Lundkvist Happy to Make Sweden's Prelim Roster at World Juniors

Nils Lundkvist could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Before Monday's practice, the 28th overall pick of the New York Rangers in last summer's draft was approached by his assistant coach in Luleå Hockey, Henrik Stridh. Stridh, who's also the assistant coach of the Swedish U20 team, told Lundkvist he had made it. He was indeed one of eight defensemen who had been selected for the preliminary roster ahead of the World Juniors.
"I had obviously been thinking about it quite a lot", Lundkvist tells NYRangers.com. "It's been in the back of my mind and I've eagerly been waiting for their decision. You always get nervous when there's uncertainty in life, but also a lot of happiness when you finally get the good news."
The 18-year-old defensemen, who's in his second SHL season with Luleå, have been a regular on head coach Tomas Montén's Swedish tournament rosters this season. His inclusion on the roster wasn't a surprise, but with the glut of talented defensemen Sweden is producing right now, it wasn't like he could relax either.
"We have a lot of really good young defensemen", Lundkvist notes. "The competition is extremely tough. Just look at the guys we have in North America with Timothy Liljegren, Rasmus Sandin, Erik Brännström and Adam Boqvist. Those are exceptionally talented players."
And that's without mentioning the first overall pick from last summer's draft, Buffalo Sabres' rookie Rasmus Dahlin, who won't be made available for the tournament in Vancouver and Victoria. For Lundkvist's part, the fight for a roster spot is far from over. Out of the eight defensemen on the roster, one will be sent home before the tournament starts on December 26th.

"It's going to be a battle", he acknowledges. "But now that I've made it this far, I need to go there with the attitude that I've got nothing to lose."
Nils Lundkvist caught Tomas Montén's eye during his rookie season in the SHL last year. In the Rangers prospect, he sees an all-round player with the ability to take responsibility at both ends of the ice.
"He's a very useful two-way defenseman", Montén tells NYRangers.com. "He can run your power play for sure, but he can also play the shutdown role. When we played in Kamloops this summer (World Junior Summer Showcase), he played a lot with (Philadelphia Flyers prospect Adam) Ginning and we used that pairing against the opponents' top players."
"He's a smart player who's really quick in thought and action and has qualities on the penalty kill as well", Montén says.
Still, Nils Lundkvist is the first person to confess that the start of this season hasn't been what he hoped for. After having a rookie season where he basically came out of nowhere and became one of the most talked about young players in Sweden's top league, he has experienced the first real setback of his young career this fall.
"It's been a bit tough, to be honest", he says. "Last year, everything went my way. I really don't think I dipped once during the whole season. Maybe I experienced that dip now. For some reason, I haven't really been able to play my best hockey. I've been thinking too much on the ice and maybe felt some of the pressure that comes with this."
At the same time, he feels like he has turned a corner the past few weeks.
"Lately, I've been feeling a lot better out there", Nils Lundkvist says. "I've been trying to play more on instinct and had a better flow in my game. It feels like a reload. I'm enjoying myself on the ice now."
Having a setback isn't necessarily a bad thing. Nils Lundkvist looks back at this fall as a part of his learning curve.
"I doubt this is the last time I will have a setback during my career", he notes, "I'm still young - only 18 years old - and I think this will be good for me. It will make me a better player."
Tomas Montén, who has coached the Swedish U20 team since 2016, knows a thing or two about the ups and downs prospects go through early in their careers. He says it's common for players such as Lundkvist to endure some rough spells after the summer they get drafted.
"There's a lot of travel back and forth between Sweden and North America, a lot of camps, interviews, and testing. Just a lot of big things happening in their lives", Montén says. "So maybe Nils had a bit of a setback in Luleå because of this, but he's been one of the best defensemen in the tournaments we have played. I'm not worried about him, not worried at all."
Lundkvist won't use the eventful summer as an excuse for not playing to his potential. Instead, he looks at the experiences he has gathered during 2018 as positives that'll help him grow as a player. "Sure, it's been a busy time, but at the same time it's all been a blast", he says. "These are things and experiences you would never ever want to be without."
He also talks fondly of the continued dialogue he has with the Rangers. He refers to their staff as "very supportive" when things didn't go according to plan earlier in the season.
"I've talked a lot to (Swedish scout) Patric Kjellberg and (Director of European scouting) Nickolai Bobrov as well as (Director of Player Development) Jed Ortmeyer", he says. "They've all had my back. They told me to be patient and not get down on myself when I wasn't happy with my game. I'm really happy with their advice and expertise."
After being drafted by the Rangers and attending the development camp last summer, Nils Lundkvist has a greater appreciation of how big and functional an NHL organization actually is.
"It's impressive, for sure", he says. "I was blown away by both the organization and the city. Now I try to catch all the results and see how the team is doing. I can't wait to go back next summer."
2018-19 Rangers Tickets Are on Sale Now. Click Here to Get Tickets »