- May 21, 2026
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With the No. 13 overall pick of the 2026 NHL Draft Friday night at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, the New York Islanders selected defenseman Malte Gustafsson of the SHL’s HV71.
Gustafsson, 18, fits the ideal of a tall, sturdy defenseman with a smothering wingspan. He’s highly intelligent in his own-zone play, with deft gap control, and he lays opponents out with bludgeoning hits. He brings good mobility to his 6-foot-4, 203-pound frame, which makes him well-equipped to chase down speedy attackers and patrol his end of the ice. Gustafsson isn’t going to dominate at the offensive end of the ice, but he’s not a zero with the puck on his stick. He has a solid first pass and can get the puck out of his end consistently. If his makeup sounds incredibly familiar: yes, his most common comparable is indeed the Edmonton Oilers’ Mattias Ekholm.
Gustafsson made the jump to play in Sweden’s top men’s pro league this season as a 17-year-old. He was also an alternate captain on Team Sweden at the 2026 Under-18 World Championship; he had a goal and five points in six games to help Tre Kronor win gold, adding to an impressive 2026 trophy case after they’d won World Junior gold a few months earlier. Gustafsson led all Swedish blueliners in scoring for the U-18 tourney and was named one of the team’s top three players; he also made the All-Star team.
If Gustafsson realizes his full potential, his mix of skating, shutdown ability and snarl, combined with at least an NHL-worthy floor offensively, could make him the type of defenseman who logs significant minutes in a two-way warrior role on a playoff team someday. He still has to speed up his decision-making with the puck as he begins to face older, stronger competition, so we shouldn’t expect to see him pancaking opponents in the NHL for a couple of years.
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Gustafsson, 18, fits the ideal of a tall, sturdy defenseman with a smothering wingspan. He’s highly intelligent in his own-zone play, with deft gap control, and he lays opponents out with bludgeoning hits. He brings good mobility to his 6-foot-4, 203-pound frame, which makes him well-equipped to chase down speedy attackers and patrol his end of the ice. Gustafsson isn’t going to dominate at the offensive end of the ice, but he’s not a zero with the puck on his stick. He has a solid first pass and can get the puck out of his end consistently. If his makeup sounds incredibly familiar: yes, his most common comparable is indeed the Edmonton Oilers’ Mattias Ekholm.
Gustafsson made the jump to play in Sweden’s top men’s pro league this season as a 17-year-old. He was also an alternate captain on Team Sweden at the 2026 Under-18 World Championship; he had a goal and five points in six games to help Tre Kronor win gold, adding to an impressive 2026 trophy case after they’d won World Junior gold a few months earlier. Gustafsson led all Swedish blueliners in scoring for the U-18 tourney and was named one of the team’s top three players; he also made the All-Star team.
If Gustafsson realizes his full potential, his mix of skating, shutdown ability and snarl, combined with at least an NHL-worthy floor offensively, could make him the type of defenseman who logs significant minutes in a two-way warrior role on a playoff team someday. He still has to speed up his decision-making with the puck as he begins to face older, stronger competition, so we shouldn’t expect to see him pancaking opponents in the NHL for a couple of years.
Continue reading...