For the youngest player in the AHL, he's not short on confidence.
RD Timothy Liljegren - Ex-Rogle BK, SHL (2017, 17th, TOR) III
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For the youngest player in the AHL, he's not short on confidence.
felixpettersson
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Eat The Rich
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This is such a condescending backhanded compliment.
Not really, just pointing it out. I've never been a big fan of his game and the video is compiling the reasons why. Different strokes for different folks though, I know my brother loves the way he plays. I can't stand it some nights.
That's the entire point - to show his skating ability, puck moving, evasiveness when defending a forecheck, etc. It's a compilation of plays that didn't result in direct points, hence why his goals and primary assists were left off, for the most part. Not hard to figure that out.
I understand what the video was trying to show. Doesn't change the fact a bunch of the plays would never work in the NHL. But I guess I shouldn't give my opinion if it's not one you guys want to hear.
Critical13
Fear is the mind-killer.
People love to say it won't work in the NHL until Johnny Gaudreau, Mitch Marner or Shane Ghost enters the league and proves that skill always trumps.
Yeah no doubt I'm just saying in that specific video that was posted, how many times did he rush the puck up or gain zone entry just to have possession taken away. A lot.
CujosMask
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firstemperor
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The only 2 plays I saw in that short clip that didn't work out are at 1:13 and the back-handed pass near the end at 2:00. In both situations, he was either last man back, had support behind him, and/or or there was little chance of numbers going the other way.
In today's NHL, you need dynamic higher-risk puck movers that can create those flashes in your back-end, That was some dynamic stuff he was doing in that reel. If you neuter a player's risk completely, you are taking away their capabilities and fall into that cascade of playing "safe hockey", not creating anything and possibly, playing defense most of the time your in the ice. Those didn't look like anything close to bone-headed plays to me, those looked like low-risk flashes that could have been brilliant if not broken up. If I were coaching a team, I'd actively encourage those type of plays. The only trap is making them when your in no position to recover, which is related to hockey IQ and awareness.
This isn't just related to Liljegren or this reel in particular, this is one of the most common fallacies that hockey fans/people have, IMO. And I have always reiterated this when it's been pertinent.
TheBeastCoast
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I mean I guess it depends on who you are listening too. There are obviously people that go overboard but he has definitely passed expectations and been a great player for the marlies this year.
firstemperor
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He's been very, very good. There aren't many puck movers in the AHL that can pull off what he does on a game to game basis. It's a treat to watch. The reel is just a microcosm of what he's done, they don't really show how good he has been in snapping pucks with little time/space through traffic at the point (with zip) or how well he's walked the line as well. It only mainly shows the type of high-risk short/long passes (short saucer, the cross-crease, the fake slap pass he loves) and how well he is at transitioning the puck up ice. Pay attention to a few of his breakouts with the deceptive, Jeff Skinner-esque skating style, it's hard for defenders to pick up where/what he's going to do with the puck, particularly when he's doing it while picking it up with speed.
In his draft year, he was horrid and there were many reasons for that, which have been gone over ad nauseam. He has holes in his game he needs to fix or mitigate but winning battles is more about sheer will and competitiveness to me, and he's shown a willingness to engage physically.
Should be said his sample size hasn't been large, he was injured for over a week with the Marlies but he's been trending upwards ever since he got drafted, which is fortunate for us (WJSS, preseason, training camp->AHL).
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I was one that was concerned about "his growth". this year, though I thought the AHL might have been the best spot for him.
By as" first emperor". said, he been better than expected. All this from guy who is junior age. Is he NHL ready next year? Will know next October. Four Dmen, were picked right before him in the draft. Looks like the his path to NHL has been fast tracked by playing in the AHL this year.
By as" first emperor". said, he been better than expected. All this from guy who is junior age. Is he NHL ready next year? Will know next October. Four Dmen, were picked right before him in the draft. Looks like the his path to NHL has been fast tracked by playing in the AHL this year.
