Prospect Info: 2017 NHL Draft / Pick #7 - Lias Andersson (C)

[LaffyTaffy]

Watching Lias in pre-season really summed-up the good and the bad for me. On the one hand, you look at (1) the goal where he intercepted a pass to Hall and had the great soft flip to the top shelf on a break-away, (2) his net-front presence and soft hands and (3) his ability to battle in the corners - safe to say he will at least be a solid top 9 forward. On the other hand, his skating really hampers his overall ability. Either improving his skating OR refining his best attributes to compensate for this will ultimately be the difference between a top 6 and a top 9 role, imo. Such potential. Still very excited for his development.

The skating argument is so tired, his skating is really not that bad, we should be talking about the real reason he didn't make the team and that is Gorton didnt want to move Chytil to wing so Lias couldn't play 3C. If Gorton agreed with Quinn to move Filip to wing we would have all 3 young'ns make it. The fact that Lias can have his ELC slide another year is great and all but we all know damn well Lias will play more than 9 games in the NHL this season.

 

[haveandare]

For someone lauded as a cant miss top 5 (and in some cases top 3) prospect on the planet, its not that great. Gaudreau and Pavelski didn't really get a ton of love until they got older (neither of them sniffed top 50 lists after their freshman seasons.)

Toews freshman season was actually his 17 year old season. His 18 year old year (sophomore) season was well over a PPG.

The bolded is my feeling too. It's not a bad season by any means but it's not really in line with the amount of hype he has now.

 

[haveandare]

Howden had a better camp than Lias. Lias was mostly unimpressive outside of one game. If he showed more, he would be on the team, end of story. Please stop with the "he's projected to be a 1/2 C and needs time to develop". That's nonsense because Lias has not shown that he projects as a 1/2 C. If he suddenly exceeds all he has shown to this point, he may project as a 2C, but its unlikely.

Honestly, what has he done for many to be so high on this guy.

Honestly, do you follow prospects in general and did you follow his post-draft year? It was very impressive for a player at that age and phase of their career. It definitely suggests his ceiling is higher than a 3C.

 

[The S5]

Brett Howden had two games where the Rangers were conceding shot attempts 5v5 with him on the ice at a faster rate than most PK units do.

Yep, tell that to Quinn. He must have missed it.

 

[Kovalev27]

were that his two first preason games ever? kid got better as the games got tougher. that's what matters. not scoring a goal in game 1 when the vets aren't even skating at half speed. Howden earned his spot. as did lettieri who lord knows I can't stand but he got better as the preseason went on. both forced their way on the team

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

The skating argument is so tired, his skating is really not that bad, we should be talking about the real reason he didn't make the team and that is Gorton didnt want to move Chytil to wing so Lias couldn't play 3C.

I feel like you had to falsely claim that a valid argument is "tired" based on some arbitrary reason just so you could present your reason as more valid.

 

[Levitate]

The skating argument is so tired, his skating is really not that bad, we should be talking about the real reason he didn't make the team and that is Gorton didnt want to move Chytil to wing so Lias couldn't play 3C. If Gorton agreed with Quinn to move Filip to wing we would have all 3 young'ns make it. The fact that Lias can have his ELC slide another year is great and all but we all know damn well Lias will play more than 9 games in the NHL this season.

Where are people getting this "Quinn wants Chytil on the wing but Gorton says no" stuff from?

I think people have probably gotten their hopes and expectations up too high for guys like Andersson and Chytil and are just expecting/demanding these guys step in and play right away.

I'd also like to see Andersson kind of be more aggressive with the puck. He does a lot of trying to facilitate his linemates and do the hard work/heavy lifting but especially when he's with mediocre linemates it's going to hamper his ability to generate much on the ice. Getting the puck and taking it to the net more, making himself the target to be the shooter rather than trying to help facilitate other guys being shooters, etc.

On a line with some talented players that can be effective, on a line with grinders it's just going to mean he does a lot of standing around while his linemates fumble the pucks.

 

[LaffyTaffy]

I feel like you had to falsely claim that a valid argument is "tired" based on some arbitrary reason just so you could present your reason as more valid.

Not really, if skating were the issue then both Quinn and Gorton wouldn't have hesitated to say that he is simply not ready to play in the NHL and there are parts of his game that are not at an NHL level. It has been quite the opposite scenario though, Quinn continuously spoke about icing his best 12 players regardless of position, and Gorton stated that they could easily find Lias playing time, yet they decided to not go with their top12 and instead play Howden, keep Chytil at Center and give Lettieri a spot because it was the right move to make for the team and for the players' individual development. Lias was one of our 12 best forwards without a doubt in my mind and all I am trying to say is that the reason for him not being on this hockey team come Thursday is not his ability (or lack thereof) to skate.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Not really, if skating were the issue then both Quinn and Gorton wouldn't have hesitated to say that he is simply not ready to play in the NHL and there are parts of his game that are not at an NHL level. It has been quite the opposite scenario though, Quinn continuously spoke about icing his best 12 players regardless of position, and Gorton stated that they could easily find Lias playing time, yet they decided to not go with their top12 and instead play Howden, keep Chytil at Center and give Lettieri a spot because it was the right move to make for the team and for the players' individual development. Lias was one of our 12 best forwards without a doubt in my mind and all I am trying to say is that the reason for him not being on this hockey team come Thursday is not his ability (or lack thereof) to skate.

