David Rundblad Appreciation Thread

2007-08: Mikko Luoma

Louma was a 6th round selection (181st overall) of the Edmonton Oilers in 2002. His Salming Trophy came for a 35-point (10G, 25A) season with the awesome HV71. He played in 49 games that season. Obviously, he was playing in the Elitserien five years after he was drafted, and that's not an encouraging sign.

In fact, he lasted just one year in the Oilers' system, playing 65 games for the AHL's Toronto Roadrunners in 2003-04. In those games, he manged just 26 points -- four goals and 22 assists. He also appeared in three games for Edmonton, recording an assist. After that, he returned to the Elitserien, where he has remained.

2008-09: Marcus Ragnarsson

Rangarsson may go by the more awesome name "Magnus" in Sweden. Anyway, he was a 5th round selection (99th overall) for the San Jose Sharks in 1992. Rangarsson played in the NHL for 10 years, and was a Sharks representative at the 2001 All Star Game. His highest point total, 39 (8G, 31A) came in his first year with the Sharks. He returned to Sweden during the lockout (BETTMAN SUCKS) and stayed there.

During his Salming-winning season, he scored 37 points (12G, 25A) in 49 games for the silly Djurgårdens IF. He was forced to retire due to injury a few years later.

2009-10: Magnus Johansson

Johansson was undrafted. However, he did sign a one-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2007. His four assists in 18 games got him traded to the Florida Panthers for a draft pick, though which one is not readily apparent. In Florida, he notched 10 assists in 27 games. His contract up, he signed with Atlant Moscow of the KHL.

Suffice it to say, that's not a very impressive track record of NHL success. Rangarsson is the only player who had an NHL career that lasted longer than one year.

Other Comparables

Rundblad's 50 points were the third-most in the Elitserien last year. On a whim, I decided to check on his competition: How many other top Elitserien scorers had been drafted by NHL teams?

Joakim Lindström - 2nd round, 41st overall by Columbus in 2002. Never caught on, traded to Anaheim, waived and claimed by Chicago (but re-claimed by Anaheim instead, so Chicago never got him) then traded to Phoenix, then headed to the KHL. Signed a one-year deal with Colorado this season, but was waived by the team in November. Currently playing for Skellefteå AIK.

Mikko Lehtonen - 3rd round, 83rd overall by Boston in 2005. Played two years for Providence, Boston's AHL affiliate, and then returned to Sweden. His rights were traded to Minnesota, but he's currently playing in the KHL.

Martin Thörnberg - Undrafted.

Byron Ritchie - 7th round, 165th overall by Hartford(!) in 1995. Bounced all over the place, and currently playing in a Swiss league. Harbors a strong dislike for francophones.

Niklas Andersson - 4th round, 68th overall by Quebec in 1989. He played for a lot of NHL teams, but only one (the Islanders) kept him for more than one year, and he spent most of his time in that organization playing for their IHL (you read that right) team.

Linus Videlll - 7th round, 204th overall by Colorado in 2003. Has never played for any North American team.

Per-Åge Skrøder - Undrafted.

Pär Arlbrandt - Undrafted.

Jaroslav Hlinka - Undrafted, but played one year for Colorado in 2007. Currently playing for nerd squad Linköpings HC.

NEELY wrote:Rundblad is 100% a European player. That's how he plays the game and probably always will.

In 3 years, my take is that people will be viewing Turris as a legit 2nd line center, perhaps 1B and Rundblad will have found a new team or two in that time.

The Rundblad hype is to the point of stupidity.

tim1_2 wrote:Rundblad was certainly a victim of steep expectations (from the fans perspective). The Sens kinda overhyped him based on his great season in the SEL.

I would argue that he played the same as Karlsson when Karlsson first got here.

Time will tell.

Hoags wrote:Karlsson showed signs of learning from his mistakes, Murray even praised him for being a smart player and a quick learner. I've seen nothing like that from Rundblad nor praise.

Ultimately he'd be playing second fiddle behind Cowen and Karlsson here.

Players like Turris do not generally become available, they didn't want to trade him he gave them no choice.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

Hoags wrote:Karlsson showed signs of learning from his mistakes, Murray even praised him for being a smart player and a quick learner. I've seen nothing like that from Rundblad nor praise.

Ultimately he'd be playing second fiddle behind Cowen and Karlsson here.

Players like Turris do not generally become available, they didn't want to trade him he gave them no choice.

And in spite of being praised, Karlsson ended up playing in the AHL. Why didn't Rundblad get sent down? The answer to that question is probably a clue to why he got dealt.