DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today selected defenseman Simon Edvinsson in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

Edvinsson is a 6-foot-4, 198-pound blueliner who hails from Kungsbacka, Sweden, and saw time in three different leagues during the 2020-21 campaign. Edvinsson primarily played for Frolunda HC – the same organization that was home to Detroit’s fourth overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Lucas Raymond – where he started the season with the club’s under-20 team and contributed six points (1-5-6), a plus-four rating and 10 penalty minutes in 14 games. He then made his professional debut by skating in 14 games with second-tier Vasteras IK where he logged five assists, before graduating to Frolunda’s Swedish Hockey League team where he appeared in 10 games and notched one assist. Edvinsson captured a bronze medal with Sweden to finish the season, picking up four points (1-3-4) in seven games at the 2021 IIHF World Under-18 Championship to lead the team’s defensemen in scoring.

The 18-year-old blueliner has developed in Frolunda’s system for the past three seasons. Edvinsson has totaled 12 points (1-11-12), a plus-seven rating and 20 penalty minutes in 22 games at the Swedish under-20 level in addition to 25 points (6-19-25), a plus-39 rating and 14 penalty minutes in 37 games on the under-17 circuit. In 2018-19, Edvinsson helped Frolunda’s under-18 club capture a league championship. Edvinsson additionally represented his country at the 2019 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, racking up five assists in five games.