Another Season In Sweden For 'Son Of Gus'

by J.P. on Mar 11, 2009 7:00 PM EDT in Translations

[Ed. Note: Thanks to HD89 for passing along the translation of this Expressen article on Caps prospect Anton Gustafsson's decision to stay in Sweden for another year.]

'Son of Gus' set to play in SEL

Gothenburg. Anton Gustafsson, 19, will play for Frölunda in the Swedish Elite League next season. The son of Team Sweden GM Bengt-Åke Gustafsson signed a 1-year deal with the team after seeing how committed they were to developing their young talents.

"I've seen them really focus on their younger players and I hope I can be successful there as well," says Anton Gustafsson.

This season Gustafsson has been playing with Bofors in the Swedish second league. Though injuries to his back and one knee have limited him to only 25 games, he has collected ten points (six goals, four assists). He will transfer over immediately and finish the season with Frölunda's top junior team, currently in the playoffs. He will join Frölunda as soon as pre-season training.

Consistent effort

Frölunda has had at least four or five junior players up with the team for the duration of the season and their current playoff run is no exception. Defensemen Philip Larsen and Erik Karlsson alongside forwards Lars Eller, Joakim Andersson and Nicklas Lasu are all part of the push, a fact that Anton Gustafsson uses as extra motivation for next season.

"My current goal is to play in the Swedish Elite League," he says.

"A great talent"

When asked about the signing, Frölunda GM Kent Norberg simply said:

"It's up to Anton if he manages to secure a spot on the team or not. He's a great talent with good physicality and powerful skating. We'll see when he gets his chance, he just needs to keep working hard."

Photo: Rehnman Lennart

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nice! This is why I keep coming back here, all KINDS of great information I wouldn’t find elsewhere!

by HeartbreakRidge on Mar 11, 2009 7:17 PM EDT reply actions

this was the plan all along....

…unless something had changed since the draft that no one else reported.

…just saying :)

by nuftjedi on Mar 11, 2009 9:45 PM EDT reply actions

Right. No surprises here.

Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world

by J.P. on Mar 11, 2009 9:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Still, it’s a little diappointing. I’m really looking forward to seeing Gus II in red.

by CapitalCentre on Mar 11, 2009 10:47 PM EDT up reply actions

well he’ll likely be here for the dev camp so you’ll likely see him in red at some point during that. :)

by nuftjedi on Mar 11, 2009 11:51 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m not surprised, seems to me this is essentially the same track that Backs took…and that seemed to work out ok. I’d rather him mature his game against ‘men’ somewhere he’s comfortable, at least in terms of language…and then make the move when he’ll need no more than a year in Hershey.

by Yoshietree on Mar 11, 2009 11:46 PM EDT reply actions

Plus it’s more roster space in Hershey and one more year before he’s eligible for free agency.

by David Getz on Mar 11, 2009 11:48 PM EDT up reply actions

2011?

OV-Backs-Fehr
Semin-Gus-Osala

Alzner-Green
Sarge-Carlson

Varls

now, THAT’s some homegrown

by bigonetimer on Mar 12, 2009 12:18 AM EDT reply actions

I’m not doctor but it’s probably not a good sign that he has missed most of the season due to a back and knee problems

Как же так может быть?

by sleza on Mar 12, 2009 1:26 AM EDT reply actions

Have we officially signed AnGus to a contract yet? If not, when is the deadline? I assume we’ll sign him to an entry 3 year deal but does that kick in when he first comes over to North America? I don’t feel like looking all of this up myself….

by Sombrero Guy on Mar 12, 2009 10:55 AM EDT reply actions