PROSPECT PROFILE: Anton Lundell

EDMONTON, AB - NHL Director of European Scouting Goran Stubb could have been describing 2019-20 Art Ross Trophy winner and Hart Memorial Trophy finalist Leon Draisaitl when talking about 2020 NHL Draft prospect Anton Lundell.
"Lundell is an intelligent playmaker and an outstanding passer with excellent vision and understanding of the game," Stubb told NHL.com's Mike Morreale. "Well-balanced skater, hard to knock off his skates. Protects the puck extremely well and outstanding at finding a teammate in traffic. Excellent competitor, very focused."
And while the Oilers superstar is from Germany, Lundell hails from Finland, ranked third among International skaters by NHL Central Scouting heading into the 2020 Draft, which will be conducted virtually in early October.
The 18-year-old centreman already has two full seasons in Finland's Liiga under his belt, as he scored 10 goals and 18 assists while averaging 15:49 TOI in 44 games with Helsinki's HIFK during the 2019-20 campaign.

As a rookie in 2018-19, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Espoo native scored nine goals and 10 assists in 38 games with HIFK. Lundell has already started playing exhibition games with the Finnish club as they ramp up for the start of the 2020-21 season.
Lundell, who models his game after fellow Finn Aleksander Barkov, told Morreale he believes he has a good idea as to what it takes to become an NHL centre in today's game.
"You have to earn the ice time and be able to play a good two-way game," he said. "You can't just survive out there. You have to play at both ends and I want to show my example as a leader. I want to play a good two-way game, and at the same time produce offensively."
In addition to his impressive play with HIFK, Lundell has earned two gold medals with the Finnish national team that won the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship and 2018 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.