FUTURE WATCH: Persson goes from part-time to professional

EDMONTON, AB - In some ways, Joel Persson was like the young students he was teaching physical education to just a few years ago.
Still young, still developing and still anticipating personal evolution.
For him, either as a gym teacher or teacher's assistant. Or rather, as a hockey prospect who went from Sweden's third league to first in just a matter of seasons.
This isn't Swedish folklore. Persson admits his rise through the ranks is unprecedented in the statutes of Swedish hockey.
"I played in the third league three years ago and worked beside hockey at a school," Persson said on Monday, just a day before
signing a contract extension
with the Oilers.
"It's actually pretty rare to jump two steps."
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Persson, undergoing the rigours of a hectic school schedule - class during the days, work, athletics or other extracurricular activities in the evening - would put in six to seven hours a day at the school then train and practice his on-ice profession at night. His responsibilities with students ranged from teaching the Swedish language to running physical education classes and more.
"I was teaching kids Swedish and some sports lessons for them… Gymnastics? I don't know what it's called. I played soccer with the kids, floorball, handball and I also was an assistant for other older students."
The rearguard was in the same situation many other skaters competing in Hockeyettan are typically in. Most players hold additional jobs when playing semi-professionally, and Persson was one of them.
"If you play good, you usually go to the second league and get a good chance there. I got a great chance last year to move to one of the top teams in the league in the SHL. We got a good chance from the start and it went from there."
That good chance last campaign was twofold: an opportunity to play on the Vaxjo Lakers' power play, as well as a chance to compete alongside elite-level talent Elias Pettersson, the Vancouver Canucks rookie superstar who led the SHL in scoring in '17-18 with 24 goals and 56 points.
Persson produced from the back end, scoring six goals and 34 points in 51 games during his opening year with the Lakers. He gained chemistry with Pettersson, going on to capture Le Mat Trophy, awarded to the SHL's winning playoff team.
"Last year was my first year as a professional hockey player," he said. "It was, of course, really fun and I really appreciate that I can play hockey full-time now.
"I'm just happy for that: getting the opportunity to just focus on playing hockey."

But with Petterson out of the picture in Sweden this campaign, Persson's offence has proven to be more than a flash in the pan. He sits second in scoring among defenders in the SHL with 19 assists and 23 points in 37 games, just a single tick back of the first-place position. His four goals have all come on the power play and the Swede has spent a total of six minutes in the box all season.
"We're not a high-scoring team," Persson admitted. "For me myself, it's going OK. I'm feeling good and developing, doing everything I want."
Development is the key reason why the offensive defenceman chose the Oilers last summer when his meteoric rise up the Swedish league ranks began making waves.
"Last year, I came from nowhere to the highest league in Sweden," the blueliner said. "One of the big things I wanted was to stay home one more year and develop here because everything went so quickly last year. They really listened to me there and I felt like they really believed in me.
"I was actually meeting a couple teams but I got a good feeling from the Oilers. In the end, it was an easy decision for me."
Persson is hopeful his incline hasn't plateaued just yet, as he prepares for his move to North America in 2019-20.
"I'm really privileged to just be a hockey player and to develop really quickly the last couple of years," he said.