21 AND IN NEED OF A COMEBACK SEASON
Robin Figren has some catching up to do
Moments after Robin Figren stepped off the ice at the end of minicamp’s only scrimmage, an Islanders scout pointed at him and gleefully yelled, “Now that’s the Figgy of the World Junior Championships! That’s the Figgy we love”!
The 2006 third round pick smiled. He couldn’t argue. After a season spent in his homeland of Sweden went bad, Figren – all of 21 years old – is at a crossroads in his professional hockey career. 2009-10 could very well determine if Figren has the chance to develop into an NHL player.
“It’s time for me to shine,” Figren says. “No excuses. It’s all up to me.”
At this point a year ago, the 6-0, 185-pound left wing was considered one of the Islanders’ top prospects. His decision to leave Sweden as a teenager to play in the Western Hockey League paid huge dividends and the Islanders were confident they had a third round gem. A year learning the ropes as a third-liner with the Calgary Hitmen was followed by a season as a top forward with Edmonton (WHL) and an impressive showing at the World Junior Championships.
Last summer the Islanders and Figren made a joint decision: he would return to Stockholm for one year before starting his North American pro apprenticeship. The trip home would not be a step back in competiton; expecting to take a regular shift with Djurgardens, Figren would benefit playing against men and Victor Hedman in the world-class Swedish Elite League. The experience turned into a disaster, although Figren prefers to look at it as part of his education.
“I wouldn’t say it was a mistake,” said Figren, who had 3 goals and 6 assists in 49 games. “Sometimes you just have to learn from life when things don’t go how you expect. It started off fine for 10 games, but then I didn’t have the role I expected and didn’t always get a lot of icetime. I tried to make the best of it, worked on my defense. Even though it wasn’t a perfect season, I feel I still can take a lot from it.”
Barring a stunning run for a job in Islanders training camp, Figren will play his first full season with the team’s AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. He has a foot in the door with the Sound Tigers after making the wise move to join the team after his European season was over. The experience was about much more than the three games he skated in.
“We wanted Robin to get that eye-opener that most European players have – that the AHL is a great league,” said Bridgeport coach Jack Capuano. “He had an important couple of weeks with us. He saw how we practiced at a high pace. He learned how rigorous our schedule is, learned about sleep habits, learned about how we focus on nutrition.”
I asked Capuano if it’s important for Figren to win a job on his first line.
“It’s there for Figgy if he wants to earn it, but for his development he needs to be on one of our top three lines,” said the coach. “Anyone who follows how we do things knows we play our top 9 a lot. Figgy’s going to get his chance.”
Capuano noticed a different Figren at minicamp than the young man with the lack of confidence he saw in March after a challenging season in Sweden. There’s even word that Figren is coming to New York in August to begin his preparations for training camp. “He’s smiling again,” said Capuano. “He looks like he’s having fun again.”
Figren concurred. When asked for his reaction to the scout’s praise of “That’s the Figgy we know from the WJC,” he grinned. “Yeah, I’m not going to lie to you. That was great to hear,” he said.
Figren’s Attributes: One-on-one offensive skill, work ethic and desire, feistiness on D, better-than-average scoring touch, creativity
Improvement Needed: Strength, skating quickness
Comments on Figren and prospects. Comment Guidelines.
36 Responses to 21 AND IN NEED OF A COMEBACK SEASON
Robin Figren has some catching up to do
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Dan says:
lets hope that Robin plays tougher then his name. Seriously all we can hope for is that all these young guys progress and give us some much needed scoring and talent in the future. It seems like Bridgeport is going to be stacked with a lot of our best prospects except for a few of top guys in college.
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JPinVA says:
It’s stories like this that will get me to all the Soundtiger games in Norfolk this year. Those games might be just as exciting, and with more story lines as the ones played in Uniondale.
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Alex says:
Let’s hope Figren turns out better than Weinhandl did.
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robby d says:
Reminds me of Bergenheim. Id have no problem having another Bergy. As long as he skates hard every shift and plays a tenacious style, that’s fine with me. He doesn’t sound like a softy. Seems to me like he was misused in Sweden. I hope he makes the squad this year.
