Leafs Select Andreas Johnson in 7th Round

With their final selection of the day, the Toronto Maple Leafs took Swedish winger Andreas Johnson in the seventh round, 202nd overall.

"He’s a skilled, strong winger. Not tall, but he’s got a thicker build. Very intelligent and skilled… We wanted to take a chance on that skill," Dave Morrisson told reporters of the Johnson pick following the draft.

Morrison was certainly right about his size – Johnson was listed at 5’10lb, 183lb at the time he was drafted, but his very own prospect page on NHL.com punched him in at 5’9, 158lbs sometime earlier this year.

Johnson split time with Frolunda of the Elisterien and their junior team in the J20 SuperElit. With the big club, Johnson managed only a single goal in seven games, but with his junior team, an impressive 23 goals and 31 assists for 54 points in 42 games. Despite not even being named in their midterm rankings, Johnson shot up to 33rd amongst European skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s final report.

It’s safe to say we won’t see Johnson up close in North America for a while; he signed a two-year pro contract with Frolunda back in April. Much like the Fabrice Herzog selection, Johnson is a long-term project pick – a real ‘swing for the fences’ selection in the final round of the draft.