Draft profile: Carlsson could be the big center the Jackets need

The 2023 NHL Draft kicks off Wednesday, with the Blue Jackets holding the No. 3 overall pick in what many experts agree is a high-end draft.

Highly sought-after wunderkind Connor Bedard is likely headed to Chicago with the No. 1 choice, but the Blue Jackets will still be able to a player with high-end skill in the draft. Among the potential choices are big, steady Swedish center Leo Carlsson; electrically skilled American center Will Smith; physical and talented Canadian center Adam Fantilli; and the wild card, offensively gifted Russian winger Matvei Michkov.

MORE: Draft consensus rankings | CBJ draft hub | RSVP for Wednesday's draft party

With that in mind, we're breaking down those four players the rest of this week, starting today with Carlsson. An intriguing mix of size, smarts and skill, Carlsson has spent the past two seasons playing as a teenager in Sweden's top professional league with Orebro HK.

We'll list Carlsson's vitals, his accomplishments in his career to this point, share a couple quotes from the player himself at the NHL Scouting Combine and conclude with expert opinions on the standout.

Leo Carlsson: The Vitals

Position: Center

Age:18 (Born Dec. 26, 2004)

Height/Weight: 6-3, 198

Hometown: Karlstad, Sweden

The Accomplishments

• Ranked the No. 1 international skater available by NHL Central Scouting after posting a 10-15-25 line in 44 games with Orebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League.
• Added nine points (one goal, eight assists) in 13 games for Orebro as the squad reached the semifinals of the SHL postseason.
• Posted the fifth-most points of a draft-eligible player in a season in SHL history behind Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Elias Lindholm and Nicklas Backstrom.
• Led SHL U-20 players in points, edging the eighth overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft, Marco Kasper (23 points).
• Named Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year.
• Notched nine points (3-6-9) in 35 games in 2021-22 as the youngest player in the SHL.
• Posted three goals and three assists for six points in seven games for fourth-place Sweden at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. Included were two goals in a quarterfinal win vs. rival Finland and a goal and an assist in the bronze medal game against Team USA.
• Also was part of Sweden's IIHF World Championships roster, posting a 3-2-5 line -- including two goals in a preliminary round game vs. the United States -- with a plus-5 rating in eight games.

Get To Know Leo

Dylan Tyrer interviews Leo Carlsson

The Experts Say

CBJ radio host Dylan Tyrer has spoken to a number of scouts and draft experts leading into the draft on the Pipeline Podcast presented by Ruoff. Here's what they had to say about Carlsson.

Scott Wheeler, The Athletic: "His game is all about slowing it down, playing at his pace. He's not a super fast player. He's not a super physical player. But he just processes out there, reads the play at an extremely high level, understands where to be on the ice, where to go on the ice, how to make plays. He has great finesse skills as a passer and handler of the puck for a player his size. He just maneuvers and slips his way around the ice making plays. He's not going to be a volume shooter. He's not going to be the guy that has six, seven, eight shots on goal in a game. He's more of a passing, playmaking type, but if he can score 20-25 goals in a season and still be a 70- to 75-point center and have that element of size and play on your top power-play unit, that's still a top-three pick all day in the draft. … He's not going to dangle his way to the net or rip pucks past goalies, but he's a really smart, heady, playmaking center."

Chris Peters, FloHockey:"We're talking about a guy with tremendous size, a guy that can play down the middle, a guy with great hands. You don't often see that. His feet are OK; they aren't amazing. He's not a great skater, but he's a good enough skater at his size. I think he thinks the game at an incredibly intelligent level. … Just to see what he did this year was pretty awesome. He exudes confidence. I think he has swagger on the ice, too, which I love to see from a young guy. He's not fazed by what everybody is throwing at him in this pro league. He's bigger. He can shrug it off. He just makes a lot of really clean plays. With his talent and his skill level and his size on top of that … to me he's been one of the most fascinating players to watch this year because of the level that he achieved at as a young player in a professional league. Twenty-five points is just insane. I have a lot of respect for him. To see what he did this year at the World Juniors and the SHL level, this is a guy that has a chance to be another one of those franchise, building-block type players."

Adam Kimelman, NHL.com:"I think it's just his head for the game, the hockey IQ, the hockey sense. When you're not a Connor McDavid-like skater and you can get everywhere you need to get to in a blink of an eye, you need to have a head for the game. When you're that smart, it makes you look even faster. I really like the hockey sense Carlsson has shown. Playing in the World Championships for Sweden, when you're 18 years old, to be able to play at that level with and against NHL stars and to produce, it says something about your talent level, your head for the game. And then you add in the size and the strength and all the other little things he does so well, I think Carlsson has a chance to be a very special player. … I think he can be a No. 1 center who can really lead your team."

Dan Marr, NHL Central Scouting director: "He's a complete package. We've been watching him play for the last two years, more so this year at the elite level in Sweden, so he's already playing and contributing at the pro level. … He has a presence when he's on the ice where he has that composure and smarts, and he has the skill set to make plays, he's got the skill set to drive plays, and there's no holes to his game right now. He's going to be a little more NHL ready just because of the experience levels that he has, and there's a long history of players from Sweden that once they come over and get to the NHL, they stay in the NHL. So whether he comes over right away or plays another year (in Sweden), once he comes over to play in North America, he'll be in the National Hockey League. He's a consummate teammate, he's a team-first player, and you can just see that. He has all the offensive tools, and he is the complete player with his size, smarts and speed to play in the National Hockey League."