He doesn't look out of place. He is no longer getting trapped up ice like he was last year when he was forcing things. He's simplified his game but still shows dynamic skating and skill. He's slowly erasing any questions about his IQ, which were based on him trying to do too much last year. It's not like he's also completely erased what made him special in the first place, he's just picking his spots better at a higher level. I had him as a top 10 pick in June, and I still have him as one.
See things the same way. Regardless of the accuracy of the doubts on draft day with his absolutely elite skillset there were three major things needing developed to become an impact NHL defenseman
1-Defend passably at the NHL level
2-Make the right reads and learn to walk the risk/reward line on breakouts and in transition
3- Make the right reads to maximize output and be a true inzone offensive catalyst
From what I've seen he's been as good as could be reasonably hoped at 1 and 2 coming in as a U19 at the AHL level, and 3 we just have to hope will come (though he could still be a solid top 4 dman without it)
Sidenote- I've noticed the same thing with Liljegren detractors as I did with Marner. The vibe of quasi-high level experience, and posters thinking that the hard and fast rules of "make the safest play always" that they had to live by to cling to tier II A icetime applies to elite players, and that risky = low IQ
newfy
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Yeah thats fair as well if thats what he meant. I just still personally consider Montour a prospect. Hes only 23 and in his first full NHL season as a dman thats pretty young. Hes also doing really well obviously, thats where the confusion came from. If Liljegren is the player Montour is when hes 23 is there any Leaf fans that would complain?
Interesting question. No one should complain if he was a 35+ point top 4 dman by his U24 season, especially looking at him as a 17th overall pick in a vacuum. But he's not in a vacuum. He's a U19 player that's thriving as a top pairing dman in the AHL. If he's only establishing himself at U24 he would have burned both slide years and his entire ELC- 5 full seasons in the AHL when he's a difference maker at 18. Something would definitely have gone wrong. (Which it might).
It's comparable to going to the Rangers fan's and asking if Chytil is the player Kerfoot/Guentzel etc are when he is 23 would you complain?[/QUOTE]
LeafChief
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newfy
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[/QUOTE]
I dont necessarily mean he plays those 5 full years in the AHL. But what if he plays 2 years in the NHL as a bottom pairing guy, showing some promise and maybe getting a bit of PP time. At age 23 if hes a legit top 4 guy on pace for 35-40 points I really dont see how anyone can complain about getting that at 17.
Agreed no one could complain- but on the other hand it's not exactly like that is the highest reasonable hope.
It's a strange dichotomy- on one hand that's a fine outcome for his draft position, and for any non-slamdunk d prospect really given how hard they are to project.
On the other- the only reason this kid is seen as a non-slamdunk is because of a lacklustre draft year, that may have been lacklustre for reasons entirely outside of his true ability to play hockey. Montour was brought up, how about another 94 born d-man, Morgan Rielly- a dman solidifying himself as a top pair guy if not a #1. Liljegren looks as good or better right out of the gate at the start of his U19 year than Rielly did at the end of a dominant season developing in the WHL. During/at the end of that season "would you complain if at U24 he was a 35 point top 4 dman" would have been a similarly loaded/ difficult question. While you wouldn't complain at the outcome, it's not what you're justifiably hoping for. The main difference between how Rielly was seen then and Liljegren now is that Rielly came back from his knee surgery with next to no ill effects and went 5th, while Liljegren struggled in the aftermath of mono and fell to being rated around 11th and drafted 17th. A half season of lacklustre play of questionable indicative validity that scared a dozen teams off doesn't change him as a prospect.
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Voodoo Child
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Silkier than the shirts I hit the pony track in.
Exciting tools, potential to be an impact top pairing guy, but I also feel he's gonna need more time than anticipated - I see some Leafs fans pencilling him into the damn top 4 at the end of 2018-19, get outta here.
I say he gets a few games in each of the next two years, and cracks opening night, in a bottom pairing, 2nd PP capacity, 2019-20.
LeafChief
Matthew Knies Enthusiast
Seems Liljegren, Dahlin and Brannstrom were played sparingly tonight in the pre-tournament game against the US. The bubble players were given a bulk of the ice time.
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