Oliver Kylington —
Winnipeg Hockey Talk’s evaluations of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft top prospects continue today with our featured prospect Oliver Kylington.
League: SHL Team: Farjestads
Position: D Shoots: Left
DOB: May 19, 1997 Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden
Height: 6′ Weight: 180
2014-15 SWE Stats: Regular season
Games: 18 G: 2 A: 3 Pts: 5 PIM: 4 Plus/Minus: -2
Oliver Kylington played this past season in the SHL for the Farjestads.
Achievements:
1. In September, 2013 he became the youngest goal scorer in SHL/Elitserien history.
2. Represented Team Sweden multiple times internationally.
3. Selected in the 3rd round, 107 overall by Avangard Omsk in the KHL Draft.
Offensive Buzzwords
Oliver Kylington would be considered an offensive defenceman with better than average playmaking skills. He has excellent on-ice vision and moves the puck effectively with the ability to transition from defence to offence very quickly. Kylington is also very poised and comfortable on the powerplay.
Skating
Oliver Kylington greatest attribute is his skating. He has an effortless stride, terrific speed, agility and balance. He is one of the best skating defencemen and maybe the best overall skater in this draft class. His skating ability made him the odds on favourite to be one of the “Top European” skaters selected this year.
#14 Oliver Kylington: video – 1:38 seconds
Defensive Buzzwords
Oliver Kylington is positionally sound but not very physical. He can make a solid pass on the breakout or skate the puck out of his own end. Kylington’s skating ability allows him to be rarely out of position.
from TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button:
“The smooth skating Kylington was a regular in the Swedish Hockey league as a 16-year-old player. Skating ability is excellent with an ease that allows him to beat the forecheck, transition from defence to offence and to jump into the offensive forays. Very good passer and his vision and smarts makes him a multiple threat because he can beat you multiple ways. Reminds one of former NHLer & fellow Swede, Calle Johansson.”
Comparison
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Arizona Coyotes
Prospect Analysis
Oliver Kylington is a smooth skating, puck moving defenceman that has a solid compete level and is a strong positional player. He is not going to overwhelm the opposition physically and he will probably have to get a little stronger to compete at the NHL level. He has been playing against men since he was sixteen so a transition to the NHL might be a little easier for him. He is a terrific skater and should be a “Top 4” defenceman capable of playing on the PP. Oliver Kylington has “Top 10” skating ability but his game right now is still a little to one denominational for me.
Like a lot of talented European players he has bounced back and forth between the junior team and the pro team plus playing in “International Tournaments”. IMO this doesn’t allow for a consistent routine and can hinder development that can lead to inconsistency. I believe this to be true in Oliver Kylington’s case and this is why his draft ranking has dropped. In saying that I think he could be “the steal” of this years draft. I see him as a later first round pick and maybe even falling to a second round pick.
Projected: #24 – #30
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