> The crowd of 7,264 let out an audible gasp as Wahlberg reached the puck. Then, the Malmo supporters roared as the rookie forward overpowered his opponent to gain possession and shoot into the empty net to put his club ahead 5-2. The goal clinched a 2-0 lead for Malmo in a best-of-seven series to determine which team in the Swedish Hockey League will be relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan, the country’s second-tier league.
> “In Sweden, that’s as much pressure as playing in the Stanley Cup final, really – the impact that can have on an organization, depending on which direction it goes,” Jerry Forton, the Buffalo Sabres’ amateur scouting director, told reporters last week in Nashville.
> Tomas Kollar didn’t care that Wahlberg was 17 years old and appeared in only 17 games of pro hockey before the series began. Many teenagers are given an opportunity in the SHL, but few make an impact, particularly in big moments. Few have Wahlberg’s physical gifts, though.
> Wahlberg is 6-foot-3, 190 pounds and pairs excellent skating ability with high-end skill, both of which were an asset for Malmo as it won the series against Brynas IF. He quickly showed this fall on Malmo’s Under-20 team that he was more advanced than his peers. Several of his 14 goals in 32 junior hockey games were of highlight-reel quality. He’d skate end to end before rifling the puck past the goalie. His attacking style of play as a power forward resembles Alex Tuch.
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> The crowd of 7,264 let out an audible gasp as Wahlberg reached the puck. Then, the Malmo supporters roared as the rookie forward overpowered his opponent to gain possession and shoot into the empty net to put his club ahead 5-2. The goal clinched a 2-0 lead for Malmo in a best-of-seven series to determine which team in the Swedish Hockey League will be relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan, the country’s second-tier league.
> “In Sweden, that’s as much pressure as playing in the Stanley Cup final, really – the impact that can have on an organization, depending on which direction it goes,” Jerry Forton, the Buffalo Sabres’ amateur scouting director, told reporters last week in Nashville.
> Tomas Kollar didn’t care that Wahlberg was 17 years old and appeared in only 17 games of pro hockey before the series began. Many teenagers are given an opportunity in the SHL, but few make an impact, particularly in big moments. Few have Wahlberg’s physical gifts, though.
> Wahlberg is 6-foot-3, 190 pounds and pairs excellent skating ability with high-end skill, both of which were an asset for Malmo as it won the series against Brynas IF. He quickly showed this fall on Malmo’s Under-20 team that he was more advanced than his peers. Several of his 14 goals in 32 junior hockey games were of highlight-reel quality. He’d skate end to end before rifling the puck past the goalie. His attacking style of play as a power forward resembles Alex Tuch.