With the No. 1 pick in the second round of the 2012 NHL Draft, the Columbus Blue Jackets filled a need by selecting Swedish goalie Oscar Dansk, the third overall goaltender selected in the draft.
The 6-foot-2, 186-pound net minder has been playing junior hockey in Sweden with Brynas Junior but plans to begin playing in North America on his way to eventually joining the Blue Jackets in the NHL. Dansk is familiar with North American hockey having also played three years at the Shattuck St. Mary's High School in Minnesota. Here is what The Hockey Writers had to say about Dansk.
Dansk employs the butterfly style and is a very quick goalie that possesses good lateral movements. The goalie's quickness helps him to stay in many plays and allows him to make saves that other goalies might not be too adept at making or even attempting. Some of the knocks against Dansk's style of play might be that he wanders out of his net a bit too much and might not have great rebound control, but both of the aforementioned weaknesses can be improved upon with some solid mentoring. While Dansk's ability to stay in a lot of plays can be attributed to the goalie's solid technique and calm demeanor, the netminder's movements seem to be very well calculated and extremely efficient. Dansk might not be the tallest or biggest goalie, but his reflexes and hockey IQ make him very difficult to beat, even when the opposition has a legitimate scoring chance.
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