The Vancouver Canucks have locked up one of the prizes of this year’s trade deadline, inking Jonathan Dahlen to a three-year entry-level deal. Dahlen was the prospect the Canucks received from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Alex Burrows. The deal will obviously begin in 2017-18, and the Canucks include that he will be at training camp in the fall.
The 19-year old Dahlen is a supremely talented stickhandler who put up 44 points in 45 games this year for Timra’s Allsvenskan team, the level just below the Swedish Hockey League. His name might be familiar to fans who remember his father Ulf Dahlen, who played almost 1000 games in the NHL and scored 655 points (the 15th most from a Swedish-born player). The younger Dahlen wasn’t drafted quite as high as his father—who went seventh-overall to the Rangers in 1985—but was the Senators’ second pick last summer at #42 overall.
Dahlen won the “Golden Cage” award this season, given to the top junior player in the league. It wasn’t a surprise, as he finished tied for fourth in total league scoring and easily paced the U20 players. Dahlen was teammates with Elias Pettersson, who is expected to go in the first round of this year’s draft, perhaps even in the top 10. Even though he’s been playing against men, Dahlen is likely ticketed for the AHL next season where he can continue to develop. Listed at 5’11” 176-lbs, he’ll need to adjust quickly to the more physical game in North America.