How Nils Lundkvist is Putting a Sophomore Slump Behind him and Emerging as a Top Defenceman in the SHL

There’s a Swedish saying that goes “Upp som en sol, ner som en pannkaka”, which basically means that everything that what goes up must come down.

For New York Rangers prospect Nils Lundkvist, last season was the come down-part of that saying. After coming more or less from nowhere and cracking the Luleå Hockey line up as a 17-year-old during the 2017-18 season, Lundkvist’s 2018/19 campaign was a bit underwhelming. He would probably be the first person to tell you that.

“That first year I got up and everything kind of just went my way… then the expectations of me got a lot higher and the pressure really hit me. Maybe I wasn’t ready to handle it”.

“I think it was a classic sophomore slump for me last year. I did learn a lot from it, both as a player and as a person, and it’s something I’ve t