Rochester, N.Y. (WGR 550) – After their playoffs were over in the Swedish Hockey League, 20-year-old Noah Ostlund and 18-year-old Anton Wahlberg both came over to North America to play with the Rochester Americans.
Wahlberg played nine regular season games at year's end, picking up a goal and three assists for four points. In two playoff games, he has a goal that happened in Rochester's Game 1 win over the Syracuse Crunch.
As for Ostlund, he's played two regular season games with the Amerks to close the year, picking up an assist. He also has one goal in two playoff games for Rochester.
Ostlund seems to be learning fast in just four AHL games played.
"It’s a good confidence. I’ve been playing better and better," said Ostlund earlier this week.
The ice surfaces in Europe are quite a bit wider than in North America. Ostlund notices it, especially going from the regular season to the playoffs.
"It’s a big difference, but I feel pretty used to the playoffs right now, because I had been playing in the playoffs back home in Sweden," the 2022 first-round pick said.
Ostlund was in Rochester for a short time during last year’s playoffs, but he was hurt and didn’t play. He still thinks it was a useful experience.
"It helped a lot," he said. "I got to get to know all of the guys, the staff and the city too. It helped very much."
Amerks head coach Seth Appert has noticed how not just Ostlund, but also Wahlberg have gotten more accustomed to every day being in practice and in every game.
"With the lack of time and space, along with the physicality, they’re both talented and smart young players, and they’re just making adjustments on the fly right now," said Appert.
With what Appert said, you can see how much Ostlund has improved in a short period of time.
"They’re both very talented players to be drafted where they were drafted," Appert noted. "But they’re young, and as young as we are, that made us a lot younger. But they offer us talent and competitiveness, but they’re not as physically ready to be physically demanding players right now."
As far as his confidence, Ostlund says it's allowed him to just go out and play his game.
"That’s what happens when you get confident. You just play on what you see out there," he said. "I think that’s how I am as a player, and how I want to play too."
Ostlund reminds me a little of Casey Mittelstadt in the way he handles the puck. He seems like he’s usually looking to pass first.
"Maybe I try to hang onto the puck and not shoot it away as early, so when they come at me, I hold the puck and then try to do something. It’s working pretty good," Ostlund said.
Appert says Ostlund is so smart, he’s already adjusted to the North American style of play.
"He’s not intimidated by physicality at all. He just has to get used to the lack of time and space in North America," the Amerks bench boss said.
"He and I talked after Game 1 that in North America, you have to take in more information before you get the puck. You need to scan and take in pre-information before you get the puck, because a lot of the time once you get it, your time is eliminated. He’s smart enough that he’s already making that adjustment. That allows him to find those plays.
"At heart, he’s a natural, playmaking center. Our centers are pretty good right now, so that’s why we slotted him on the wing. But you can see those center tendencies."
Isak Rosen is also from Sweden, and has enjoyed watching both of his rookie countrymen score their first playoff goals. Rochester also has another Swedish player in Linus Weissbach. Rosen says both of them are trying to show Ostlund the way.
"I try my best, and I think we’ve got a lot of guys that can help, a lot of Swedes," said Rosen following Friday's Game 1. "We have a lot of young players like [Jiri] Kulich that can help them too, and, of course, our veteran players too. I think it’s easy to come into our group, and he’s trying his best to get to know everyone."
Rosen did tip home the game-winning goal in the third period of Game 1 against the Crunch, but he and Kulich have not been that good. They’re both a minus-4 in the two playoff games.
Kulich has no goals and one assist.
Game 3 of the best-of-5 series is slated for Thursday in Syracuse with the series even at 1-1.
