Capitals Prospect Profile: Christian Djoos
Christian Djoos was drafted 195th overall by the Capitals in the 7th round of the 2012 NHL Draft. He is the son of Par Djoos, who briefly played in the NHL. He currently
Christian Djoos is a very intriguing prospect due to his size.
plays for Brynäs IF of the Elitserien league. Brynäs IF was also Nicklas Backstrom’s team.
POSITION: Defenseman. Shoots left-handed.
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5’11″/148 pounds
PLAYING CAREER: Djoos, after a successful junior career, has moved on to the Elitserien league. During his junior career, he averaged .76 points per game, which is very impressive for a defenseman. Here’s a list of some of the awards that he has won:
- J18 Elitserien Best Plus/Minus (2010-2011)
- J18 Elitserien Most Points by a Defenseman (27) (2010-2011)
- J18 Elitserien Most Assists by a Defeseman (20) (2010-2011)
- J18 Allsvenskan Best Defenseman (2011-2012)
PLAYING STYLE: Djoos, in case you didn’t guess, isn’t a very physical player, mostly due to his size (or lack thereof). Instead of strength, he relies on his speed, agility, and puck handling to move the puck up the ice. He is an offensive defenseman who loves to join the rush and loves to run the point. Defensively, he tends to rely on his speed, agility, and instincts rather than brute force.
STRENGTHS: Djoos is a fast, quick, and all-around exciting player to watch. He’s an excellent skater and is surprisingly sound defensively. Also, he is very good at holding the puck for someone his size, and it’s very hard to play him off the puck because he knows how to utilize his speed and agility. He’d be a valuable asset to any powerplay with his passing ability.
WEAKNESSES: Djoos is very undersized, to say the least. He needs to bulk up to a respectable weight if he wants to last in the NHL. If he gets to around 160-170, I’d feel a lot more confident about him. His defense also needs fine-tuning, especially since he’ll probably never be that big, meaning that he’ll have to be perfect as far as positioning.
PLAYER WHO HE REMINDS ME OF: Brian Campbell. Both are undersized, but both are very valuable offensive defenseman. The question is, can Djoos bulk up and play well enough defensively to be like Campbell? We’ll have to see.
ETA: 2014-2015. Still needs to develop quite a bit.
