The Lowdown on Brunnstrom

Les Jackson is all about trust and patience, and that strategy will probably be tested to its utmost by Fabian Brunnstrom.

The 23-year-old free agent from Sweden has a ton of potential, but he is a late bloomer and nobody is sure whether or not he can turn that potential into NHL scoring.

Basically, Brunnstrom's hype has come from a season at the lower level in Sweden where he tallied 73 points (37 goals, 36 assists) in 41 games. That opened the eyes of the elite level teams, and he advanced last season to Farjestads. He had 9 goals and 28 assists for 37 points in 54 games, so it was a pretty good season. Still, he was not considered one of the best players on his team, let alone one of the best players in the league.

So are expectations too high?

Just for comparison's sake, Antti Miettinen was the Finnish Elite League Player of the Year in 2002-03 with 25 goals and 25 assists for 50 points in 53 games. He was 22 at the time. Jussi Jokinen had 47 points (23 goals, 24 assists in 56 games) in Finland when he was 21. Both are good players, neither has proven to be a high-level scorer in the NHL.

Now, Brunnstrom is bigger (6-1) and faster, so he has great natural talent, and Jackson and the Stars scouts believe they can develop that talent the way they have with Loui Eriksson.

The key is patience.

Barring a disaster, Brunnstrom will make the Stars out of camp and will take a regular shift with Mike Ribeiro, Brad Richards or Mike Modano. He's a natural left wing, but he can play right wing, and that should help Dave Tippett find the right place for him. But the bottom line is Jackson will push to keep Brunnstrom in the lineup and also push for him to get important minutes. He believes that NHL teams too often get frustrated with young talent, and he believes that can kill a kid's confidence. Jackson is all about pushing confidence, and he'll do that with Brunnstrom.

In a lot of ways, Brunnstrom and agent J.P. Barry may have picked the perfect team. The Stars have three talented centers who can help Brunnstrom find his scoring touch. They also have a philosophy of balanced scoring, so Brunnstrom can have a good season with 15-20 goals. And the media and fans are pretty patient here, so he won't feel the pressure that he might have felt in Montreal or Detroit.

Is Brunnstrom overhyped? Yeah, I think so. But, the base cost is about $1 million and the top end is $2.2 million if he hits his incentives. That's worth the risk right now for a team that needs more skill.

The hype will give Brunnstrom more opportunity than Junior Lessard ever got, so do you think it will pay off or will the Stars be left with another project that didn't pan out?