Douglas Johnsson has all the tools to challenge for the title of top defenseman in the 2027 NHL Draft class five years from now. I don’t have questions regarding his offensive ceiling, defensive ability, or his mental processing like I see with so many draft eligible defensemen; it’s simply a question of physical development, pace improvement, and being able to translate his current game into higher levels of competition.

The first game I watched came at Sweden’s U18 level, so it’s important to acknowledge the competition before getting too carried away with how much I loved Johnsson’s performance in this game. That said, Johnsson was outstanding. His edgework allowed him to escape pressure with ease, his hands manipulated defenders whether he was standing still or attacking with speed, and his puck movement was operating on a completely different level than the players around him. He consistently moved pucks into space before it opened, recognized developing plays quickly and found ways to create offense without forcing it.

He also showed a knack for finding open ice himself. Rather than waiting for opportunities to develop, he drifted into soft areas, got his shot off quickly and finished the game with nine shots, three of them coming from dangerous areas. Defensively, he was just as impressive, posting elite tracking numbers while controlling play in all three zones.

If that had been a J20 performance, he’d probably be sitting inside my top five today.

The second game I watched was against J20 competition, and Johnsson looked much closer to what I expect his current reality to be. He still processed the game exceptionally well, but he couldn’t dictate it physically or athletically the way he had against younger players. His skating wasn’t powerful enough to consistently separate, his first few steps lacked the explosiveness needed to attack through pressure and he found himself losing more battles along the boards against stronger opponents.

None of that surprised me.

In fact, it confirmed what I thought after the first game. Johnsson’s biggest hurdle isn’t his hockey sense or his skill. It’s whether his skating and physical development can catch up to the way he sees the game.

Because the deception when he has the puck is special.

Johnsson constantly manipulates defenders with his hips, shoulders and eyes before ever moving the puck. He’ll open his body as if he’s about to make one play, force defenders to commit, then effortlessly swivel back the other direction and find a teammate through a completely different lane. There were several moments where defenders simply looked lost trying to sort out what he was about to do. It’s the kind of deception that’s difficult to teach because it comes from processing the game a step ahead of everyone else.

Even against J20 competition, where he wasn’t nearly as aggressive offensively, he never looked out of place. He remained an important part of the offensive zone structure, completed 80% of his passes and scored on a well-timed activation back door. His defensive numbers remained very good, even if they didn’t quite reach the level of the U18 game.

There are defensemen in this class who are further down the physical development path than Johnsson. There are others who skate better or are safer bets to slot in the top 4 of an NHL team’s defensive unit. Johnsson probably doesn’t have that certainty right now.

What he does have is a combination of hockey sense, deception and puck-moving ability that’s difficult to find.

If he adds another step to his skating and continues getting stronger, I think we’re looking at a defenseman capable of climbing into the conversation as one of the very best at his position in this draft class when we look back on it in five to seven years. That’s a projection more than a certainty today, but it’s one I’m willing to bet on this early in the process.