Victor Olofsson was selected in the seventh round (181 overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. We haven’t seen a lot of late round diamond in the rough selections come through the Sabres prospect pipeline.
They may finally have one on their hands with Olofsson. The 22-year-old Swede led the Swedish elite league (SHL) in goals this season with 27. He added another 16 assists for 43 points in 50 games for Frolunda.
He’s a natural goal scorer with a great shot. Olofsson isn’t the type of player who will get many dirty goals around the net. Instead, you’ll see him beat the goaltender clean in highlights with his shot.
2018 NHL Top Prospect Rasmus Dahlin with eyes in his back as he sets up Victor Olofsson for a goal vs Brynäs today.
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— Robert Söderlind (@HockeyWebCast) March 10, 2018
Olofsson is a good skater that knows how to find the open ice to put himself in position to score. The one drawback in his game is his size. He’s 5’11” 172 pounds and has a tendency to be knocked off the puck easily in the corners.
Sabres General Manager Jason Botterill has a decision to make on Olofsson after this season. An NHL team can only retain the rights of a European player for four years without signing them to an entry-level contract. Since Olofsson was selected in 2014 and remains without a contract, time is running out.
If the Sabres do not sign him he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.
At the NHL level Olofsson doesn’t project out as the top six scoring winger he’s playing like in Sweden. Having said that he has the potential to be a good bottom six forward who can provide secondary scoring.
If he’s in the Sabres plans you’ll see him in Rochester with Amerks next season to get acclimated to the North American pro game.
Over the weekend Patrik Bexell of Eyes on the Prize chatted with some players from Frolunda as they prepare to open the SHL playoffs today. Olofsson was one of the players interviewed, as well as Joel Lundqvist and head coach Roger Ronnberg.
You can find the interviews from Patrik below: