Florida Panthers Prospect Profile: Henrik Borgstrom

With the 23rd overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft the Florida Panthers selected Henrik Borgstrom. A member of the HIFK U-20 team and commit to the University of Denver at the time.

Henrik Borgstrom
Center — shoots L
DOB: Aug 6 1997 — Helsinki, Finland
Height 6’3 — Weight 176                     University Of Denver 33GP, 21G, 17A, 38P

The young Fin was seen as a surprise pick to many, claiming that he most likely would’ve been available for the Panthers 33rd overall pick. Dale Tallon and company had other plans however, they were very high on the youngster and interviewed him 3 separate times between the Combine and Draft.

“He’s a crowd-pleaser with his surprising moves. He didn’t play in the Finnish pro league since he was playing college next year.” Explained Goran Stubb, the NHL director of European scouting. “He’s a different player with outstanding playmaking and puck-handling skills.”

Working on power, strength and physicality was his focal point going into college. “Playing in college is a good way to gain that, because games are on the weekends and you have the whole week to practice and work out” Borgstrom said. Now with his first regular season of NCAA hockey coming to an end, he’s posted great numbers in 33 games with 21 goals and 17 assists. That ranks him first in freshman scoring.

Borgstrom draws rave reviews from just about everyone who watches him play, usually they’re in awe when seeing his play making abilities. One notable is that his wrist shot has seemed to improve and is very deadly on the power play, with 7 power play goals this season and 6 GWG it seems he’s found a rhythm.

When asked about his shot he said “Before this year, I hadn’t been scoring that much. I feel like I was more of a playmaker and I used to dangle a lot, I like that stuff more. But this season, I don’t know, maybe it’s the different rink, I just feel more confident with my shot and I’ve used it way more than when I was in Finland.”

The lanky forward however is listed at 195 pounds by the University Of Denver but still looks like he has some filling in to do. This will also help him become more of a presence on the defensive side of the puck. He can be a formidable threat in the NHL down the line if given the time to develop properly.

He was just recently named to the NCHC all rookie team and rookie of the year. Hopefully he makes a splash with our Florida Panthers and we can all enjoy that wrist shot and those dangles at the BB&T Center for years to come.