Sweden Stock Watch: Love Härenstam proving to be Södertälje's most valuable player

The best time of the year is here. The U20 league starts their playoffs this weekend, HockeyAllsvenskan has already started their playoffs, and the SHL playoffs and relegation games begin next week. 

This is a high pressure environment for the prospects that play pro hockey. Star talents like Ivar Stenberg, Viggo Björck, Anton Frondell and Victor Eklund all enter the postseason as key players for their teams, as the SHL playoffs start. The U20 playoffs will go four rounds of best of five matchups for the first time, which will be exciting to follow.

In the article this month I will headline some of the hottest players going into the postseason.

Stock Rising 📈  

Love Härenstam, G, Södertälje SK (St. Louis Blues)

Love Härenstam fell in the draft last summer, but has put up a pretty strong draft-plus-one season. Not only was he the starter for the gold medal-winning World Junior team, but he has now also been selected as the best goalie and best rookie in HockeyAllsvenskan this season. 

This week, the HockeyAllsvenskan playoffs started, and Härenstam helped Södertälje advance to the quarter-finals with back-to-back shutouts. His hockey sense and mental skills have been very impressive, as Södertälje has played under pressure to win games, at the bottom of the standings for a long time. He plays more structured than last season, deeper in the crease with more patience. Härenstam has been their clear MVP putting up a .920 on a bad team, and looks like a goalie who will be able to play in the NHL in a couple of years or more.

Felix Nilsson, C/LW, Rögle BK (Nashville Predators)

Felix Nilsson has truly taken the step to become a top player in the SHL this season, and he has just continued to get better and better all year. He has posted 12 points in his last 10 games, and has 38 points in total with two games left of the regular season. He is a play-driver on a top-line and a good playmaker. He doesn’t show much explosiveness while carrying the puck, but he can control the pace of play and constantly finds open spaces. He is deceptive with the puck and with his skating, using fakes and dekes to open up space to create. He is aware of his surroundings and makes good plays. 

We really liked his defensive game in his draft year and that is still looking solid with smart forechecking pressure. Nilsson will become an NHL player and can be used in various roles. He won’t be a top-line play-driving talent at the NHL level, but a solid third-line option that can drive both offence and defence.

Niklas Aaram-Olsen, LW, Örebro HK U20 (2026 NHL Draft)

Niklas Aaram-Olsen was highly touted as a top prospect before the season, due a strong draft minus-one season. While he had a hard time impressing our staff at the beginning of the season, he has looked far better in the second half. The basic tools have always been there, but he plays a more energetic and powerful game now, and he contributes on both sides of the puck. He shows more vision and smart positioning. He is a good finisher and passer with good speed, and he can handle the puck well at high pace. 

However, I would say he connects more than drive in offensive situations. I can see a third-line projection for him. He still lacks a high-end physical game but if he can develop more skill to handle the game around the boards, he could have a good chance of making it. He could be a riser on our next board.

Milan Sundström, C, Modo Hockey U20 (2027 NHL Draft)

The new ruling for U17 players in Sweden this season states that they can’t play in the U20 league unless they get exceptional status midway through the season. Milan Sundström was one of two players who earned that this season, and he has certainly taken the chance to show himself worthy of it, with 20 points and 12 goals in only 12 games. When I saw him in his U16 year, I thought he had similarities to Anton Frondell, with his offensive game and big body, in combination of good vision, high-end puck skills, and a dangerous shot, but also lacking intensity and speed. From what I have seen this season, he skates more with the puck, takes more initiative in transition, and competes more too. Sundström is a first-round candidate for 2027.

Stock Steady ↔️

Lucas Pettersson, LW, Brynäs IF (Anaheim Ducks)

Lucas Pettersson plays 11-15 minutes per night regularly on one of the most stacked offensive teams in the SHL. He is an excellent rush-attacker with his speed and shot and has put up roughly 0.5 points per game over the full season. He uses his speed well as a forechecker and is a good cycle player. He is active in his game and wants to take charge, but is at his most dangerous when he comes flying on a rush attack. His skating and puckhandling will help him to become a third-line player in the NHL. He showed good progression early in the season and has looked steady ever since.

Stock Falling 📉 

William Håkansson, D, Almtuna IS/Luleå HF (2026 NHL Draft)

William Håkansson is still a good prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft, and could very well end up as an NHLer. He had an inconsistent World Juniors individually though, and lost his SHL spot when Luleå got back some injured players. He has been playing with Almtuna in HockeyAllsvenskan lately, which has been good for him. He gets good minutes and in meaningful games at the pro level. He is a big defenceman who is calm with the puck, and that has made him highly ranked early for the upcoming draft. 

What I liked most about his time in Almtuna was his rush defence, which has looked very solid. His play with the puck has been inconsistent though, as well as his in-zone defending and retrieval game. He isn’t the typical big-size defenceman, as he doesn’t play a physical bottom-pair style, and I’m not sure he is skilled enough to become a top-four defenceman either. So, in terms of the draft, I'm not seeing that he will be ranked as high at the end of the season as he was in the beginning of the campaign.