The Florida Panthers selected mobile, right-handed defenseman Ludvig Jansson in the fourth round (125th overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft at Bell Centre in Montreal.
Jansson appeared in 47 games with Södertälje SK of HockeyAllsvenskan during his draft season, posting two goals and five points, which ranked seventh among under-20 defensemen in the league which sits on the second level of the Swedish hockey pyramid.
The 6-foot, 181-pound Stockholm native also appeared in three international games with Sweden’s U20 team in 2021-22, producing one goal.
Jansson is a strong defensive player with a high motor who is also capable of driving play. His positioning is good and his mobility allows him to close the gap on opposing players.
At the time, our friends at Neutral Zone had Jansson graded as a B- prospect and ranked 155th in its final draft rankings, with the following assessment:
To be: He has quick feet and is exceptional at gapping up or setting his gap during transition. During offensive neutral zone transition, he has the confidence to find the middle.
Not to be: He rarely forces plays or turns the puck over in the defensive zone, but in the other 2/3 of the ice he can telegraph his passes which will lead to odd-man rushes against in the NHL. 47% of his shots hit the net. He wins 48% of his puck battles.
After attending Panthers development camp and playing four scoreless games at the second take of the 2022 World Junior Championship, Jansson put in a second turn in HockeyAllsvenskan in 2022-23, playing in 44 of Södertälje SK’s 52 regular season games. He scored one goal and set new highs with nine assists and ten points for the fifth-place club.
He appeared in all six of the team’s postseason games before they were eliminated by Mora IK in the league quarterfinals.
The 2023 World Junior Championship is where Jansson served notice he might be more than just a defensive defenseman. Jansson was one of two blueliners at the tournament to finish with ten points, American Ryan Ufko was the other, hitting double-digits on four goals and six assists. He scored twice, including the overtime winner, in a Group A game against Czechia. At end of the event, he was named to the Media All-Star team.
In July of 2023, Jansson attended his second development camp with the Panthers before returning home play his first season in the Swedish Hockey League with Luleå HF. Jansson’s first campaign at the top level of Swedish hockey saw him appear in 50 games and finish with three assists, 25 PIM and a minus-seven rating. He also suited up in one game at the junior level and produced a goal and an assist against his peers.
Jansson played in all seven of Luleå’s postseason games as they won a best-of-three series against Örebro HK before getting swept by the Växjö Lakers in the quarterfinals.
He returned to Fort Lauderdale and was one of ten defensemen at Florida’s 2024 development camp and scored a shootout goal during the scrimmage held on the final day.
Jansson’s second season in the SHL was a successful one. He again appeared in 50 of 52 regular season games and scored his first goal in the league and added three assists while primarily playing third-pairing minutes for Luleå, who placed second in the standings.
He appeared in all 17 postseason games and collected two assists as Luleå defeated Växjö Lakers, Frölunda HC and Brynäs IF to win the championship for the first time since 1996.
The Panthers inked Jansson to a three-year, entry-level contract on May 6, 2025. He attended development camp in July and lit the lamp again in the scrimmage before participating in the main training camp with the Cats.
Despite having 100 games of SHL experience under his belt, Jansson’s first North American season with the Charlotte Checkers was a bit on the choppy side. He appeared in just 31 games and produced three goals and eight assists. Jansson registered 35 shots on goal to along with 12 PIM and a even rating.
With Panthers blue line absolutely ravaged by injuries, Jansson was recalled on April 9, and made his NHL debut a day later against the Ottawa Senators, logging 13:37 of ice time. He played three more games with the Cats and picked his first big-league point (a power-play assist) and went plus-two in Florida’s season finale against the Detroit Red Wings.
Jansson returned to the Checkers and played in the club’s final two regular season games and suited up in two of the three games in the first round loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds. After sitting out Game 1, he scored his first career AHL playoff goal in a 5-2 loss in Game 2.
Now 22-years-old, Jansson remains an underweight defenseman that skates well and can wire a puck into the back of the net when the opportunity presents itself. While he had some moments in his brief NHL stint at the end of last season, we still haven’t seen the offensive ability that was hinted at during the 2023 WJC. Jansson still needs to develop physically to make the jump from the AHL, so an expanded role in Charlotte is what should be in the cards for the young Swede this year.