If you followed along here all of last season, then you’ve probably assumed correctly I have been a big fan of Oskar Jellvik. And now, there is another Bruins mid-round draft pick in Dans Locmelis to get excited about. Both are mid round draft picks, and while there is never a guarantee of NHL success for even a first-round draft pick let alone a mid-round pick, there is reason to have a little bit of excitement for these two.
Their respective paths to (hopefully) the NHL are taking very similar routes, so I thought it would be fun to compare the two players. So, let’s take a look:
| OSKAR JELLVIK | DANS LOCMELIS | |
| Country | Sweden | Latvia |
| Date of Birth | Feb 8, 2003 | Jan 21, 2004 |
| Height | 5’11” | 6’0” |
| Weight | 175 pounds | 170 pounds |
| Position | C/LW | C |
| Drafted | 149th (2021) | 119th (2022) |
| Drafted from | J20 Nationell (Sweden) | J20 Nationell (Sweden) |
| Draft +1 season | J20 Nationell | J20 Nationell |
| Committed to | Boston College (2022) | Northern Michigan (2023) |
While Jellvik was born and raised in Sweden, Locmelis made the move to Sweden to further his hockey career and the ripe young age of 14. Both have represented their countries internationally on several occasions, with Locmelis representing Latvia in last months World Junior Championships Under-20. Jellvik hopes to get his opportunity at the 2023 Tournament.
Jellvik has on many occasions played above his age group, while Locmelis has pretty much stayed in his age group except one season – his draft season.
With the help of our friends at Elite Prospects, let’s take a look at the player comparisons from their Age-15 season through to their Age-17 season:
While Locmelis is entering his Age-18 season in the J20 Nationell, Jellvik has already completed his posting 26 goals and 29 assists in 41 games and adding 5 goals and 4 assists in 6 playoff games. That was Jellvik’s draft plus-1 season while Locmelis is entering his. It will be interesting to compare the two again at the end of this season.
Comparing stats is not as easy for the other years since, as already mentioned, Jellvik was above his age group for some of his time. But their age 17 seasons are interesting nonetheless. Locmelis scored 18 goals and 16 assists in 44 games or .41 goals per game and .77 points per game. Jellvik’s was affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic but was still able to put up .46 goals per game and .92 points per game.
Stylistically, they are two different players that accomplish the same thing, putting points on the board. At least at the levels they’ve played at so far. Bruins fans will get to see more of Jellvik this season as he begins his academic year with Boston College. They’ll have to wait another year to do the same with Locmelis, but they did get a small glimpse of him at the WJC.
If one of these two makes it to the show then the Bruins can count their blessings considering where they were picked. But both have legitimate chances of playing in the NHL. And that’s a rarity for fourth and fifth round picks in back-to-back drafts.
Fans will soon get to form their own opinions on the pair. But here is my bold prediction if they both make it to the NHL: Jellvik will be the better point producer but Locmelis will be the better all-around player.
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Dom - Hockey 