Ginning Brings Grit To The Blue Line

ColoradoAvalanche.com is profiling draft-eligible prospects leading up to the 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas on June 22-23. Adam Ginning is the No. 5-ranked International skater in NHL Central Scouting's final rankings. The Avalanche has the 16th overall selection at the draft.
Adam Ginning, a 2018 NHL Draft prospect, is a large presence on the ice. At almost 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, the 18-year-old from Linkoping, Sweden, already has good size for a defenseman and is able to hold his own against older competition.
Ginning entered the development program for his hometown team at a young age and he quickly advanced through the organization. He played his first game with the Linkoping professional men's team of the Swedish Hockey League in the 2016-17 season, when he was only 16.

Over the past two seasons, Ginning has played 40 games in the SHL for Linkoping HC and has four points (one goal, three assists).
"Adam Ginning is one of the players that plays a little bit like a North American style," said Avs director of amateur scouting, Alan Hepple, to ColoradoAvalanche.com. "Probably a defensive defenseman or a puck-moving defenseman that has some grit, has some physicality to his game. Probably more of a shutdown guy."

Ginning is NHL Central Scouting's third-ranked defenseman among International skaters, only behind fellow Swedish blueliners Rasmus Dahlin and Adam Boqvist, and is the fifth-ranked international skater overall. Ginning has shown himself to be a solid defender at the highest level of Swedish hockey and has the ability to improve his offensive game.
The rear guard has been much more prolific at the offensive end of the ice when competing with players closer to his own age. In 17 contests with Linkoping's under-20 team during the 2017-18 campaign, Ginning had a goal and five assists. Also, at the IIHF U-18 World Championship, Ginning captained the Swedish team to a bronze medal, scoring a goal and adding three assists in seven games.
Winning bronze at last year's Under-18 World's is not his only success internationally, either. Ginning brought home the gold with Sweden at the 2016 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. The blueliner also helped his home country earn bronze at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament with four points (one goal, three assists) in five games.
As a stay-at-home defenseman, his offensive statistics are not necessarily the best evaluator for his play but his physicality and ability to protect his net make him an expected first-round selection. In his final showing on the way to the draft, Ginning performed well at the NHL Scouting Combine, placing in the top-10 in the aerobic fitness VO2 max test and the fatigue index, which assesses endurance.
Ginning looks to someday bring his tough style of defense to the National Hockey League, with the next step coming when an NHL team calls his name at the 2018 draft.