Josh Leivo's future with the leafs?

[burpsalot]

Josh Leivo deserves a full time job with the Leafs next year.

He was relied upon with the Marlies in the calder cup playoff run and he was pretty noticeable in all of the games.

I would take him over Brown, Hyman, and Leipsic.

I would place Brown ahead of Leivo, other than that I agree. Leivo looked more than comfortable playing with grit & toughness while producing points.

 

[HellasLEAF]

I guess only camp can tell us that but it's pretty much make or brake because of waivers no?

 

[taurine330]

The next played to head over to Europe?

 

[hullsy47]

Every time i have seen Lievo play i have been left impressed but i get the feeling that management might not have him in our future plans. Hes got decent size and speed with a good shot. Not 100% sure but i believe hes not waiver exempt next year, with that said who sees leivo with us long-term, top 9 or bottom 6 ect...?

if the leafs sign 2 more forwards ,team wil be too good for leivo .hes not better than milhalec where is he gons fit ,soshi and hyman got more jam ,hes an ahl er

 

[TheKingSlayer]

Komarov - Kadri - Brown
JVR - Matthews - Nylander
Leivo - Bozak - Marner
Michalek - Laich - Greening

Just need to determine what we do with Soshnikov/Hyman and any other Marlies that are looking to get their shot at the NHL. And then there is this Stamkos thing...

 

[taurine330]

Leivo is not good enough for top 6 and not really suited for bottom 6 role.

 

[KapG]

Leivo is not good enough for top 6 and not really suited for bottom 6 role.

We know this because we've seen him get so many opportunities in those situations, right?

 

[X66]

Full time Leaf after the Greening/Michalek departures during the season.

 

[Battle Lin]

also leivo isn't quick enough to kill penalties thats a huge factor in our bottom 6 because...lupul, michalek, a rookie marner, brown, leivo, all could be on 3 and 4th line, we cant have all these guys that dont kill penalties, what u want ur top 2 lines killing penalties...at least hyman and sosh are great skaters that can move and join the PK, hyman has potential to be great on the PK

 

[TheKingSlayer]

also leivo isn't quick enough to kill penalties thats a huge factor in our bottom 6 because...lupul, michalek, a rookie marner, brown, leivo, all could be on 3 and 4th line, we cant have all these guys that dont kill penalties, what u want ur top 2 lines killing penalties...at least hyman and sosh are great skaters that can move and join the PK, hyman has potential to be great on the PK

We should be grooming our top players to be pk'ers as well. Zetterberg, Datsyuk were both dominant short-handed players and so should Matthews and Kadri/Bozak and Nylander (maybe).

Laich/Michalek/Greening/Kadri/Holland have all proven to be effective pk'ers at one point in their careers, and surely Komarov will play there more prominently with maybe a soshnikov/Hyman being groomed in that role as well.

Point being, you can teach them how to play in the system so long as we have smart players, and if we are keeping them, Babs and co. think they are smart.

 

[TheKingSlayer]

Leivo is not good enough for top 6 and not really suited for bottom 6 role.

Nobody plays a top 6/bottom six anymore. You roll 3 balanced scoring lines and an energy line. Leivo easily fits into a third line scoring role.

 

[TMLife*]

also leivo isn't quick enough to kill penalties thats a huge factor in our bottom 6 because...lupul, michalek, a rookie marner, brown, leivo, all could be on 3 and 4th line, we cant have all these guys that dont kill penalties, what u want ur top 2 lines killing penalties...at least hyman and sosh are great skaters that can move and join the PK, hyman has potential to be great on the PK

I disagree. He (Marner) is very committed to defence, blocking shots, and playing with energy. Might not start on the PK, but in a couple years should be an anchor there.

 

[WTFMAN99]

I think he'd be just fine on the 3rd line.

 

[TMLeafs18]

Hyman is not ready for the NHL sure he had a couple good games but he looked awful at times too. Put him in the AHL next year in a scoring line role and see how he responds. He would be much better served getting more ice time then being forced in the NHL full time when he may not be ready.

I'm a big fan of Sosh but he also could use more time in the AHL. He deserves a bigger role down there and with spots opening up he could see a lot of ice time in a scoring role that could help his development.

That leaves Leivo who can't go throw waivers anymore and showed he could score at the NHL level in spurts. Why not give a big bodied winger with a hell of shot a chance to play at least a season? It gives Hyman and Sosh time to develop and get another year older before they come in full time. Worst case Leivo comes in and isn't great. Best case he comes in shows he's NHL ready and gives this team some more size which it could use. The kind looks to be a perfect third line scoring winger.

 

[Menzinger]

Leivo is not good enough for top 6 and not really suited for bottom 6 role.

I think Babcock's third line is going to be full of scorers rather than used as your traditional checking line.

That said, not sure if Leivo makes the cut

 

[nuck]

Hyman is not ready for the NHL sure he had a couple good games but he looked awful at times too. Put him in the AHL next year in a scoring line role and see how he responds. He would be much better served getting more ice time then being forced in the NHL full time when he may not be ready.

I'm a big fan of Sosh but he also could use more time in the AHL. He deserves a bigger role down there and with spots opening up he could see a lot of ice time in a scoring role that could help his development.

That leaves Leivo who can't go throw waivers anymore and showed he could score at the NHL level in spurts. Why not give a big bodied winger with a hell of shot a chance to play at least a season? It gives Hyman and Sosh time to develop and get another year older before they come in full time. Worst case Leivo comes in and isn't great. Best case he comes in shows he's NHL ready and gives this team some more size which it could use. The kind looks to be a perfect third line scoring winger.

It could be a little misleading given the small samples for some as to exactly where the best forward prospects rank. I am thinking training camp may well not resemble the adrenaline fueled cup of coffee the rookies had this year with the big club. Of course they might all be better with the experience and the summer to train, but I am expecting a couple of them will be clearly better and that might be Leivo and Brown as they have the most AHL experience and Leaf training camps under their belts . The thing about Shosh and Hyman is they strike me as guys that could do something in a bottom 6 role where I didn't see that with Leivo/Brown.

 

[Battle Lin]

thats funny to hear that about hyman, i think hyman for his role is more nhl ready than nylander, marner, sosh, brown, and leivo

hes like a playoffs player, the second he steps onto the ice, hes going, hes skating and hes skating hard the whole shift, every shift...him and leo are the top hustle players on the team...u need guys like this throughout the ups and downs of a game...they give guys a lot of energy with their style of play, guys see how hard they work and want to keep up

and not every1 can play this way, u gotta be great on ur skates, have great size to crash into boards, take hits, play physical, do the dirty work on your lines

 

[burpsalot]

thats funny to hear that about hyman, i think hyman for his role is more nhl ready than nylander, marner, sosh, brown, and leivo

hes like a playoffs player, the second he steps onto the ice, hes going, hes skating and hes skating hard the whole shift, every shift...him and leo are the top hustle players on the team...u need guys like this throughout the ups and downs of a game...they give guys a lot of energy with their style of play, guys see how hard they work and want to keep up

and not every1 can play this way, u gotta be great on ur skates, have great size to crash into boards, take hits, play physical, do the dirty work on your lines

I guess he forgot that part for the Marlie's Playoffs.