Jacob Olofsson
Date of birth: February 8, 2000
Place of birth: Pitea, Sweden
Youth team: Timrå IK (SHL)
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 192 pounds
Position: C
Shoots: Left
The 2018 NHL Draft is stuffed to the gälar with Swedes, and center Jacob Olofsson is another that plans to hear his name called in Dallas this weekend.
Olofsson starred for Timrå IK in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan last season, the second-highest league in Swedish hockey. His 10 goals and 11 assists in 43 games helped Timrå earn a promotion to the Swedish Hockey League, where he will likely play in 2018-19. Olofsson was named the best junior-aged player in HockeyAllsvenskan after leading all rookies in goals and points, an honor previously attained by Filip Forsberg and William Karlsson.
He boasts a big frame at 6’2”, 192 pounds that’s ready for the NHL. Olofsson also will bring an impressive international resume to the draft, helping Team Sweden earn a goal medal in the 2016 U-17 Hockey Challenge (1-1-2 in six games) and bronzes at the 2018 Ivan Hlinka Memorial (2-2-4 in five games) and the 2018 U-18 World Championship (0-3-3 in seven games) as an alternate captain. He’s used to playing on the big stages as a leader.
Olofsson can play a two-way game and will enter the draft ranked 9th by NHL Central Scouting among EA Skaters. He’s not speedy and scouts take some issue with his skating, but he has a high hockey IQ that could see him sneak into the first round.
Stats
43 GP/10 G/11 A/21 P/10 PIM/-5
Quotes
Olofsson projects as a second or third line centre in the NHL, if he can continue his development. He could be the type of player that coaches trust in all situations, and play big minutes. He will need some time to be NHL ready, and it is likely that he spends at least one more season overseas. Olofsson is still growing and putting muscle on his frame. Once he makes his way to North America, he likely needs a bit of AHL time as well. Olofsson’s game is comparable to Ryan O’Reilly, but this is a stylistic comparison only and not one based on talent or ability. – Ben Kerr, Last Word on Hockey
Center playing both power play and penalty kill for the best team in Allsvenskan. Steps up in big situations and tries to create offense. Sometimes sloppy and needs to cover the puck better but a very interesting prospect – McKeen’s Hockey