Habs Prospect Lighting Up Champions Hockey League

When watching Eriksson skate in and take his shot on the goal above, it reminds me of Heineman early last season, before the car accident. Sure, Eriksson is in Europe vs. Heineman doing it in the NHL, the style and shooting release show some serious similarities. The fact that Eriksson can shoot with that same style is nice to see, and it could be very exciting to watch how his shooting progresses throughout the upcoming season.

After continuously watching Eriksson’s highlights lately, he truly is now showing me that his player type is more of a sniper as opposed to a playmaking centre. Some clips show his playmaking abilities, and they look good, but they are not as impressive as his shot. He has the potential to be a bottom-six version of Adrian Kempe if he continues to improve on his already strong shot.

Another asset that seems evident is that Eriksson brings a lot of speed to his game, which he seems to use to his advantage to give himself more room when releasing a wrister. However, it does also seem like the defense he is playing against in the Champions Hockey League is inferior to that of his SHL competition. At least, that’s what it seems like from the highlights of his CHL goals from the last few days.

Another thing to take note of is that he also produced 4 goals and an assist in 9 Champions Hockey League games with Vaxjo during the 2024-25 season. Whereas he only managed 2 goals and 6 points in 37 SHL games, therefore, that probably plays a huge factor in the quality of players that Eriksson is facing during the Champions Hockey League, which has teams from all of Europe’s top hockey leagues. An SHL team has won the Champions Hockey League in 6 of the 10 years that the tournament has existed, and at least one SHL team has made the Final each season.

The positive thing here is that it shows he’s currently playing in what is the best league in Europe, and through his struggles, the 20-year-old will only learn this season in the SHL yet again. However, this time it will likely be a bigger role, where he may receive some power-play time to showcase his talent.

Eriksson and Lulea will play their next Champions Hockey League game on Thursday, September 4th, against HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga. The puck drops at 12:30 pm ET. Will Eriksson score for the third straight game?