The Vancouver Canucks may have landed one of the most intriguing pieces in the Quinn Hughes return in Liam Öhgren, a winger whose game has already started to flash in camp and during the preseason. With Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi and first-rounder Adam Novotny drawing plenty of attention in the package, Öhgren still stands out as a player with real breakout potential this season.
That upside didn’t come out of nowhere. Minnesota took Öhgren 19th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft after a draft year that showed exactly why scouts were drawn to him.
He scored at better than a goal-per-game pace and averaged nearly two points per game in Djurgårdens J20, then got a taste of the SHL. The production didn’t fully carry over there, but the talent was obvious enough for Sweden to keep putting him in big spots.
He wore the captain’s “C” for Sweden at the 2022 U18 World Championships and delivered more than a point per game on the way to a gold medal. He also captained Sweden at the 2024 World Juniors, where the team finished with silver.
Öhgren’s appeal has always been tied to how many different ways he can help a team. He entered the draft with a reputation as one of the safer bets in the class because of his all-around skill set, and the Canucks have already seen a few of those traits show up. Last season, he went pointless in 18 games with the Wild before arriving in Vancouver, then snapped that streak by scoring on a wicked wrister against the New York Rangers in his first game with the Canucks.
There’s real shot power in his game, too. His hardest shot of the season was clocked at 91.9 mph, which NHL EDGE Stats places in the 90th percentile among forwards.
The speed is there as well, with a 70th-percentile mark in max speed and an 80th-percentile ranking in total 20-22 mph bursts. His skating has not always looked perfectly smooth, but the raw pace is enough to make him dangerous.
Beyond the tools, Öhgren brings the kind of habits coaches trust. Dayton Reimer pointed to his work ethic in Öhgren’s draft profile, and his hockey IQ has also been a selling point. He reads the game well and has the versatility to fit in a few different spots, which is part of why Vancouver wanted him in the first place.
Manny Malhotra has already tried him in different roles, but the most likely landing spot looks like a line with Brock Boeser and Marco Rossi. The “BRÖ” line makes sense on paper: Rossi can drive the play, Boeser can finish, and Öhgren can supply the strength and flexibility to hold it together.
There’s also a chance the Canucks test him higher in the lineup if Elias Pettersson continues to struggle. A move alongside his fellow countryman could help both players find another gear, and it’s something to watch as the season unfolds.
For now, Öhgren looks like a player with a real path to a bigger role in Vancouver. The tools are there, the opportunity is coming, and with more minutes under Malhotra, he could become one of the more important names to track on this Canucks roster.
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