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Battfist says:
Alex-your a bit tough on Weinhandl-didnt he suffer a pretty nasty eye injury prior to joining the Isles?
I wouldnt be surprised if Figren is one of the first call-ups by the Isles…Gordon’s system fits his style of play. This kid has a good head on his shoulders…and man can he handle the puck.
If you havent seen Figrens goal from WJC ’07…check it out.
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Schultz-
if talking lines…Figren on the 3rd line with Hunter and Frans. -
hathead68 says:
Go for it Figren!
It’s great to hear all the promising stories about our prospects’ development and potential. The development of our picks from ’06 through this year is crucial. We have some intriguing prospects. Tavares, Bailey, and Okposo are key and vital of course … they will lead the way. The talent pool consisting of Joensuu, Figren, and Rakhshani from ’06, Katic and Kessel from ’07, Ness, Hamonic, DiBenedetto, Martin (and Petrov?) from ’08 is exciting. deHann already looks like he may prove the move up in the draft to be worth it, Koskinen could be worth the high selection, and Anders Lee could be a sleeper pick (our version of Kassian and Budish). Throw in guys like Dustin Kohn and Andy MacDonald. They all seem to have the potential to be NHLer’s, from solid role players to potential stars. It’s all up to them. -
ME says:
When I see Figren I instantly think Mattias Weinhandl. Weinhandl could have been something special if not for the condition of his eye. Hopefully Figren steps in either late next year or the year after and gives us all something to be proud of.
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Benny From Sweden says:
I do not think that Figren and Weinhandl are alike at all. They are both from Sweden and not very physical but Weinhandl is a pure sniper while Figren is more creative with the puck but he does have a hard time putting it into the net. Unfortunately I think that is what will keep him from becoming a NHL star. I do believe he could be a regular and can perhaps score 10-20 goals a season. He’ll always be fun to watch though.
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EAF says:
Weinhandl is one of the leading goal scores in the KHL right now
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Gary9-19-22 says:
If things fall right for this kid he can easily become a guy who scores 25 per season and plays a role on special teams.
GO FIGGY!!!
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Mark P says:
Weinhandl has always produced in the European league, just did not transalte to the NHL.
Assuming Tavares stays at Center, The Islanders need to find a creative playmaker to play on JT’s wing. Maybe a Marc Recchi type. I would love it to end up being Figren, Dibendetto, or Rhakshani…..but it I expect it the player will need to come from the outside.
Satan is more of a goal scorer, he does not really fit. -
Best thing you can do is get this kid away from Sweden…the short schedule tends to leave thise guys with too much time on their hands.(wink.wink.)
The pro life and structure should be better for him.
Would love to see some lacrosse style goals in the shootouts.
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Gary says:
any news on Martin? Has his agent come back to earth ?
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kevin27nyi says:
i cant wait for him to make the step into the nhl. although it may take a while, we have some seriously good prospects and i love hearing about them making steps in their development.
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cahoward says:
#8, I wouldn’t count out Trivino or Ullstrom at this point either. Just more names to add to the pool.
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Hopefully he comes out of the gate blazing, and really gets off to a great start. Can’t wait to hear more about him this year.
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C. Felix says:
I remebering hearing quite a bit of positives about Friggy.
How this year “back there” was gonna be great for him, since playing in the WHL or something would just be spinning his wheels.
Too bad it didn’t work out.
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Hishutzi Skorz says:
Maybe we can lure Jim Lorentz out of retirement…”Batman” & Robin!
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Mike L says:
I like Figren and had the pleasure of watching him play in B-port. For a kid playing in one of his first North American games, he didn’t seem very out of place. He didn’t get much ice time, but that was expected. I think the way Capuano develops his players, he may have a chance to play a game or two for the big club at the end of the season.
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Another prospect that sounds good – I definitely look to monitor the Sound Tiger progress this year, hopefully on here! I want all these kids to be re-graded in a few months… I’m really curious to see who’s for real and who’s not… I wish this kid the best, I hope he does some damage in the AHL.
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Bport fan says:
From the games I saw Figren play n Bport. He showed nice speed and decent passing skills. The one thing he did do often in the 3 games he played was he often left himself open for a booming hit. I can recall he get pounded atleast once in each game. The positive thing it was usally after he made a nice pass. So his speed seemed to draw the D in to him.
