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Vancouver Canucks: 5 Low-Profile RFAs Vancouver Could Target

By Janik Beichler

Dec 30, 2015; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators defenseman Fredrik Claesson (49 skates with the puck in the third period against the New Jersey Devils at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Devils defeated the Senators 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2015; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators defenseman Fredrik Claesson (49 skates with the puck in the third period against the New Jersey Devils at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Devils defeated the Senators 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 30, 2015; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators defenseman Fredrik Claesson (49 skates with the puck in the third period against the New Jersey Devils at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Devils defeated the Senators 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports /

D Fredrik Claesson

Fredrik Claesson is a 23-year-old defenceman from Sweden who was selected 126th overall (fifth round) by the Ottawa Senators at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He stayed with Djugardens IF of the SHL for another season before making the jump to North America in 2012. Since then, the 6-foot, 205-pound D-man appeared in 276 AHL games and 10 NHL contests for the Senators organization.

A stay-at-home defenseman, Claesson made his NHL debut on December 30th, 2015, and stayed with the club for the majority of January as well. During that stretch, he played eight games without recording a point and was a minus-8. He had another call-up in March, staying for two games this time, but has yet to record his first NHL point.

The fact that Claesson is not a big producer should not come as a surprise, though. In the Swedish SuperElit, an under-20 junior league, Claesson .19 points per game and in the professional SHL, he only had .11. His 29-point season for the Binghamton Senators in 2013-14 made hope for more, but he was unable to repeat those numbers, showing that he is mainly a defensive defenceman.

The Canucks currently have at least four left-side defencemen locked up through next season (Alexander Edler, Ben Hutton, Luca Sbisa, Andrey Pedan), but some additional competition could certainly help. If Claesson gets his production back up and can translate it to the NHL level, he could be a serviceable top-six D-man for years to come.

From Elite Prospects:

"A solid stay-at-home defenseman. Claesson plays a simple and smart game without taking any risks. Has a pretty good shot, but does not use it too often. Could use some work on his puck skills. (EP 2011)"

Next: D Rasmus Rissanen

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