Simon Zether
2023-24 Team: Rögle BK (SHL)
Date of Birth: October 18, 2005
Place of Birth: Helsingborg, Sweden
Height: 6-foot-3, Weight: 187 pounds
Shoots: Right
Position: Center
NHL Draft Eligibility: First Year Eligible
Rankings
THW/Forbes: 55th
THW/Baracchini: 51st
THW/Horn: 36th
TSN/Bob McKenzie: 76th
NHL Central Scouting (EU Skaters): 18th
Simon Zether has been an interesting prospect to watch this year. He’s one of the older players in the 2024 Draft (among first year eligible players), and even played for Sweden at the U18 World Championships back in 2023. Zether captained his J20 team and was a leading scorer in Sweden’s top junior league this year before earning a role on Rogle’s SHL team for 42 games, giving him the most SHL experience of any Swede in this age-group.
So why is Zether being talked about as a late-second round pick by many outlets, rather than a clear first rounder?
The first reason is his footspeed. Zether’s skating needs some serious work, especially if he wants to stick at center as a pro, because he simply can’t keep up against men at this point. He’s a smart player, tracking plays and reacting quickly, but his feet really can’t match the speed of his mind at this point, which really limits his effectiveness as a pro.
The second reason Zether isn’t ranked significantly higher is the lack of sample size against pros. Remember when I said he played 42 games in the SHL this season? Well just because he’s marked down on the game sheet as having dressed for the game doesn’t mean he was given much of a chance to show what he can do.
Rögle wasn’t exactly setting him up for success or development this season, though it is fair to assume he was too good for the junior level and could be well served by playing and training with pros for a long period of time.
Now onto the good news. Zether is a strong two-way player at this point, with the hands and playmaking to score a lot of points if his feet can catch up a bit. He is creative and shifty under pressure, finding clever ways to avoid oncoming checkers while maintaining possession and looking for an outlet.
He’s also shown that he’s willing to play in the middle of the ice, pushing toward the net to simultaneously create chances for himself and space for his wingers. I think he’s strong enough on pucks in board battles and has the frame and offensive game to be a legit bottom-six guy in the NHL, with room to become more if he can level up his skating.
Related: 2024 NHL Draft Guide
In his 42 SHL games this season, Zether scored just four assists, though his low ice time makes that number much less concerning. Through 18 J20 games at the start of the season he had 11 goals and 28 points, a clear indicator that he needed a bigger challenge. That’s the second highest point-per-game rate of any player in the Swedish J20 this year who played at least 10 games.
He has shown the offensive potential repeatedly (he was a point-per-game player at the J20 level as a 17-year-old as well), and should see his ice time increase significantly with Rögle in the SHL next season. If he earns more regular ice time, I think it’s reasonable to expect him to score 10-20 points following this year’s draft.
Other THW Draft Profiles
Simon Zether – NHL Draft Projection
Most public draft rankings have Zether in the 50-80th overall ranges, though I think his size, position, and right-handed shot could be enough to see him go quite a bit earlier. Teams who believe in their development staff’s ability to work out some of Zether’s skating issues could reasonably consider him as an early second round pick. I think he’ll be a bit polarizing though, and there are surely teams who see his skating as a significant risk and wouldn’t take him until the third or fourth rounds.
Quotables
“It’s hard not to like a 6-foot-3 center with some two-way value and notable offensive tools. Zether would be higher on this list if I thought the skating was better, but I view that as tougher to overcome. I think the hockey sense and hand skills are good enough for him to impact games, especially with his size.” – Chris Peters, FloHockey
“He doesn’t have great speed, but he can beat defenders wide due to his hands, frame and willingness to attack the middle. He makes enough plays to be a strong junior scorer.” – Corey Pronman, The Athletic (“NHL Draft 2024 Rankings: Macklin Celebrini Leads Pronman’s Top 129 Prospects”, The Athletic, May 28, 2024)
Strengths
- Good hockey sense
- Plays down the middle like a pro center
- Strong puck skills
Under Construction – Improvements to Make
- Skating needs plenty of development
NHL Potential
Zether is someone who I see as a high-floor, low-ceiling type at this point, with enough hockey sense to be a strong two-way forward. If things go just alright development-wise for him from this point on, I think it’s possible he becomes a scoring winger in an NHL bottom-six, likely topping out as a third-liner. However, any amount of skating improvement would change his projection favorably.
Risk-Reward
Risk – 3/5, Reward – 3.5/5
Fantasy Hockey Potential
Offense – 7/10, Defense – 6/10