2020 NHL Draft prospect profile: William Wallinder scouting report
By Kyle Pereira
Wallinder’s Tendencies
From the blue line, Wallinder clearly loves possessing the puck. He does a nice job taking advantage of the space he’s given. A tendency I’ve noticed is that he loves letting shots loose. He’s very clearly a shoot-first player, and for good reason.
Another positive tendency is the fact that Wallinder keeps his shots low and on the net. That’s especially important for defensemen, as this opens up opportunities for tips and rebounds off of simple point shots. If his shooting can stay consistent and translate to the NHL level, then he could be a weapon for NHL teams looking for contributors from the blue line.
Due to his shooting habits, MODO plays him at the top of the Umbrella formation on the power play. There, he’s given room to work with at the point, which allows him to take advantage of his shots. He’s also able to see the ice in front of him and exploit defensive coverages with passes.
He’s not limited to just patterns developed in the offensive zone, either. Wallinder has developed a strong tendency to keep his head on a swivel, constantly keeping his eyes and head scanning the defensive zone, to make sure he doesn’t leave any opposing forward open in front of his net. He also uses an active stick, which helps to plug up passing lanes.
Due to his strong defensive habits, Wallinder is deployed regularly on MODO’s penalty-killing unit. He plays down low on the left side, making sure to not get sucked out of position. He does a nice job keeping the front of his net clear, constantly using his size to his advantage in net-front battles.
There are some bad habits that Wallinder possesses. He likes playing the body, but it does lead to him getting pulled out of position when he can’t afford to be. His timing isn’t always right when he steps up to lay the body, and it does lead to odd-man rushes at times. He’s not the most overly physical, but he does have confidence in his size and tries to utilize it from time to time, so this isn’t a major issue.
Wallinder can also be a bit too emotional. A lot of times, he gets involved in scrums after the whistle. He doesn’t take many penalties, so it doesn’t translate to him hurting his team. But that doesn’t make it any less of a negative habit, though like the aforementioned bad habit, it isn’t much of a concern, yet it is still noteworthy.