Loui Eriksson Will Be Your Next Favorite Bruin

Apr 9, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars left wing Loui Eriksson (21) warms up before the game against the Los Angeles Kings at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

I don’t want to load any more pressure onto Loui Eriksson‘s shoulders, but I’m going to anyway when I tell you that this guy will be your next favorite player that wears the spoked-B. He’s 6’2″, he can handle a little more weight on those shoulders.

The now 28-year old Swedish forward was traded along with a handful of blue-chip prospects to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Tyler Seguin and others on the 4th of July.

The deal angered and shocked plenty of Bruins fans who felt the B’s had given up on Seguin too early, but with Seguin’s performance both on and off the ice not reaching Boston’s standards, they were forced to move him before his trade value was diminished. I must admit, I didn’t like the deal at first either but when I saw the return my mind was quickly changed.

Enter Loui Eriksson (the main reason why I changed my mind about the deal) and his solid two-way game. I mean, the more I read and see on Eriksson the more I like him. He just seems like the perfect fit for the Bruins system and more particularly he appears as though he was born to play on Patrice Bergeron‘s wing as the two play an eerily similar brand of hockey. Both are also pretty good looking (admit it, they’re studs).

In the last five NHL seasons, Eriksson has appeared in a whopping 373 regular season games out of a possible 376. In that span he has 130 goals and 177 assists for a total of 307 points. Oh, and even playing for a struggling Dallas Stars team for those 5 years (they failed to make the postseason all 5 seasons), Eriksson was still able to be a more than respectable +19.

So like I said, he just plays a very solid two-way game and has the numbers to prove it.

My new love affair with Eriksson goes beyond the numbers however. He is more than just skill, he is a blue-collar player and like the aforementioned Bergeron, he works just as hard in his own end as he does in the offensive end. Something the Bruins had to train Seguin to do and I think it hindered Seguin’s offensive game, but then again maybe that could’ve been the partying but we’ll address that later.

I keep telling people who ask me about Eriksson that I believe he’s basically just Bergeron but he plays on the wing and has a little bit more offensive upside. I say that because I believe Eriksson has a better shot than Bergeron, as well as better one-on-one offensive skills. The two of them together should no doubt bring out the best in both players.

Eriksson is also the “anti-Seguin” if you will. Seguin was a 2nd overall pick in the draft and saw NHL action the minute he was eligible, Eriksson on the other hand was a bit of a late bloomer. He was drafted in the 2nd round by the Stars in 2003 and through hard work he finally saw NHL action in 2007.

Seguin also has had some pretty nasty stories about drinking and disappearing of late as well, whereas I can’t find much of anything negative about Eriksson written or said anywhere.

Eriksson appears to just be a solid hockey player and person with a strong work ethic who wants to be great in all 3-zones, sounds like another Bruin I know. Loui is going to turn some heads with what he can do and I just hope he’s doing it next to Bergeron. The two of them together is going to be a amazing and I can’t wait to watch them show the world how hockey is supposed to/meant to be played.