RD Timothy Liljegren (2017, 17th, TOR) IV

[stickty111]

Tulluch gave Lilly a 4 star performance today. Here is his description.

This is my favourite game I’ve seen Liljegren play at the NHL level, including his preseason stints over the last couple of years. He finally looks confident with the puck on the breakout, making smart passes under pressure to get the play going in the right direction. It’s yet to be seen if he can lock down a full-time roster spot by chipping in on PK2, but I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him these last couple of games. He and Rasmus Sandin have really good chemistry when they go back on a puck. It helps that they’re playing sheltered minutes, but I still thought they looked really smooth in this game.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Now why do you have to go there? Can we not just make comments on the player? You are just inviting posters to quote you later on. Is that what you want? Anaheim is not a good team, it was a nice soft spot to get a start in. Some fans have commented on why posters just bring up Lilegren's negatives and not just positives. You can see why when you invite comments to this thread by calling out posters.

You're really overreacting.

You also promised to show a lowlight each night. Why dont you do that along with a breakdown of several of his plays since, as you said, you watch almost every night.

As an objective fan, I see that you are only saying things any stat watcher could say. Many others have made much more compelling arguments for and against lilly.

You're not going to convert many tml fans but your goal seems to be just providing an objective analysis beyond the numbers so what others say shouldn't matter

 

[TheGoldenJet]

Agreed - they are not in the same tier. Ferraro and Fleury are in the capable of playing full-time in the NHL right now tier.

Looks like Fleury is back in the AHL.

Whoops.

 

[Pyrophorus]

As an aside, it looks like the Leafs have gone from, having no chance to sign 5 dmen, to only needing to sign 1 or 2, one
being an RFA.

 

[slimbob8]

As an aside, it looks like the Leafs have gone from, having no chance to sign 5 dmen, to only needing to sign 1 or 2, one
being an RFA.

And with plenty of cap space to do it too! Especially if they move out a forward.

 

[slimbob8]

He's quickly erasing any doubts if he was NHL ready. Looking very solid out there and seems to play very well positionally. Knows when to step up to break up a play too. Had a solid game tonight.

 

[ViewsFromThe6ix]

looked excellent out there.

 

[ponder]

looked excellent out there.

This is a bit of a stretch IMO, but he looks solid. Moving the puck reasonably well, good defensively, making few mistakes, generally looking like an NHLer. Not really wowing me, but contributing and not looking out of place.

 

[teddygmr]

This is a bit of a stretch IMO, but he looks solid. Moving the puck reasonably well, good defensively, making few mistakes, generally looking like an NHLer. Not really wowing me, but contributing and not looking out of place.

Great passer and showing much better hockey IQ than some posters have indicated. Great future as 2nd pairing dman!

 

[BertCorbeau]

This is a bit of a stretch IMO, but he looks solid. Moving the puck reasonably well, good defensively, making few mistakes, generally looking like an NHLer. Not really wowing me, but contributing and not looking out of place.

That's a good thing though. Nothing wrong with a good quiet, tidy game on the back end. You can see his mobility and he has puck movement skills. As he adjusts at the NHL level and gains confidence it will be interesting to see what he can do.

Not expecting a top pairing d-man exactly but he's tracking well to be a solid top 4 option.

 

[TOGuy14]

Don't see him as a top pair guy, but should be an excellent #3 type player

 

[justafan22]

The weird thing with Liljegren is that he might be a better defensive dman than offensive at the moment.

 

[Eye of Ra]

The weird thing with Liljegren is tht he might be a better defensive dman than offensive at the moment.

2 way guy

 

[stickty111]

Leafs may have themselves a top 4 defenceman.

 

[stickty111]

Tulluch gave Lilly another 4 star performance today. Here is what he said.

I’m loving his confidence with the puck. In the preseason, Liljegren looked hesitant to make plays up the ice against NHL competition. Now he’s threading stretch passes, making forecheckers miss and skating the puck into open ice with speed. That’s another thing: He looks much faster right now than I’ve ever seen him. Keep in mind that he’s been dealing with some rough injuries over the past few years that have affected his skating. Now that he’s had a clean bill of health for a few consecutive months, it looks like he’s really gone to work with Barb Underhill.

Expectations for the Swedish defender have dropped significantly over the past year or two, but he’s starting to show more flashes of the high-end skill that made him such a highly touted prospect in 2017. If he keeps playing like this, you have to wonder if the Sandin-Liljegren pairing might be used in the playoffs. Then again, the fact that he got less than 10 minutes of ice time says a lot about how much trust the coaching staff has in the young defender.

 

[serp]

I don't know how you can say that when they guy clearly plays super sheltered minutes and is barely on the ice . 5 games and averaging about 10 minutes. That is really really low for a defenseman . I don't think the coaching staff really trusts Liljegren and only put him out there when they feel its safe.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

I don't know how you can say that when they guy clearly plays super sheltered minutes and is barely on the ice . 5 games and averaging about 10 minutes. That is really really low for a defenseman . I don't think the coaching staff really trusts Liljegren and only put him out there when they feel its safe.

yes, it is called a sheltered role. Usually when players are brought up from the AHL they are given sheltered roles. Then if they excel (he is) they increase their role over time (they will).

As everyone here is literally saying, he is excelling in his sheltered NHL role on the bottom pairing, and can see him becoming a solid 2nd pairing guy.

 

[serp]

yes, it is called a sheltered role. Usually when players are brought up from the AHL they are given sheltered roles. Then if they excel (he is) they increase their role over time (they will).

As everyone here is literally saying, he is excelling in his sheltered NHL role on the bottom pairing, and can see him becoming a solid 2nd pairing guy.

I'm just saying pump your breaks.

 

[Green Snow Storm]

Good prospect. Probably projects as a 2nd pair mobile RHD. Pretty valuable. Looks fine in sheltered minutes so far.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

I'm just saying pump your breaks.

Everyone is posting with the appropriate amount of optimism given his sheltered performance. I guess it angers you to see positivity in the thread about his NHL start.

 

[serp]

Everyone is posting with the appropriate amount of optimism given his sheltered performance. I guess it angers you to see positivity in the thread about his NHL start.

I'm not angry i don't care enough to be . I was bored so i posted my opinion here. Shouldn't have done that i guess.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

I'm not angry i don't care enough to be . I was bored so i posted my opinion here. Shouldn't have done that i guess.

you can post it, just expect to look and feel foolish when it doesn’t make sense or is just not informed. That’s all that’s happening here.

 

[stickty111]

Lilly has looked really good. His IQ is strong and is making good decisions. The people saying to hold your excitement are the ones saying he had bad IQ which was wrong.

 

[Merrrlin]

I doubt he plays another AHL game.

 

[Mach85]

I'm just saying pump your breaks.

Pump the brakes on what? We can only comment on what he's shown and what he's shown is that he can play very well in sheltered minutes. Who knows what that means for the future? It could go in two directions: he doesn't improve further and fails when handed more responsibility, or he continues to improve and takes another step when handed that responsibility. No one's saying he's gonna be an all-star, or even that he's a guaranteed top 4. He's one of the younger dmen in the league who played at an all-star level in the AHL, so it makes sense that most will be discussing what it means if he can play at least top 4. That's a very realistic look at things.

Telling people to pump their brakes either means you don't think this board should discuss a prospect's future until it happens (and considering this is hfboards I don't think you're doing that) or you're playing the fun police and want to rain on people celebrating a small success that is nonetheless one of the bigger ones for any prospect: showing they can make the jump to the NHL. I'm sure there are many active threads where Leafs fans are making outlandish claims, so you're better off expressing yourself in this way in one of those.