The Los Angeles Kings brought their A-game to the 2020 NHL Draft, but one lucky break they caught was defender Helge Grans, a first-round talent, slipping to them in the beginning of the second round at 35th overall.
Not just a stand-out talent, Grans made his SHL (Sweden’s top-tier men’s league) debut at just 16 years old, during the 2018-19 season. He wasn’t an immediate success, going scoreless in five games his first year, followed by a 21-game stint last year where he produced just one goal and two assists. His performance with the Malmo Redhawks’ J20 SuperElit club is ultimately what got him drafted.
But a little bit older, and Grans is holding his own in the men’s league, starting his season with the SHL Redhawks. In 10 games, he’s doubled both his goals and assists from last season, snagging six points. The 18-year-old is second on the team in points and third in goals and assists.
According to DobberProspects, Grans is doing so while averaging just 13:02 minutes per game. He’s also on the team’s top power play unit, where both of his goals were scored.
It’s important to note that Malmo is currently sitting second-to-last in the SHL standings, with just two wins in their 10 games so far. The club has been out-scored 22-36.
Here’s a quick glance at how the rest of the Kings are doing abroad (Note: I broke it down by league, to give an easy comparison of how players in the same league are performing. This does mean that goaltenders Juho Markkanen and Lukas Parik, as well as forward Kasper Simontaival have multiple entries, as they have been shifted up and down between leagues):
-HockeyAllsvenskan-
Samuel Fagemo, LW/RW
Team: Södertälje SK | 2020-21 Stats: 11 GP, 2 G, 3 A | Nationality: SWE | Age: 20 | Ht: 6-0 | Wt: 194 | Shoots: R
Carl Grundström, LW/RW
Team: IF Björklöven | 2020-21 Stats: 6 GP, 1 G, 4 A | Nationality: SWE | Age: 22 | Ht: 6-0 | Wt: 194 | Shoots: L
Johan Södergran, LW/RW
Team: Almtuna IS | 2020-21 Stats: 9 GP, 1 G, 2 A | Nationality: SWE | Age: 20 | Ht: 6-3 | Wt: 205 | Shoots: L
-SHL-
Helge Grans, D
Team: Malmö Redhawks | 2020-21 Stats: 10 GP, 2 G, 4 A | Nationality: SWE | Age: 18 | Ht: 6-3 | Wt: 192 | Shoots: R
Lias Andersson, C/LW
Team: HV71 | 2020-21 Stats: 6 GP, 2 G, 3 A | Nationality: SWE | Age: 22 | Ht: 5-11 | Wt: 205 | Shoots: L
Tobias Björnfot, D
Team: Djurgårdens IF | 2020-21 Stats: 6 GP, 0 G, 1 A | Nationality: SWE | Age: 19 | Ht: 6-0 | Wt: 203 | Shoots: L
-U20 Mestis-
Juho Markkanen, G
Team: Ketterä U20 | 2020-21 Stats: 1 GP, 5.00 GAA, .815 SV% | Nationality: FIN | Age: 18 | Ht: 6-2 | Wt: 146 | Catches: L
-U20 SM-sarja-
Aatu Jämsen, RW
Team: Pelicans U20 | 2020-21 Stats: 15 GP, 9 G, 19 A | Nationality: FIN | Age: 18 | Ht: 6-2 | Wt: 157 | Shoots: L
Juho Markkanen, G
Team: SaiPa U20 | 2020-21 Stats: 1 GP, 5.00 GAA, .865 SV% | Nationality: FIN | Age: 18 | Ht: 6-2 | Wt: 146 | Catches: L
-Mestis-
Kasper Simontaival, RW
Team: TUTO Hockey | 2020-21 Stats: 3 GP, 2 G, 2 A | Nationality: FIN | Age: 18 | Ht: 5-9 | Wt: 172 | Shoots: R
Juho Markkanen, G
Team: Ketterä | 2020-21 Stats: 5 GP, 2.35 GAA, .908 SV% | Nationality: FIN | Age: 18 | Ht: 6-2 | Wt: 146 | Catches: L
-Liiga-
Kasper Simontaival, RW
Team: Tappara | 2020-21 Stats: 4 GP, 0 G, 1 A | Nationality: FIN | Age: 18 | Ht: 5-9 | Wt: 172 | Shoots: R
Kim Nousiainen, D
Team: KalPa | 2020-21 Stats: 5 GP, 3 G, 1 A | Nationality: FIN | Age: 19 | Ht: 5-10 | Wt: 170 | Shoots: L
Jacob Moverare, D
Team: SaiPa | 2020-21 Stats: 7 GP, 0 G, 1 A | Nationality: SWE | Age: 22 | Ht: 6-3 | Wt: 198 | Shoots: L
-KHL-
Alexander Dergachyov, C/RW
Team: Vityaz Podolsk | 2020-21 Stats: 15 GP, 5 G, 3 A | Nationality: RUS | Age: 24 | Ht: 6-5 | Wt: 216 | Shoots: L
Bulat Shafigullin, LW/RW
Team: Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | 2020-21 Stats: 14 GP, 0 G, 0 A | Nationality: RUS | Age: 20 | Ht: 6-1 | Wt: 163 | Shoots: L
-Czech U20-
Lukas Parik, G
Team: Bili Tygri Liberec U20 | 2020-21 Stats: 1 GP, 2.00 GAA, .926 SV% | Nationality: CZE | Age: 19 | Ht: 6-4 | Wt: 185 | Catches: L
-Czech2-
Lukas Parik, G
Team: HC Benatky nad Jizerou | 2020-21 Stats: 6 GP, 3,64 GAA, .881 SV% | Nationality: CZE | Age: 19 | Ht: 6-4 | Wt: 185 | Catches: L