With the first pick of the sixth round, 161st overall, in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Buffalo Bills select center William von Barnekow-Lofberg from the Malmö Redhawks' Under-20 team in the Swedish junior league.
von Barnekow-Lofberg spent the majority of his 2020-21 season split between Malmö's Under-20 team, as well as Tyringe SoSS in Sweden's third-tier professional league, HockeyEttan. The 18-year-old even got the chance to make his Swedish Hockey League debut this season with the Redhawks, appearing in two regular season games and two playoff games.
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound center managed to put up some good production at the junior level with seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points in 18 games played. With Tyringe SoSS in HockeyEttan, von Barnekow-Lofberg continued to produce well with 22 points (9+13) in 26 games.
According to Elite Prospects, von Barnekow-Lofberg is under contract with Malmö through the 2022-23 season.
The highest ranking von Barnekow-Lofberg received ahead of the 2021 NHL Draft was from FC Hockey, who had him at 96th. Smaht Scouting also had the Swedish center listed at 125th in their rankings.
The Sabres will next select later in the sixth round with the 188th overall pick.
***Photo: Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres)
