The Florida Panthers selected right-shooting forward Arvid Drott in the sixth round (192nd overall) of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft held at Peacock Theater in La La Land.
While his name suggests an origin in the Star Wars universe, Drott is a toolsy Swede who put up an impressive 18 goals and 18 assists in 40 games for the Djurgårdens organization’s high-scoring squad in the J20 Nationell during his draft season. His 36 points were good for seventh-most on the team, which included Viggo Björck, who went eighth overall in 2026.
The postseason saw Drott contribute three goals and three assists in nine games as Djurgårdens won the league championship.
As is customary, Drott attended his first development camp with the Panthers in Fort Lauderdale after being chosen in Los Angeles.
While he was limited to 28 games played in his second full campaign in the Nationell, he still managed to produce a team-leading 15 goals and added 10 assists, maintaining his .90 points per average from the season prior. In addition to finishing fourth on the squad in scoring, Drott racked up 34 penalty minutes and posted a plus-14 rating. He also played his first game in the Swedish Hockey League, going pointless with a minus-one rating.
Drott was effective in the playoffs, appearing in 12 of Djurgårdens’ 15 postseason games as they successfully defended their title. He lit the lamp four times, collected eight assists, and showed off his physical side by accumulating 22 PIM.
In addition to his work with Djurgårdens, Drott has represented Tre Kronor on the national level, winning a Bronze Medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, a Silver Medal at the World Junior A Challenge, at the U18 Men’s World Challenge, and the Swedish TV-Pucken tournament.
After attending his second development camp with Florida earlier this summer, Drott was signed to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement by the Medicine Hat Tigers in July, allowing him to continue his development in North America. The Tigers selected Drott with the 59th overall pick of the 2026 CHL Import Draft.
Drott’s calling card is his powerful skating as he possesses the speed and strength to consistently create separation. He is very proficient at generating offense off the rush, shoots the puck well and displays good instincts around the net. Despite being a bit on the lanky side, Drott plays the game like a power forward and has the necessary grit to win puck battles along the walls. Like most Swedish-trained players, he is an effective defender as well.
With Drott now based on this side of the pond, it will interesting to see how he handles the step up in competition from the J20 Nationell to the WHL in first season with Medicine Hat. Is Arvid the Drott we’re looking for? Time will tell.