Vilmer Salen Forsberg

Scouting Notes

There is plenty to like about the foundation of this goaltender, particularly his size, composure, and ability to maintain his structure. His hand placement is excellent, with both hands positioned out front and square, giving him a confident look in the net. I wouldn't necessarily classify him as an elite reaction goaltender or an exceptional glove-hand prospect, but there is confidence in his hands, some backhand ability, and a particularly strong blocker. He does a good job attacking shots with his blocker, staying big, and casually absorbing or directing pucks away from danger.

His skating movements are efficient for his size, both in his upright stance and butterfly. He moves well enough around the crease and has the leg length to cover significant ground, particularly when moving post to post in the butterfly. There are occasions where he can get stuck on his post, limiting the effectiveness of his pushes, but his size allows him to compensate by getting enough of his body across. His natural instinct is to move as square as possible, which helps him maintain his size through quicker movements. I wouldn't consider him an elite mover or an exceptional athlete, but there is a level of efficiency to his game that makes his movement effective.

His overall frame is exactly what you look for in a high-level goaltending prospect. He has excellent lower-body coverage, with his legs capable of taking away a significant amount of the net in the butterfly. When set and square, he can be extremely difficult to beat, but there are some holes in his butterfly movement that can be exploited.

One of the more encouraging aspects of his game is his ability to handle traffic. He uses his size and patience extremely effectively, rarely overreacting to developing plays or traffic around his crease. He tracks the puck well, attacks with his hands, and does a good job following the play. He has shown an ability to beat passes across on multiple occasions, and this level of competition appears to be comfortable for him. His movements are generally patient, and he is rarely caught being overly active. He stays upright and maintains a big presence in his crease, which is particularly effective given his frame.

There are some questions surrounding how aggressively he can play outside his crease. He utilizes reverse-VH effectively and transitions post to post efficiently from that position. However, when challenging rush opportunities or dealing with open situations, I find that he can sometimes get a little small. There are also occasions in close where he defaults to retreating toward his goal line rather than attacking the opportunity with his movement. He isn't likely to be a goaltender who consistently operates at the top of his crease or beyond it. This raises some questions about how his approach will translate against quicker opponents who can move the puck and force him to adjust more rapidly.

His puck-handling ability is adequate and certainly not a liability. He has a strong push out of his crease when retrieving pucks behind the net and can make some useful passes under pressure.

With his stick, he does a good job deflecting pucks away toward the sides, although he can struggle somewhat with shots directed straight at it. Rebound control is another area that could use improvement. While he does a good job attacking shots with his blocker and absorbing or directing many opportunities, his legs can kick out some rebounds, occasionally on seemingly manageable shots. Most of his rebound-control issues appear to come off lower shots.

Ultimately, I don't see an uber-athletic goaltender here. His reactions can be a little late on more difficult opportunities, and his hip flexibility is not particularly impressive. There is enough size, patience, and positional awareness to make him an effective goaltender at the next level, but I have some reservations about his ability to consistently handle higher-end offensive threats.

There is a legitimate prospect here, and his size, composure, and positional foundation give him an intriguing baseline to develop from.