2020 NHL Draft prospect profile: William Wallinder scouting report

Potential, NHL Comparison, and NHL Readiness

To me, Wallinder is still extremely raw. I’d say he has all the right things going for him and shows confidence in certain aspects in his game that most prospects don’t, which sheds a positive light on him. However, he still has a lot of work and will need a bit of help to get to where he needs to be.

If Wallinder is able to hit his stride in a full Allsvenskan season and displays his strong skill set with regularity, then I would say he is a legit first-round prospect. But he is still somewhat unproven, to a degree, which makes me a bit hesitant. He still has the raw skills to warrant a first-round selection, and with the lack of top-end defensive prospects, he very well could be. It’s still a risk, however.

If all goes well in his development, I can easily see Wallinder as a second-pair defenseman with occasional power-play time and top penalty-killing time. At worst, he is a bottom-pair defenseman, with some special teams time. The worst-case scenario, however, is if his raw skills don’t translate to North American ice or he doesn’t get enough looks in Sweden, which could turn his promising future to nothing.

One key in developing Wallinder for NHL teams is to remain patient. He is still very much raw if I haven’t said that enough already, and teams have to be willing to ride it out. That being said, a lot depends on his success in his next season in Sweden. As it stands right now, I would say that Wallinder is about 4 years away from being NHL ready.

Before I begin with the NHL comparison for Wallinder, just remember that this is in no way a reflection on how good he will become, nor is it a comparison of his skills. It is simply a stylistic comparison.

To me, Wallinder reminds me a lot of Zdeno Chara, if he were smaller. Like Wallinder, Chara loves firing bombs from the point in the offensive zone. Chara, like Wallinder, also does an excellent job using his length and strength to make plays defensively.

However, Wallinder, at least in my opinion, looks like he could be a better puck mover and more productive offensively, and is also a faster and more effortless skater. All-in-all, his game is still relatively comparable to the big man in Boston.