With Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson on the verge of a possible Norris Trophy win next week in Las Vegas, one of his fellow countrymen is making a push to be the first European defensemen selected in this year’s Entry Draft.

Hampus Lindholm of Sweden is the top-ranked European defenseman by NHL Central Scouting, and was the fourth-best European skater in the final CSB 2012 rankings. Lindholm checks in at six-foot-three and 196 pounds, but it’s not his physical play that has some scouts drooling over his potential. His steady performance and improved offensive contributions in the Swedish league playoffs with Rogle opened a lot of eyes late in the season.

“The big thing with Lindholm is the maturity he showed as an 18-year-old kid in the playoffs. He thrived in a very high-pressure environment,” explains Kris Baker of SabresProspects.com. “Lindholm is also an amazing skater; just another one of these big, highly mobile defensemen in this year’s draft class.”

Lindholm also put on an impressive performance at the recent Scouting Combine in Toronto, posting the best time in the grueling VO2 Max endurance bike test at 14:40 – which was 68 seconds longer than second-place finisher Ryan Murray.

Baker is also very high on Ludwig Bystrom, another Swedish product who spent this season with Modo in both the Swedish Jr. and Elite leagues.

“Mobility, puckhandling and passing are the strengths of Bystrom’s game,” says Baker. “He is a compelling blueline package that can see him going anywhere from the bottom third of the first round, to the top-half of the second.”

Finland’s Ville Pokka rounds out the trio of top European defenders. Pokka, who just turned 18 on June 3, played as a rookie this season with Karpat in Finland’s top league. He has a big shot that could see him becoming a power play threat in the coming years, but Pokka’s skating is what seems to be holding him back at this point.

	Hampus Lindholm European Skater - Rogle Jr., SWE-JR. Final Rank: 4 Midterm Rank: 6 Position: Defenseman Shoots: Left Height: 6' 2" Weight: 196 Born: January 20, 1994 Born in: Helsingborg, SWE
	Ville Pokka European Skater - Karpat, FINLAND Final Rank: 7 Midterm Rank: 5 Position: Defenseman Shoots: Right Height: 6' 0" Weight: 196 Born: June 3, 1994 Born in: Tornio, FIN
	Ludvik Bystrom European Skater - Modo Jr., SWE-JR. Final Rank: 8 Midterm Rank: 8 Position: Defenseman Shoots: Left Height: 6' 1" Weight: 208 Born: July 20, 1994 Born in: Orskoldsvik, SWE
	Mikko Vainonen European Skater - HIFK JR., FINLAND-JR. Final Rank: 11 Midterm Rank: 10 Position: Defenseman Shoots: Left Height: 6' 3" Weight: 205 Born: April 11, 1994 Born in: Helsinki, FIN
	Esa Lindell European Skater - Jokerit Jr., FINLAND-JR. Final Rank: 12 Midterm Rank: 11 Position: Defenseman Shoots: Left Height: 6' 3" Weight: 194 Born: May 23, 1994 Born in: Vantaa, FIN
	Calle Andersson European Skater - Farjestad jr., SWE-JR. Final Rank: 15 Midterm Rank: 16 Position: Defenseman Shoots: Right Height: 6' 2" Weight: 208 Born: May 16, 1994 Born in: Malmö, SWE
	Valeri Vasiliev European Skater - Spartak 2, RUSSIA-JR. Final Rank: 16 Midterm Rank: 15 Position: Defenseman Shoots: Left Height: 6' 1" Weight: 203 Born: May 31, 1994 Born in: Russia
	Niklas Tikkinen European Skater - Blues Jr., FINLAND-JR. Final Rank: 17 Midterm Rank: 24 Position: Defenseman Shoots: Left Height: 5' 11" Weight: 172 Born: June 1, 1994 Born in: Espoo, FIN
	Christian Djoos European Skater - Brynas Jr., SWE-JR. Final Rank: 18 Midterm Rank: 12 Position: Defenseman Shoots: Left Height: 5' 11" Weight: 158 Born: August 6, 1994 Born in: Gothenburg, SWE
	Mikael Wikstrand European Skater - Mora, SWEDEN-2 Final Rank: 23 Midterm Rank: 34 Position: Defenseman Shoots: Left Height: 6' 1" Weight: 183 Born: November 5, 1993 Born in: Karlstad, SWE