The next player we are taking a look at is skilled Swedish center Viggo Bjorck, who could be a franchise-altering player for the St. Louis Blues in the 2026 NHL draft.
One of, or maybe even the most intriguing, players in the 2026 NHL draft is Swedish center Viggo Bjorck.
The skilled right-handed shooter put up an impressive six goals and 15 points in 42 games in the SHL, regarded by most as the second-best hockey league in the world. Outside of the SHL, he posted eight goals and 20 points in nine J-20 playoff games in Sweden.
Bjorck also won gold with Team Sweden at the World Junior Championship, scoring three goals and nine points in seven games. He then earned a spot on Sweden’s World Championship roster, becoming the youngest Swedish player to ever participate in the event. In eight games, he scored one goal and six points, but made a noticeable impact in Sweden’s top six.
Bjorck is a feisty player who loves to have the puck on his stick. He excels at zone exits and entries, routinely doing so with possession. He’s also stellar at finding pockets of space in the slot to fire shots on goal, very similar to players like Brayden Point and Logan Stankoven.
Those are two players he’s been compared to in the past, largely due to play style, but also physically.
Bjorck, alongside fellow 2026 NHL draft prospects, recently completed the Scouting Combine, where he was listed at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds. While his game is polished on both ends, his skating is high-end, and he competes hard, his size as a center is undersized, which is holding him back from being a top-five or top-three pick in the draft.
If Bjorck were six feet, he’d compete for the first overall pick.
But if other teams ahead of the Blues are afraid of his size holding him back, that could be the best thing for the Blues. They could snatch a top-five talent in the draft at pick No. 11.
Although Bjorck would likely be the dream scenario for the Blues, both the Florida Panthers and the Seattle Kraken, who own picks ahead of the Blues, took Bjorck out to dinner this week. While that doesn’t guarantee they’ll select him, the interest level is there.
10 years from now, teams could look back and regret passing on Bjorck.
Other Draft Profiles
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.