish defenceman Alfons Freij. Freij is a late riser in this draft class, usually ranked in the late first or early second round, with some putting him in their top 20s.
Who is Alfons Freij?
| Player | Position | Handedness | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfons Freij | D | Left | 6’1″ | 196lbs |
Freij’s on-ice production
| Year | Draft Relative | League | Team | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | D-4 | U16 Div. 1 | Olofstroms IK U16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020–21 | D-3 | U16 Region | Karlskrona HK U16 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| 2021–22 | D-2 | U16 Region | Vaxjo Lakers HC U16 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| U16 SM | Vaxjo Lakers HC U16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| J18 Region | Vaxjo Lakers HC J18 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| J18 Nationell | Vaxjo Lakers HC J18 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 9 | ||
| J20 Nationell | Vaxjo Lakers HC J20 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23 | D-1 | J18 Region | Vaxjo Lakers HC J18 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| J18 Nationell | Vaxjo Lakers HC J18 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | ||
| J20 Nationell | Vaxjo Lakers HC J20 | 32 | 0 | 8 | 8 | ||
| 2023–24 | D+0 | J18 Region | Vaxjo Lakers HC J18 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| J20 Nationell | Vaxjo Lakers HC J20 | 40 | 14 | 19 | 33 | ||
| WJC-18 | Sweden U18 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
Alfons Freij has had a very interesting career so far. He gets a lot of small stints and didn’t play a complete season until last year. We can track back all the way to his D-4 year when he’s 14 years old in 2020. Freij picked up a goal in the two games he played with Olofstroms IK. In 2020–21, his season was impacted by the global pandemic, and it was only seven games long. In those seven games, he picked up four goals and 10 points which put him in a tie for first for team scoring.
Freij played for many different versions and levels of the Vaxjo Lakers in 2021–22. He spent the majority of his time with the U18 team in the J18 Region and Nationell. In the Region, he played a total of 11 games, putting up four assists, and in the Nationell, he improved with 14 games, two goals, and nine points. Throughout the whole year, Freij totaled 38 games played and 17 points. The following year, Freij was promoted to the U20 team, playing a handful of games with the U18 teams. In the J20 Nationell, Freij suited up for 32 games, accumulating eight points.
On to his draft year, this was a big season for Freij for obvious reasons. He once again spent pretty much his whole season with the J20 Nationell team, playing only three games for the J18 team. Getting eight more games than last season, Freij played 40 games, scoring 14 goals and 33 points. What really sticks out is Freij’s improvement in goal scoring, going from zero in 2022–23 to 14 this year. Freij participated and impressed in the very recent U18 World Championship that ended yesterday. Sweden won the bronze medal over Slovakia, with Freij helping, putting up six points in Sweden’s seven games.
Freij’s strengths
Skating
Freij’s best trait would be his skating. He’s got everything you would hope for in terms of mobility, but what really stands out is his speed. Spotting open lanes to skate through is something Freij excels at and uses to his advantage. He’ll wait until there is an option and then blow past the defenders. He can do this while carrying the puck or without it.
When he’s without the puck, it’s almost like he’s a fourth forward, joining the rush and being a passing option. He’ll catch the other team lacking and use his speed to take on all five defenders while they readjust. With his skating, Freij can move around the zone smoothly. He can move along the boards or at the blue line while handling the puck.
Freij can combine all of his skating skills to create dangerous end-to-end chances, using quick movements, deceptive body language, and his speed to get past defenders. His skating isn’t just limited to offence. When he needs to backcheck, he’ll put in the effort and speed to get back and defend the attack.
Skills
Skill is another huge part of Freij’s game and I can see the argument for it to be his best over his skating. Just like he is with his skating, he’s deceptive, smart, and simple with it. He makes small stick movements that bring the idea of danger and drags defenders in. This allows for his teammates to get open and for him to give out a pass.
Once again, with these quick little movements, defenders can also appear to be afraid to attack the puck, allowing Freij to send a pass over to an unwatched teammate. Freij can glide into the centre of the offensive zone, keeping pressure on him, and then hand the puck off to his teammate, which allows them to get a quick and more dangerous shot off.
His deceptiveness can come in many areas, one being retrieving the puck. He’ll poise himself as passive, making the attacker less cautious, and then use sudden aggression to throw them off. Using his skill, Freij attempts a breakout in a flashy way. Freij does well using fake shots. He’ll walk in and position his body and hands as if he is going to take a shot but then switch last second to a pass.
Smarts
Freij is a very smart player, and his high hockey IQ rounds out the rest of his game. He is always scanning and looking for the best play possible. His skating lets him face straight forward while moving dynamically, which continues his ability to read the play. He’ll wait before creating a breakout, determining the best pass to make or that he’s the best option.
When he’s in the offensive zone, he doesn’t sit back unless there’s a motive to gain advantage and activate behind it. The other thing he does is he’ll look at where the puck is, scan the zone and then move around based on the puck movement. His smarts shine on the defensive side of things too.
He doesn’t over-act and will sit back when he needs to before attacking the rush with a stick lift. He keeps his stick in front of him, preparing for a poke check and removing space for the opponent. When he gets the puck off a defensive attack, he can read the quickness of the play and bolt up the ice if needed.
Freij’s areas of improvement
Strength
Despite not having a small frame, Freij does lack some strength. He’s relentless and has a great motor, but it can be obvious sometimes that he needs to get stronger. He uses his stick and skating very often to defend, but that can get him burned from time to time. He might be too passive and allow the opponents to work around his stick.
Other times, he just seems to stop, and that makes him lose his advantage. With his good stick play and motor, he battles hard for the puck but he can be pushed aside or outmuscled a decent amount due to not having enough strength.
Shot selection
Freij has a shot full of potential, but for now, his selection with it could be a bit better. He shoots a lot, which may work in a lower league but may not translate to a higher level. With the shots he takes, sometimes he’s just shooting to shoot, with no real danger added from the shot. He will also shoot into blocked lanes. These poor decisions can lead to turnovers or killed pressure.
Freij’s comparables
There are a handful of NHLers I can see Freij drawing comparisons to. I could see anywhere from an Erik Brannstrom to a Quinn Hughes, depending on how good one thinks Freij is. To me, the perfect middle ground is Samuel Girard. Girard is a smooth-skating defenceman with offensive instincts that rely on his passing skill more than his shot, similar to Freij.
Fit with the Flames
Centres and defencemen are the Flames’ biggest needs in terms of talent in the organization. Freij is a defenceman, and while the Flames need righties more than lefties, he would be a great addition. Adding Freij would bolster an already solid left-side pool with Poirier, Grushnikov, and Morin. He doesn’t play exactly the same as any of those threes and would bring much-needed skill and speed on the blueline.
Summary
Freij is a Swedish, offensive-minded defenceman that has an interesting career path and a good draft year. As the year has gone on, Freij has climbed in rankings but still sits at the end of the first round. He brings a game built around smooth skating, great skill, and high smarts. His strength and shot selection could use some work but don’t hold him back immensely for now.
There is some risk with Freij playing in a J20 league instead of the SHL, but that shouldn’t hinder his stock too much. I find that I’m higher on Freij than most, I do see him with the potential to be a top-pair guy, but I could also see him end up on the bottom-pair. In a realistic projection, I see Freij as a second-pair defenceman with chances to quarterback a power play.
Risk: 2.5/5
Reward: 4/5
NHL Comparable: Samuel Girard
Projection: Second-pair 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
