With the 41st pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers have selected another defenseman, Robert Hagg from Modo’s junior club in Sweden. Hagg was projected as a late first round pick in most end-of-season rankings, so the Flyers are getting good value for their mid second-rounder here.
Here’s how International Scouting Service describes Hagg’s game:
The stereotypical big and mobile Swedish defender of this draft, Hagg is already very good but still shows a lot of need for technical development. This is something that works more in his favor than against him, but he does fall under the category of a project pick. He can be a very explosive skater, he is poised and confident around the puck and loves to rush up ice with it. He moves the puck effectively and can be very dangerous from the point with his shot. Hagg continues to develop well but will require 3-4 more years of technical development before a true read on just how good he can be will be clear.
As with first-rounder Samuel Morin, I worry about the Flyers taking a “project pick” who could take a substantial amount of time to develop into an NHL talent. They’ve never been a team that develops defensemen well, but with both Hagg and Morin, they have two young talents with great upside. Let’s just hope they allow them both the time to develop.
A 1995 kid, Hagg weighs in at 6’2, 204 pounds. I wouldn’t hate to see him make the jump to the Swedish Elite League, playing against some grown men in arguably the world’s second-best league, before making the jump to North America. But we’ll see what Modo has in mind for him, and of course what the Flyers have in mind for him.
