The 麻豆传媒映画Canucks waited until the fifth round to finally pick a Swede in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
With the 143rd-overall pick, the Canucks selected Wilson Björck from Djurgårdens IF. The 6'0" forward was in his second year of draft eligibility after going undrafted in 2024.
Björck spent the vast majority of his season in Sweden's top junior league, the J20 Nationell, which could be considered a bit of a red flag for a draft+1 prospect. Typically, players with an NHL future are playing against men at 19, either in the SHL or the HockeyAllsvenskan.
One has to wonder if his plans to play in the NCAA for Colorado College next season have something to do with him staying in junior hockey. Canucks prospect Tom Willander, for instance, was on the roster for two games in the SHL in his draft year, but did not actually step on the ice and play, likely to retain his NCAA eligibility.
Whatever the case, Björck had a dominant season in the J20 Nationell, albeit assisted by his younger brother, Viggo Björck, a potential top-ten pick in the 2026 draft. The two brothers thrived on a line together for Djurgårdens: Viggo finished first in the league in scoring with 74 points in 42 games, the best season in the history of the J20 Nationell; Wilson was second in scoring with 67 points in 43 games, the fifth-best season in J20 Nationell history.
That was a major step up from his draft-year production, when he had just 24 points in 41 games without Viggo on his line.
That's the major question for Björck: how much of his season was a product of playing with his brother?
That's the kind of bet a team can make in the fifth round, taking a chance on a player that might have significant upside, but also comes with significant question marks.
Scouting reports suggest that Björck has a well-rounded game that he can fall back on if the offence doesn't come along, so he has the potential to develop into a high-motor energy winger in the bottom-six at the NHL level. It should also be noted that Björck took significant steps forward in his development this past season apart from playing with his younger brother.
"While Björck took full advantage of his very favourable environment, he has to be given credit for the improvements he was able to make from his draft year," reads his profile from Elite Prospects. "The skating ability was already a positive back then, giving him the capability to transport the puck across the neutral zone due to his natural athleticism that helped him override some of the mechanical quirks, but the growth he showed as a playmaker and as an off-puck scorer needs to be praised."
Björck might even project as a two-way centre, rather than a winger. He plays a detailed defensive game and has decent vision to distribute the puck.
Still, Björck is a long shot to make the NHL, which is the case for every prospect taken at this point in the draft. At the very least, Björck is an interesting gamble on one of the top scores in J20 Nationell history.
And maybe one year from now, the Canucks will take Viggo Björck in the draft and once again have a pair of Swedish brothers in the organization.
