Have you noticed that Sweden, and particularly Lulea, is becoming an increasingly popular destination for young hockey players from Central Europe? Scout and player agent Louis Liesch sheds some light on why that is the case, and it doesn't seem the trend will end soon.

by Derek O'Brien

Lulea Hockey have advanced to the Champions Hockey League final, and have made it thanks to the contributions of several regular players who are 21 years of age or younger. That's not unusual in Sweden, which has become recognized as the best producer of hockey talent in Europe, but what is unique in Lulea's case is where these players come from. 

Two players taking a regular shift on this year's Lulea team are 19-year-old Slovak forward Peter Cehlarek and 21-year-old Swiss defenceman Dean Kukan. Another Slovak, 18-year-old defenceman Christian Jaros, has split the season between the A-team and Lulea's junior club. He has played in four CHL contests. All three players represented their home country in this year's World Junior Championship in Canada, with Cehlarek and Jaros winning bronze medals. 

“Playing for Lulea is awesome,” raved Celharek, who moved from his hometown Zilina to northern Sweden in 2011 as a 15-year-old to further his development. “It's a different style of hockey and I'm happy to get the experience of playing with top players.”

Of course, these three aren't the only talented young players who have re-located from Central Europe to Sweden in recent years. Kevin Fiala has made a name for himself with HV71 Jonkoping, while Czech forwards Jakub Vrana and David Pastrnak have done well in Linkoping and Sodertalje, paving the way for the latter's call-up to the Boston Bruins just after the World Juniors. While players from Central Europe have flocked to North American junior leagues for years as a means to reach the NHL, it seems that Sweden has now become a popular – and successful – alternative. 

“I think that Sweden is a very good development place generally,” says Louis Liesch, a Swiss-based scout and player agent who has discovered and represents many young Central European players, including Cehlarek, Kukan and Jaros.

“I do a lot of scouting everywhere and watch a lot of junior games all over,” Liesch continued, explaining how he finds these players. “Often you find them in places where nobody else is watching. Maybe it's not for everybody to sit and watch a youth hockey practice at 7:00 in the morning when it's minus-10 outside.”

But what makes Sweden such an attractive alternative to North America?

“Everybody wants to go to North America, but this can happen later, when they are ready for that. I think in Sweden you have a little bit more time for development than in North America. Not every player is ready for that step. And you can also see how many players come back after just a short time overseas. The goal should be, if you go there, you should try to stay there as long as possible.”

And thanks to Liesch's good relationship with the Lulea club, many of his players have ended up there. But what is there to gain for a teenaged boy moving to a town of 46,000 near the Arctic Circle?

“I think Lulea is a very good place for hockey,” Liesch explains. “When you don't have too many possibilities other than hockey at that age – basically just training, eating and sleeping – you develop faster. I think it can be a bit a problem in other places where kids have so many possible ways to spend their time.”

Of course, if Cehlarek, Kukan and Jaros achieve their ultimate goals and eventually head to North America – and stay for as long as possible – they might not be playing in Lulea much longer. As their agent, he will be happy to see them fulfil their dreams, and isn't worried about the talent pipeline from Central Europe to northern Sweden drying up any time soon. But he's not naming any names.

“For sure there will be some new players in the future that should make their way in to the A-team. I have already some of them in my mind.”