Gunnar Gullstrand is always a favorite of mine to watch when viewing Little Caesars games due to his calm, collected nature in a lanky frame, capable of covering lots of ice off-puck, and always being involved in the play at both ends of the ice. He’s a smooth skater, with good technical ability to his stride, some good power and footspeed make him an effective puck carrier through the middle. He sees routes and open ice well, is willing to take the puck through the middle and challenge defenders. Often opting to utilize strong moves going wide to attempt to get the step on his man opposed to trying a flashy 1-on-1 move. If the time and space isn’t there to slip around a defender, he’ll elect for the simple play, dishing off passes to teammates or chipping the puck in and pursuing with good speed and tenacity. He does a good job on the forecheck at intercepting passes, closing in on the puck carrier, and forcing errors. The long reach and strong anticipatory play makes him a difficult forechecker for opponents. Mentioning his reach once more, he keeps the puck out of range of sticks as he navigates the offensive zone, spinning in tight quarters to put his back to checkers as he attempts to carve out some ice, defenders really have to give the extra effort to try and strip him of the puck, ultimately opening up ice elsewhere for his teammates. He’s been known to play very well under physical pressure, outwait his opponents, delay his decisions, and end up finding the perfect cross-ice lane to an open man backdoor or around the crease. His vision and deception are some of his greatest assets. There’s a nice element of goal scoring to his game as well. In many viewings I’ve seen him be both the best playmaker, and goal scorer on his team in the same game. Coming out of turns with the puck he can release a whippy shot on goal with ample amounts of power to beat the goaltender, with nice accuracy to accompany it. He’ll score from all over the ice and doesn’t necessarily have a go-to set of moves that allows him to put the puck in the back of the net, more-so, he follows the flow of play, moves the puck well between teammates, and eventually at times will find some ice to himself to fire a shot on net.

Gunnar Gullstrand continues some strong play heading into Nationals within the event itself, a great combination of range, skill, and speed makes him a formidable offensive weapon for opponents to contain 1-on-1. Pushing and pulling pucks around sticks and bodies, both off the rush and along the half-wall under pressure flashed great puck skills and puck protection ability. Capable of taking some physical contact, he stayed strong on his feet and could encroach on space towards the middle line of the offensive zone to generate chances for himself. His vision and playmaking game had been one of his strongest assets, making several great passes throughout the game through sneaky lanes and seams through-and-to the slot, setting up teammates for great scoring chances. If passing options weren’t available, he was able to fire pucks on net through seams, picking his spots, and whipping hard shots on net. The athleticism from the rangy forward really enabled him to generate power, play with speed, and protect the puck, opening up time and space for himself and others.

Gullstrand was one of the few Caesars forwards who had some jump right from the opening whistle, flashing a versatile and effective attacking style that lead to a 2-goal performance. On the very first shift of the game he was able to establish the cycle by winning a battle below the goal line and shielding the puck from defenders as he operated along the perimeter before making a hard dash off wall to get a shot off from the circle. He was generating good speed down the wing as a puck-carrier as well, often turning around defenders while attacking wide around them and funneling puck to the middle of the ice from below the circle. He scored his team’s third goal of the game in the third period by carrying the puck in off the rush, spotting an open trailer option in the high slot before driving the net and firing in the ensuing rebound. He sealed the victory for his team with an empty netter in the dying minutes of the game.

Gullstrand’s contribution to the Little Caesars offence in this game stemmed primarily from his strong forechecking presence. He was able to create two grade A chances from disrupting the Anaheim breakout that included a wide open look for Gunner after poking the poke away from the defender that he wasn’t able to connect on. The effort level from Gunner was consistent throughout the contest, moving his feet with and without the puck to make things happen and he picked up another solid scoring chance later in the game with a powerful drive to the front of the net that just fizzled at the last second.

The top player for Little Caesars in today’s game, Gunnar Gullstrand was the offensive heartbeat and top player amongst the forward crop for his team. Despite not coming away with any points in this one, his ability to impact the game offensively in several different ways was more than enough contribution. He’s somewhat of a lanky forward, but can get moving quickly, change direction, push the puck out wide from his body to get around sticks and prolong possession, and takes his time when doing so to not rush things, delays and outwaits opponents, and connects on very crafty plays. One of his best passes in the game came from below the goal-line on the left side of the ice, he popped the puck to his forehand and threaded a perfectly placed saucer pass backdoor to the far-post, surprising everyone in the process. He had another great set-up play curling out of the corner and shooting a pass off to the middle of the slot to a wide-open teammate. The momentum and fluidity to his turns and twists helped him get the jump on opponents who weren’t quite as agile as him. His puck management skills as a whole were very strong. He knew when to get creative and try some slick moves, but also knew when to keep it simple, cycle the puck, and wait for the right moment. The range through his stick and limbs combined with his soft hands also enables him to have quite the deceptive release to his shot in which he got off on a few occasions.