NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Oliver Kylington

Get to Know Oliver Kylington

Date of Birth: 5/19/1997
Place of Birth: Stockholm, SWE
Ht: 6’0″ Wt: 181 lbs
Shoots: Left
Position: Defenseman
Team: Farjestad (SHL)

Statistics

What Scouts See

Elite Prospects:

Director of European Scouting, Goran Stubb:

Oliver is a very good skater with first-step quickness and fine balance. He’s a two-way defenseman who loves to join the offensive rush. He’s smart, with excellent hockey sense and passing skills, and can read situations very well.

Future Considerations:

Exceptionally poised, mature, two-way defenseman…handles the puck well and likes to join the rush…plays with impressive confidence and is absolutely fearless with the puck on his stick…doesn’t possess a bomb of a shot, but knows how to put the puck on target…quite impressive top speed and acceleration, especially in offensive situations…not overly big and has some defensive positioning issues to sort out…minute-munching ability as this kid just has ice water flowing through his veins.

Last Word on Sports:

Kylington is another in a long line of Super Swedish defencemen.  He has been playing against men.  He has spent time with Farjestad in the SHL, the highest level of Swedish hockey, and with AIK in the Allvenskan.  He has played big minutes and put up good offensive numbers for his age with 12 points in 34 games across the two leagues.  Even more incredible is the fact that he was a regular with Farjestad down the stretch last season, at just 16 years old.

While an injury unfortunatately kept Kylington out of the World Juniors, he has played for Sweden at the Ivan Hlinka tournament where he was very impressive. An outstanding two-way defenceman, Kylington is a strong skater who can rush the puck and get back into position defensively. He has an excellent stride, which gives him great speed and acceleration in both directions. Excellent agility, edge work, and pivots give him the mobility to cover all areas of the ice.

Kylington shows good passing skills and excellent vision. Defensively his game relies on strong positioning, and a quick stick to take the puck off opponents and start the transition game.

Highlights



NHL Potential

Kylington’s potential is certainly not in doubt. If he reaches his ceiling, he could be another explosive Swedish defenseman in the mold of Erik Karlsson or Oliver Ekman-Larsson. It’s always hasty to make player comparisons to world-class players but Kylington certainly has that kind of upside.

Expected Draft Position

Kylington was once considered a strong possibility for the top 10 but a difficult draft year has seen his stock drop significantly. His current rankings have him anywhere from 15th to 47th. That is to say he could be a mid-first to a mid-second round selection. I would expect serious consideration for Kylington to get drafted to begin with Edmonton’s second selection at 16th overall.

How Prospect Fits in Avalanche Organization

Kylington would be an extremely controversial selection at 10th overall given the way his stock has dropped and Colorado’s needs for both consistently strong defensive players, Kylington’s weakness, or high-scoring wingers.

Were Kylington to fall to 40th overall, where Colorado is slated to select in the second round, the Avalanche would certainly have to be tempted by the notion of selecting the high-upside Kylington. He would come into the organization with a great deal of buzz and immediately be a top 5 prospects simply based upon his prodigious upside.

Kylington would likely spend one more season in Sweden before coming to North American and competing for a job along the Avalanche blue line.