Persson practices with Blazers for first time, expected to anchor blueline as top defenseman

A seventh round pick by the Canucks in last year’s NHL Draft, Persson says he learned a lot from his time at Canucks camp.

“Just what level it takes to be an NHL player. You’ve got to compete every day and get better every day,” said Persson.

At his first practice with the team on Monday, Persson was paired with second-year player Mats Lindgren. The 19-year-old defenseman is expected to anchor the backend, whether Quinn Schmiemann, the lone Blazer who remains at a pro camp with the Flyers’ AHL team Lehigh Valley, comes back to the team or not.

“I think he’s got a really well-rounded game, so there’s lots of things I like,” said Blazers head coach Shaun Clouston. “He’s a great skater, so I really like that. He’s strong. He adds some maturity. We’ll wait and see. He’s adjusting to the North American rink. That’s something when we picked him up at the airport he talked about. He’s used to playing on the big ice sheets, so it’ll be an adjustment, but he’s an intelligent hockey player and he’ll adjust quickly.”

Even though his English is pretty good, being paired with a fellow Swede in Lindgren has helped a bit with the language barrier.

“It’s good. He explains the drills. When I don’t get a word or two, he explains it to me,” said Persson.

Lindgren, who was born and raised in Sweden until he was 11 years old, added: “It’s really fun. I haven’t spoken that much Swedish ever since I got here. I just speak with my dad [former NHLer Mats Lindgren], but not too much. It’s been awesome to have him here. It’s the first day to get back and talk some Swedish. It’s been really good. We’ll have that Swedish connection out there, and I’m really excited about the first game.”

by Chad Klassen

Persson practices with Blazers for first time, expected to anchor blueline as top defenseman

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