A Maine native whose ice hockey notoriety began at age 9 with a trick shot during a televised shootout is expected to be a top-10 pick on Friday when the National Hockey League conducts its annual entry draft in Dallas.
Oliver Wahlstrom, 18, is expected to be picked between sixth and 10th overall in the first round, with the Detroit Red Wings (sixth pick) and Chicago Blackhawks (eighth) among the teams mentioned in connection with the 6-foot-1, 205-pound forward.
The Yarmouth native and son of former University of Maine and Swedish professional player Joakim Wahlstrom has played the last two years for the U.S. National Team Development Program based in Michigan.
Oliver Wahlstrom scored 48 goals and added 46 assists in 62 games last winter, including seven goals in seven games to help Team USA win the silver medal at the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championships.
Wahlstrom is rated seventh in NHL Central Scouting’s ranking of North American skaters.
“He can create room for himself and get his shot off from above the dots and has the size and strength to execute below the circles,” NHL.com writer Adam Kimelman said while projecting Wahlstrom to be selected by Chicago in that website’s most recent mock draft.
“Not only is he fast, but he might have the best wrist shot of any player in the draft class,” NHL.com writer Guillaume Lepage added in the same article.
Wahlstrom first gained national attention in 2009 by making a lacrosse-style trick shot during a mini one-on-one competition televised between periods of Boston Bruins games from TD Garden.
Video of the shot was aired on ESPN’s SportsCenter and other national outlets in addition to generating millions of YouTube views.
The hockey prodigy went on to play varsity hockey as a seventh-grader at North Yarmouth Academy, scoring 11 goals with 18 assists in 22 games. North Yarmouth Academy competes in the prep ranks in hockey and thus is not subject to Maine Principals’ Association eligibility rules.
At age 13, Wahlstrom reportedly became the youngest player to ever make a college hockey commitment when he announced his intention to attend the University of Maine.
Wahlstrom later transferred to one of the nation’s top hockey prep schools, Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minnesota, for high school. There he registered 68 goals and 46 assists in 65 games as a Bantam and 26 goals and 26 assists in 43 games as a Midget.
Wahlstrom made his debut with the U.S. National Team Development Program in 2016, amassing 25 points in 43 games for the U.S. U-17 team. He was called up to the U-18 team, where he scored four goals to help Team USA capture the gold medal at the 2017 world championships in Slovakia.
Wahlstrom, who now lives in Quincy, Massachusetts, backed out of his commitment to UMaine in 2015 and instead committed to Harvard. But he changed his college destination again this spring, and now is planning to attend Boston College.
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