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cahoward #17 – Absolutely right … totally left out Trivino.
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It takes a special European to make it in the smaller confines of North American rinks. I’m not surprised Weinhandl is doing well in the KHL, but he never showed one iota of true potential with the Islanders. Granted, they were very bad, but he had his chances to make an impression and he came up woefully short. So I’m going to pray for Figren, but not get my hopes up.
I’m also going to pray Snow somehow gets Petrov here before the next ice age. I think we all want to see what he’s capable of when he doesn’t have a frozen tundra in front of him to work his magic.
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isles72 says:
I’m curious to see how the next few years play out regarding which of the several prospects not named bailey/okposo/tavares are actually on the roster
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Brian From Jersey says:
I’m Figren he turns out to be our first call up or takes Comeau’s spot on the roster… wocka wocka
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Ari from Long Island says:
Figren and Joensuu are very intriguing prospects. If they can both develop into top 6 forwards that would be incredible. Not to mention Petrov hopefully coming over in a couple of years. Im looking forward to the future.
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Strummer's Army says:
Yep, big fan of Joensuu, Figern, and Ullstrom. Hopefully all will be here soon. I think Joensuu is right now the best winger we have for Tavares in that he’s very willing and pretty talented at dropping the gloves, has the size to work the corners, can skate, create space, set up plays and finish.
CB, Figern looks bigger then 185 he’s listed at now.
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Isle4Ever says:
#29 I thought the same thing about Joensuu and Tavares on being linemates. I can see Jesse being a point per game player, he’s the size and a good set-up man. He should make this team out of camp, IMO.
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John from ATL says:
Just to let everyone know the Hockey News has a nice article on Koskinen (dated July 23rd).
I’m also looking foward to see what kind of start Figren gets off to in Bridgeport. I would think Jounsuu and T. Smith would get the first call ups as injury replacements for the big club. But, as stated above Figren’s speed and style fit Gordon’s system well. He reminds me of another Bergenheim. He could be a good 3rd line player and may be good on the PK.
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CG In SC says:
I have very mixed feelings about most of our prospects. While I do believe in Bailey, KO, and JT, its the guys like Figren that worry me. Tamby lit the lamp repeatedly all the way to the NHL. I fear guys we have like Ullstrom, Figs, Trivino, Ness, and Katic will just suffer the same fate. Career AHL caliber all-stars. If Petrov lives up to his billing, (which I believe he will) there’s no way to tell if he’ll ever skate for us. I was a fan of Weinhandl too. I bet he would have fared better with our system now, than he did the old way while playing w/ Alexei Ca$hin. Even the Hockey’s Future website has us listed at 29th on the organizational talent pool.
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CG-
That 29th ranking was before this years draft. One would think just adding Tavares moves us into the bottom of the top 10. -
Battfist-
JT will likely be on the starting roster at the beginning of the season. He won’t count on that list. He’ll land in the graduated category like Okposo will. The HF site will re-evaluate the farm system. When they remove guys like Iggulden, Colliton, and whoever else has left, and replace them with our recent picks, we’ll still be in the bottom 5. Sad but true…….
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Im so glad Robin will be here in NA this upcoming year. He is a talented kid, and it will be great to see him develop that!
CG In SC (32): HF is not an actual professional ranking in any way, shape, or form. Its not done byprofessional scouts or anything like that, its rankings are written by people like us, and nothing more… which is probably why they are rather inconsistent and quite subjective.
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Bryan says:
I’m not sure where to type this but Brian Burke just traded two players off his roster that he didnt need plus a 7th round pick for Wayne Primeau and a 2nd round pick.
This is the sort of trade I was expecting to start seeing from Garth Snow. Putting a 6’3 240 pound center with a physical side plus his 1.4 million dollar cap hit on the roster in exchange for an additional 2nd round pick.
Colin Stuart and Anton Stralman are no different than say Nate Thompson (who would be replaced by Primeau) and Freddy Meyer (replace with Jack Hillen) or one of the extra dmen we have floating around in the system.
Hopefully this guy can turn out to be a top six NHL forward in a year or two. Perhaps him on a line with Bergenheim and Bailey….sounds pretty good to me.