Skilled Offensive Defenseman Adds Depth to Impressive Buckeye Blueliners
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| Photo Credit: theushlhockeyleague.com |
Victor Björkung – Defenseman,
Chicago Steel (USHL)
6' / 165 lbs
DOB: April 7, 1993
Shoots: Left
As a hockey player, when you have a
body structure that's six feet tall and you weigh 165 pounds, there's
not that many people that would guess that you're a defenseman,
especially one at the NCAA Division I level.
For Victor Björkung, this is life as
a defenseman, and he more than excels at it.
Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden,
Björkung came to the USHL for the 2012-13 season to play for the
Fargo Force.
After 26 games, he was dealt to Sioux
Falls for the remaining 34 games of the season.
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| Bjorkung was named an alternate captain by his coaches and teammates in Chicago last season. Photo Credit: chicagosteelhockeyteam.com |
Last year with the Chicago Steel,
Björkung had a productive year, scoring six goals and adding 13
assists in 40 games for a Steel team that finished with a record of
29-27-4.
This year, he will be joining Steel
alum Darik Angeli on Steve Rohlik's roster.
His hockey idol, also from Stockholm,
is none other than Niklas Kronwall of the Detroit Red Wings.
While Kronwall is about the same
height as Björkung, Niklas weighs 190 pounds, allowing him to put
extra weight into “Kronwalling” his opponents every night.
You shouldn't expect to see many bone
crushing hits out of the 21 year old, but what you will see is a multi-talented defenseman who prides his game on offense as well.
Victor likes to keep his defensive game basic. He “likes to
make the simple play in the defensive zone”
(chicagosteelhockey.com)
Transitioning from defense to
offense, he “loves to join the rush and shoot the puck from
anywhere.”
A while ago, we covered Janik Möser,
another defenseman heading to Columbus who began playing hockey in Europe.
The German takes part in the offensive game as well while having a 20
pound advantage on his fellow defensive freshman classmate.
If Björkung is to thrive in the
college game, especially the grueling Big Ten Conference,
contributing to the offense while maintaining lock-down defense is
essential. Putting on a few pounds would be to his advantage as well.
Drew Brevig and Josh Healey made
their mark last year as freshman blueliners. Expect the same type of
impact from Björkung and Möser
this season.
It's going to be exciting and fun to watch
this guy develop over the next few years.
After going with a tweet last week, we head back to a video clip. This was a Björkung goal that was highlighted as a Sauce Hockey USHL Top Play of the Week.
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