Inside Wheeler’s Shocking Summer 2025 NHL Prospect Rankings: Who’s the True Future Star?
He could use another step (I always thought he might have a chance to be like Brock Boeser if things break well, but he could end up as more of a bottom-sixer if they don’t) but I don’t think his skating is an impediment from him having a good career as at least a complementary third-liner.
It has also noticeably improved over the last couple of years (it looks lighter through his crossovers and his pickups), and he finds ways to get to pucks and/or get open around the home-plate area inside the offensive zone, where his skill and shot take over. Add in a commitment to the puck retrievals and battles and a strong base knowledge of when to make the simple play and when to attack, and you’ve got a pretty safely projectable winger at an early age. And don’t confuse completeness for lack of talent, as I think that can often be misconstrued, and that’s not the case here. He’s not going to be a dynamic, high-skill guy, but he can attack when opportunities present themselves. You can’t fault his effort level. He’s strong. He can score. Again, there’s a lot to like. Ohgren put together one of the most productive age-adjusted seasons in the history of Sweden’s top junior level and two strong performances internationally for Sweden (first at last year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and then at the U18 worlds, where he was also the team’s captain) in his draft year. And he was in the middle of following that up with a strong post-draft season in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan while riding a three-game point streak and playing his best hockey of the season when he got injured late in January 2023, only to return and pick up where he left off in the home stretch and into the playoffs. Two years ago, after developing a nagging injury in offseason training, Ohgren then didn’t play with his new club in the SHL until late November and had to be eased into the new level, but finished with a very respectable 19 points in 26 games before coming over to make his AHL and NHL debuts. He was also a little snakebitten for a third straight World Juniors, going goalless on 26 shots (second on Team Sweden) despite some really good looks. He was nearly at a point per game last season in the AHL as a 20-year-old and 21-year-old, too.
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