We continue to review our annual Washington Capitals predictions and prediction series with Oskar Magnusson, striker AIK in the HockeyAllsvenskan league. (You can access all of the Capitals’ prospects reports and player analysis on the ‘Prospects’ page in the top menu or here.)
Vitals
Magnusson, 21, is a 5′-10” Left Midfielder/Wing from Trelleborg, Sweden. He was selected by the Capitals in the seventh round (#211 overall) of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He remains unsigned by the Capitals.
Career summary
Magnusson has represented Sweden at U-16, U-17 and U-18 levels, including the Gretzky Hlinka Trophy where he was part of the bronze medal winning team. Overall, Magnusson played 13 games with the U-18 national team, scoring two goals and four assists for six points.
Magnusson spent his 2019-20 season playing with the Malmo Redhawks, splitting his time between the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) elite Junior 20 team and their U-18 team, primarily playing for the Junior 20 team. He played in 38 matches at the Junior 20 Super Elite level, He scored 22 goals and had 26 assists for 58 points overall. Magnusson only played one match for their under-18 team but scored a goal and an assist. He played in four games in the SHL.
Magnusson was selected to play for Sweden in the Four Nations Championship in November, and did well. On Sunday, November 14, Sweden played Russia in the final match of the tournament. Russia won the match 5-2 and won the tournament, but Magnusson scored a goal in the match to bring the score to 4-2.
Magnusson was selected for the Swedish national team for the originally scheduled 2022 World Junior Championships, but the tournament was eventually canceled due to the Covid outbreak.
Magnuson attended the Capitals development camp in September 2021, his first visit to the Capitals. He talked about his camp attendance, and what he took away from the camp.
“Mainly experience. See how they train and what it takes to get a job there. Lots of experience and it was just a positive experience. They want me to continue working on what I’ve started to build on. I’m going to try to show that I’m really good with the puck when it’s on the stick.”
Magnusson stepped down from the HockeyAllsvenskan League for the 2021-22 season, stating that the move would allow him more playing time.
“I thought this would be good for my development and it turns out it was,” Magnuson told hockeysverige.se.
As a young player, you must be able to play in order to develop yourself to the next level. In the case of Oskar Magnusson, this meant leaving his home in Skåne and moving to Stockholm. After five years in the Malmö Redhawks organization, Magnusson left the club to sign with AIK instead.
“I think it was great. It helped the group, but I also started playing my hockey at AIK… I have only positive things to say about starting at AIK.”
Team Sweden announced its preliminary roster for the (rescheduled) 2022 IIHF World Junior Championships, which included Magnusson. The original tournament was canceled back in December due to the outbreak of COVID-19 among a number of teams.
Magnusson had a fairly good tournament, starting on the left wing in the fourth line for most matches. He rose to the first line for the third game against the United States, but returned to the fourth line for most of the remaining matches. He rose to the third line in the bronze medal match against the Czech Republic.
As for his public play, Magnusson has shown his superior speed, perhaps his best, on a number of occasions. He also showed a good playing ability at times during the tournament, which is something he seems to be improving quite a bit.
Magnusson’s shooting in the tournament was good, but there were definitely missed opportunities. He also needs to work on his board and puck fights, as he’s been pushed off the puck a few times. For the tournament, Magnuson recorded a goal and an assist in seven games.
Magnusson continued his season with AIK in Hockey Allsvenskan (the second highest league in Sweden). His overall regular season statistics included five goals and six assists in 35 games. He played in two qualifying matches and had no goals or assists. Magnusson generally played on the left wing in the third line.
The 2022-23 season has been in the doldrums and arguably a step back in terms of offensive production. He scored just six goals and 10 assists in his second full season in the second division.
Monthly summary and analysis of trends from 2022 to 2023
Below is a compilation of our monthly forecast reports for Oskar Magnusson during the 2022-23 season. Also includes his monthly grades (0-5, with a 2.5 on average). You can find all of your monthly leads on the “Prospects” page in the top menu.
October
Magnusson also began his 2022-23 campaign in August, playing for Sweden’s junior national team at the rescheduled 2022 World Junior Championships. Scored a goal and an assist in seven matches. (Tournament summary here.)
