A two way defenseman who is strong offensively. His father Jan was a Ranger. He is further away in his development than defenders taken in the top half of the draft, so you patiently wait for his game to round out, but you get good value. He is already big and thick, and despite the early on "stay at home" tag, Erixon showed he has some skills with his strong U-18 Tourney. He has terrific vision, sense and skate. He loves rushing the puck, although he's not as strong doing so as the Swedish defenseman above him. At the Four Nations U-18 in October, he played more physical than two Swedish defensemen (Ekman-Larsson & Rundblad) rated higher than him. He will need to get bigger and improve in his defensive zone coverage, but he is on the way. A safe pick who will be ready a little quicker than most defensemen in this draft.
--Bill Placzek--
