Former Detroit Red Wings forward Mathias Brome knows how difficult it is to score goals in the NHL.
A highly-touted free agent from Sweden signed by general manager Steve Yzerman for $925,000 in 2020, Brome hit the crossbar in his first game, scored only once in 26 games, was demoted to the taxi squad during the COVID-delayed season, played in Switzerland last year, and is now back in Sweden.
“The puck didn’t want to go in,” Brome said.
Two years after playing in Detroit, Brome is a teammate and mentor to the No. 1-ranked European skater by NHL’s Central Scouting in the midterm ratings for the 2023 draft in Nashville on June 28-29.
Leo Carlsson is a 6-3, 198-pound center/winger who has seven goals and 13 assists in 37 games for upstart Orebro in the Swedish Hockey League and is expected to be selected third overall after Regina Pats center Connor Bedard and University of Michigan center Adam Fantilli.
“What can I say?” Brome said. “Leo is a team guy and he’s turned out to be a good player in the Swedish league. He’s still young, a big guy who is going to the net more. We’ve talked a little bit about playing over there but nothing special. He needs to get drafted and then we’ll see what happens.”
The 18-year-old Carlsson has been compared to Los Angeles Kings center and two-time Stanley Cup champion Anze Kopitar, who is now 35 years old and has 1,117 points in 1,267 career games. The comparison was made by Obrero assistant coach Stefan Nyman, who coached Kopitar with Slovenia’s junior hockey team.
“I can see Anser in Leo,” Obrero head coach Niklas Eriksson said. “Those are big shoes to fill but I think that’s a good comparison. Leo has really quick hands, he can score in different ways, and he’s learning to become more of an inside player to create scoring chances.
“I’ve also seen Mathias be a big influence on Leo. He (Brome) has experience as a national team player, in the Olympics, world championships and in the NHL. If you want to be a pro, it’s good to have someone who tells you exactly what you need to do to be successful.”
Early in the season, Carlsson played on a line with Brome, who is now 28 and still has aspirations of playing in the NHL again with 32 points in 43 games this year. With 11 games remaining in the regular season, fourth-place Orebro has a chance to finish in the top six in the 14-team league and advance to the quarterfinals.
“He (Brome) takes good care of us,” Carlsson said. “Playing on a line with him, he’s a good passer and skater. My game is pretty much high-hockey IQ. I can see the ice. I’m not the fastest skater but I can get to top speed pretty fast.”
Carlsson’s ascension to top European prospect has put the focus on Orebro, the sixth-largest city in Sweden with a population of 150,000 and a relative newcomer in the SHL power structure compared with five-time champion Frolunda, which produced first-round picks Lucas Raymond and Simon Edvinsson of the Detroit Red Wings.
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Last year, Orebro had four NHL players drafted for the first time, including left winger Maximilian Kilpinen by Detroit in the fourth round. Orebro’s Alexander Zetterberg, a second cousin of former Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg, is expected to be a first-round draft pick in 2024.
“We’ve done a really good job of recruiting in the last four years against the bigger teams in Sweden,” Eriksson said. “Our scouts have identified these guys at 16 years old and then we put them into our development program. Players have taken responsibility to be a professional athlete.
“Leo really exploded early in the season with some of his skill moves. I don’t want to say he’s struggled since then but it’s been tough reaching his full potential when he’s been dealing with agents, scouts, and media. He’s better when he starts the game by winning battles and growing into the game.”
At the world junior championships in Halifax and Moncton this year (Gothenburg, Sweden will host next year’s tournament), Carlsson battled a cold but still delivered six points in seven games, including a two-goal performance to beat rival Finland in the quarterfinals only to lose to Czechia in overtime.
Born in Karlstad, just west of Orebro, he learned the game from his father, Kenneth Carlsson, a defenseman who played Div. 1 and Div. 2 hockey in Sweden. After playing for the U16 team in Farjestad, he had nine points in 35 games as a 17-year-old in Orebro last year and has doubled that output this year.
“It’s a defensive league and it’s not as easy to rack up shots and points as it is over in the States,” Carlsson said. “You have to play in systems in the SHL. Otherwise, you get beat. It’s a team plan and we just work from there.”
As for Brome, whose only NHL goal against Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was set up by Larkin and was the game-winner in a 2-1 victory in 2021, he said he’s enjoyed his mentoring role with Carlsson (“I’m happy for him and I think he’s going to have a great career”) and hasn’t given up his dream of returning to the NHL.
“I think I’m the same player,” Brome said. “I had a great year in the Swiss league last year and I feel good about my game and our team now. I could sit here and feel sorry for myself but it’s not going to make me any better. I had a great time in Detroit. I had a lot of chances and of course I wish I could’ve scored more. You never know what happens in life. Maybe you come back or not. We’ll just wait and see.”
mfalkner@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @falkner