It has been a heck of a first half of the year for Vancouver Canucks draft pick Wilson Björck.
The 19-year-old was passed on in last year’s draft and was selected in the fifth round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. He saw his offensive numbers more than double over the past two seasons in the Swedish J20 league.
“I had more confidence in the team and grew more confident as a player. I think it all started in the offseason. I grew a few centimetres, and I gained some muscle. I think that’s the number one thing,” said Björck.
His Djurgårdens team was juiced full of talent, and they went on to win the J20 playoffs. Björck was second on the team with 67 points and led the team with 28 goals.
“It was certainly a good team, and we got the result we wanted. We have all played together for three years. So, we’ve been practicing every day, and many of us have been playing with each other for like 10 years. Chemistry was there, and it was just a fun team to play with. We had extremely good talent and skill,” Björck said.
“We grew as a team, and we grew as players because of practice; we knew each other so well that we could step on each other’s toes. That would happen in practice and [it would] stay in practice, and in that way, we could all grow better.”
Another notable aspect of his Djurgårdens team was that it featured four sets of brothers, including Wilson Björck’s younger brother, Viggo, who is projected to be a top-10 pick in the 2026 draft.
Playing on a line with each other was a treat for the Björck brothers last season, and Canucks development camp allowed Wilson to chat with two brothers who had lengthy NHL careers while playing alongside each other.
“The Sedins have always been idols for me. For me to play with my brother, we always wanted to be compared with them,” Björck said with a big smile. “It’s a big deal and really nice for me to get to know them.”
Wilson grew taller last summer and found that his increased size and strength helped his game evolve at the age of 18. He has always had a motor that runs hot and takes pride in being a strong forechecker, but found success going to the net and using his skillful hands to roof pucks over goaltenders.
On top of his good play around the net, Björck found success with his accurate wrist shot from the right side of the ice. He played the right half-wall on the power play and is accurate with his wrister and one-timer.
He believes he plays his best when he keeps it simple and relies on maintaining a high pace with his skating. Björck is the type of player who wants to influence every shift with his speed and capitalize on scoring chances when they present themselves.
The 2025-26 season will bring a new challenge as the young Swede makes the move to North America and joins Colorado College in the NCAA.
He is excited about the new opportunity and is looking forward to developing his game in North America against bigger and stronger competition in the NCAA. There were options for Björck to play in Sweden’s men’s leagues, but the NCAA will provide more ice time and gym time to continue building muscle and give him a more extended preparation period for pro hockey.
The young Swede is committed to developing his game and building on his strengths as a forechecker who can contribute offensively when scoring chances arise.
