He bears a suitable surname.
Because Alexander Command’s game is all about controlling the play.
The Swedish centreman met with 30 of the 32 NHL clubs at the Combine in Buffalo earlier this month and in a little more than a week’s time, he’ll hear his name called by one of them at the NHL Draft.
It’s his tenacity that commands attention, an attribute the 6-foot-1, 187-lb. pivot takes pride in.
“I think it kind of reflects me as a whole, like a personality,” Command said following fitness testing at Buffalo’s LECOM HarborCenter earlier this month. “Just to basically give it your all … I think that it's more in your mindset than your actual body.”
“So if your mind says to quit, you quit, but if your mind says to keep going, you just keep going.”
That mindset helped Command shine this past winter and spring. He led his Örebro junior side with 44 points, while also making his pro debut with the senior squad, making six SHL appearances.
Then, in May, Command helped Sweden capture the IIHF U18 World Championship gold medal, finishing the tournament in Slovakia with seven points in seven outings.
“For me, the best thing possible in a team sport is to win with your guys,” he said of that U18 crown. “Complete euphoria, and best thing I've ever experienced.”
Ranked No. 11 among International skaters by NHL Central Scouting, Command garnered plenty of attention at the U18s. While fellow Swedish forwards Ivar Stenberg and Viggo Bjorck were competing at the senior men’s World Championship, Command’s squad was stacked, with the likes of Elton Hermansson, Malte Gustafsson and Marcus Nordmark - all potential first-round picks at this year’s Draft - all playing starring roles.
Above all, Command wants to win. And that attitude also reflected in the play of his NHL role model.
“When I was younger, me and my Dad watched a lot of Patrice Bergeron,” Command recalled. “His two-way game, within the dots, the circles. It's not the most skill guy, (but) he makes it work.
“He’s a winner.”
And like Bergeron, Command is willing to do just about anything to win. His offensive production is one ingredient, but the 18-year-old’s recipe for success also includes his penchant to get under his opponents’ skin.
“I enjoy the physical hard part,” said Command. “It gets the other guys going, and gets my opponents pissed off also.”
That work ethic has seen Command’s stock rise significantly, too. At the start of the hockey year, his NHL Central Scouting projection was of a sixth- or seventh-round pick, but as the year progressed, his stock rose significantly.
It all comes back to that drive. That willingness to do whatever it takes.
And for Command, that determination is just inherent.
“I think it lies in my personality,” he said.
“I just want to be better than you are.”