Nice stretch pass from wall to # the capper Oskar Magnusson finished with his first goal of the tournament. pic.twitter.com/0zMpRoQbZV
– Capitals Horizons (@jon_m_sorensen) August 16, 2022
Magnusson opened the season at right wing on AIK’s fourth line on 23 September. He would score late in the game to give AIK a 5-4 lead. He had a goal and an assist in the match.
Oscar Magnuson 🚨 # Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha #AIK # the capper
🎥 c more pic.twitter.com/UAK1WEreRq– SwehockeyGIFs (swehockeygifs) September 23, 2022
Magnusson was elevated to the third line in AIK’s next match on September 28 against Österund. Magnuson has a goal and four assists in 12 games played so far this season.
Monthly score: 2.5
November
During the month of November, Magnusson played in nine games, scoring two goals and recording one assist. He scored the equalizing goal on November 2 against Djurgården at 16:26 during the third period, which tied the game at 4-4 in a game they eventually lost 5-4 in overtime.
Oscar Magnuson 🚨 # Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha #AIK # the capper
🎥C more pic.twitter.com/zjAuuCQShM– SwehockeyGIFs (swehockeygifs) November 2, 2022
Magnusson scored a goal on November 30 at 12:35 during the second period of the match against Vita Hasten. The goal put the team up 2-1 which proved to be the match-winner by winning 4-1.
Oscar Magnuson (@employee) with a great ending!# Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha #sverigesmestunderhåldingliga pic.twitter.com/E4j30fmYy3
– HockeyAllsvenskan (hockeyallsvenskan) November 30, 2022
Magnusson will look at making the jump to Hershey in September.
Monthly score: 2.5
December
during DecemberCinder, Magnuson played in eight matches One Aim, and record it two helpss. on Dec 4He entered a target vs. Modo at 11:14 in the second The period was tied at 1-1 as they eventually lost 4-2. (https://www.aikhockey.se/article/pl90albaj-1bbi1/view)
an 16 dec In their match against Vita Hasten, Magnusson recorded an assist on the team The second goal tied it 2-2 at 9:23 in third a period. They lost in the end 5-2. (https://www.aikhockey.se/article/m1p1albqy-1bbi1/view)
in December 18record help on the team the first goal against Tingsryd any The match was tied 1-1 at 7:07 in the first period. They won 5-4 on penalties. (https://www.aikhockey.se/article/p11ualbui-1bbi1/view)
Magnuson has four Objectives and eight helps with 29 Matches played so far this season.
Monthly score: 2.0
January
During January, Magnusson played in ten matches for AIK, scoring one goal and recording one assist. He had an assist on the team’s first goal in a match against Karlskoga on 6 January, which drew 1-1. AIK eventually won the match 2-1.
On 18 January, he scored his team’s first goal of the first period at 16:47 to cut AIK’s deficit to 2-1. The end result of that match was a 6-5 overtime loss to Tingsryd.
Oskar Magnusson with redirection for the balance at last night’s HockeyAllsvenskan game. He has a 5g and a 9a in 34 games played this season. # the capper pic.twitter.com/mXNa9oj4BR
– Capitals Horizons (@jon_m_sorensen) January 19, 2023
Magnusson fI have goals and nine helps in 39 matches played so far this season.
Monthly score: 2.5
February
during the month of february, Magnusson played in nine games, scoring one goal and one assist for AIK in hockey Allsvenskan (Second Division).
in feb 11, scored a goal at 11:10 during the second period. It gave AIK a 2-1 lead Which they couldn’t keep as they eventually lost 6-3. 2023-02-11 AIK- Karlskoga 3-6 – Hockey Allsvenskan
On February 13, he had a key assist on AIK’s only goal which occurred in a 5-1 loss. The goal was scored at 9:57 in the third period. 2023-02-13 Kristianstad – AIK 5-1 – Hockey Allsvenskan
Magnuson has six goals and 10 helps in 48 Matches played so far this season.
Monthly score: 2.5
He walks
Magnuson Scored six goals and 10 helps in 52 normal matches played this chapter. He has played in four playoff games and has been left off the scoring list.
Monthly score: 2.0
Summary of monthly results
player expectation
Magnusson has shown excellent speed and above-average pitching ability at times, but has become few and far between, as we might see hitting the ceiling with a seventh-round pick.
Magnusson will need to step it up as he heads into his third full season in the HockeyAllsvenskan League. He resigned from the SHL two years ago to get more playing time, which was a good development move at the time, but offensive production didn’t materialize.
Written by John Sorensen