Your first thing dismissed the speed as an issue entirely but nothing you've said backs up your claim. Are you now saying that you meant something a little different? Maybe it's not even remotely bc of speed but I dont see anything to support that

 

[n8]

I'd be surprised if Lias did not get a mid-season call up. Lias is gonna be fine. At the end of the day however, I think he's more of a 2nd line center so I can see why people would harp on Mittelstadt as this team could really use and has historically lacked a true 1A center in ages and Mittelstadt is that flashy potential guy but he'll most likely always be a 1B or 2 center on Buffalo behind Eichel. It's why people harp about Getzlaf / Jessimen because since Messier, we haven't had a true 1A center and that is what holds this franchise back. It's why people hope we can land a Hughes or Turcotte this summer.

 

[Kovalev27]

He just won the top rookie in camp award. And gets sent down. Very weird oh right the media picks it.

 

[Joey Bones]

 

[Kocur Dill]

If Lias was centering Swedens best forwards. Including being a catalyst for Petterson
And NYR management sees him as a top 6 center.
And Chytil outplayed him.
We already have Zibby and Hayes as 1 & 2
Plus Gorts said they do not want him in a 4th line role.

Then why does it have to be a conspiracy that Lias was sent to HFT to be a 20 minute a night center FOR HIS AND THE TEAMS BEST FUTURE.

It's been said that way a dozen times by NYR management.

Why is that so hard to grasp.

I don't post much, but man, it gets tiring reading the same comments over and over from people who can understand the minute variables of advanced metrics, but being told by Gorts in plain english and with basic hockey understanding, that Lias and NYR are not best served long term having him grind out 4th line minutes with 2 pylons on his wings.

 

[effen]

They simply cannot be wrong dude.

Fake news.

Conspiracy.

 

[Kocur Dill]

They simply cannot be wrong dude.

Fake news.

Conspiracy.

Welp, apparently he is a bust of McIlrathian proportions.

We were promised NHL readiness golly gosh darn itz!

 

[Crease]

He just won the top rookie in camp award. And gets sent down. Very weird oh right the media picks it.

It's almost as if he's the fourth best center in the organization and they don't want him getting fourth line minutes.

 

[Konamic Ice Hockey]

Lias has a game that no one tallent sticks out, just a really solid game all around( maybe faceoffs ). He has that something special that some will call high hockey IQ, he is always in the right position. He plays a lot like Toews, I think we have a lite version of Toews and Kane with Andersson and Chytil.
I love that JG is taking a similar approach to Andersson as Scheifele got in WPG. NYR see him as maybe being a future C and having more responsibility in the AHL is what he needs. Playing 4th line minutes and riding the coattails of experienced players is not what he needs, he needs practice being the go to guy.
The talk of LA being a bad skater is nonsense and honestly if you think that, I can't take any other player analysis you have seriously. He is very strong on his skates( guess what you need to be a good skater to be strong on your skates ) and his goal against NJD with Vatanen and Hischier( who both have pretty good wheels ) chasing him, shows he has some speed. He is average to above average NHL skater, it is not holding him back, sure if he could skate like McDavid he would be much much better but saying his skating is poor is nonsense. Stepan, Getzlaf, Hayes, Thornton( I know 3 of the 4 are taller guys ) are much worse at skating, yet they are still good centers, high hockey IQ makes up for a lot.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Love this

 

[Hunter Gathers]

I think it's a perfectly reasonable explanation, but I'm choosing to believe that the NYR FO is at least a little disappointed that he didn't grab a spot this year. Which is just the way I'm interpreting things, and doesn't mean it's true at all. Someone could just as easily interpret the opposite, and we can both feel fine with our analysis. No wrong or right here, unless you're taking an extreme spot on the spectrum like: "Andersson is definitively a bust now" would be a bad take. Just like "there's no way Andersson will ever bust" would be an equally bad take.

Can't disagree with this at all. I'm in the same boat as the FO. Disappointed he didn't force himself into the line-up but nowhere near ready to write him off. My main scare with Andersson is him turning into a Kyle Chipchura-like player. Same "he's so ready!" background and but guy that didn't crack the NHL until his D+4 year.

This year is a really, really big test for Andersson's NHL future. Cannot really be understated.

 

[McRanger]

Andersson had zero percent chance of beating out Zibs and Hayes and was a long shot to beat out Chytil.

If the FO didn't want him on the 4th line or the wing then he was almost certain to not make the team out of training camp.