NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Gustav Bouramman

Get to Know Gustav Bouramman

Date of Birth: January 24, 1997 (18)
Place of Birth: Stockholm, Sweden
Ht: 6’0” Wt: 184 lbs
Shoots: Right
Position: Defense
Team: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

Gustav Bouramman is a Swedish and Finnish rookie import to the OHL. Bouramman lists Erik Karlsson as his favorite NHL player, and with good reason. The offensive minded Swedish defenseman is an excellent puck mover and despite playing behind a stacked Sault Ste. Marie lineup, scored an impressive 44 points in his 67 game rookie season with the Greyhounds. Thanks to his impressive debut, Bouramman was named to the OHL’s all-rookie team.

Statistics

What Scouts See

Future Considerations Draft Guide:

Bouramman is a strong puck-moving defender. Shows composure in that he can make a crisp pass to his partner or up to his forwards with a forechecker on his back. He uses his strength to be strong on the puck and will walk the line in the offensive zone, controlling the puck at the point before releasing on net or dishing a pass to the half wall. Has a good shot for tipping or deflections but will need to improve its velocity going forward…

Kyle Dubas, Former Greyhounds GM

Gustav is a right shot defenceman who has very good mobility and most importantly possesses great instincts and ability with the hockey puck

What BSN Avalanche sees

For an OHL rookie playing his first year of North American hockey, Gustav Bouramman’s 44 points in 67 games is certainly impressive. The Swedish import is a good skater and an excellent passer who routinely makes heads up plays in his own zone to advance the puck up ice. Bouramman can hit tape to tape passes on both sides of his body at any distance and does a great job of leading the player he’s passing to.

Bouramman’s shot is nothing special and he doesn’t have a very quick release, but he has great offensive instincts and does well to find open shooting lanes. Bouramman walks the blueline well and has great vision sometimes makes lng cross ice passes through traffic with the simple flick of his wrist. He carries the puck well and is extremely elusive in the neutral zone, even though his speed is average.

Bouramman is good positionally in his own zone and uses his body well to keep opposing forwards to the outside, but he’s not a difference maker defensively. Bouramman doesn’t have a great mind for the defensive zone yet, which limits his ability to step up and make big plays. While he’s strong on the boards, Bouramman isn’t particularly physical.

Highlights on Bouramman are sparse, but he scores his first career goal here

NHL Potential

Gustav Bouramman has the natural offensive potential to become a talented puck mover at the NHL level. His average skating and defensive game likely limit his ceiling to the bottom or middle pair at the NHL level.

Expected Draft Position

Most scouts list Bouramman as a third round pick, definitively within the top 100 players available in the draft. Some scouts are significantly higher on Bouramman, Craig Button at TSN for example ranked him 36th. Bouramman should be a mid-late round selection this but has some flashy skills that could cause a team to jump early.

How Prospect Fits in Avalanche Organization

With Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie, Zach Redmond, and Stefan Elliott, the Avalanche are well stocked with offensive defensemen on the right side of the ice. Bouramman certainly doesn’t address a need on the Avs’ roster or in their development system, but given his high talent ceiling offensively he could still be a good value pick in the 3rd or 4th round. That said, the Avalanche would likely be better off taking a number of forwards in the early rounds of the draft.

For more, check out some other defenseman ranked near Bouramman:
Brendan Guhle
Ethan Bear
Dennis Gilbert
Kyle Capobianco
Connor Hobbs