Prospect Info: Leafs 2017 1st Rd Pick (#17 OA) - Timothy Liljegren - 6'0" 188lbs RHD - Rogle BK

[Caesium]

Nice straw man.

He'd put up 100+ points, and not learn anything.

No matter how you slice it you don't take someone who has already performed at a high level and then place them in a position where it will be easier for them. That is not the way a person improves, whether it's hockey or something else.

I'm confident the Leafs won't take Liljegren and place him in the CHL to "dominate." He'll be in the AHL of SHL next season for sure. Hopefully not with Rogle because the more I hear about that team the less I want him to be there. A half and half like Nylander did is the best option.

Liljegren hasn't performed at a high level. He played badly, got bounced around, and had his draft ranking plummet. There are legitimate concerns about him as a prospect. He isn't getting proper coaching and playing time over in Sweden, another season of getting no responsibility will destroy him. I don't even think he would dominate the CHL. Good, or even great, probably, but dominate? He wouldn't be the best player in the league.

 

[Mr Hockey]

I love this pick, just saying

Did Liljegren at least play his 19 games in the SHL at the end of the season or did he finish the season in the SuperElit league?

 

[93LEAFS]

Liljegren hasn't performed at a high level. He played badly, got bounced around, and had his draft ranking plummet. There are legitimate concerns about him as a prospect. He isn't getting proper coaching and playing time over in Sweden, another season of getting no responsibility will destroy him. I don't even think he would dominate the CHL. Good, or even great, probably, but dominate? He wouldn't be the best player in the league.

It is really hard to tell if it was mono bringing him down, I could see him becoming the best defender or player in the OHL depending on graduations and if Svechnikov comes over.

After watching a decent amount of Liljegren over the last 2 days with footage from the SHL and J-20's, on top of what I have seen of him at U-18's over the past two years, I have found one thing that I believe he really needs to incorporate into his game. On Zone-entries I find he constantly gets ahead of teammates and then ends up getting too deep in the offensive zone trying to go 1 on 2 or 1 on 3 too much. With the threat of his speed, he really needs to take a page out of Marner's playbook which is to use the threat of speed to open up the button hook on entries. Liljegren has good vision and a great shot. Using that move will allow teammates to catch-up and help establish possession in the zone. This will also allow him to scan the ice better. I think the flaws in his game can be coached out of him, as they tend to be caused by trying to do a bit too much. It is not like he panics under pressure and is quite slippery, it is just that he looks for the perfect stretch pass too much. Sometimes he needs to show restraint and go glass and out.

 

[93LEAFS]

I love this pick, just saying

Did Liljegren at least play his 19 games in the SHL at the end of the season or did he finish the season in the SuperElit league?

Bounced back and forth. But closed the year in J-20's.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

It is really hard to tell if it was mono bringing him down.

It's not mono, but I've had the flu since last week and it definitely affects you mentally not just physically. Even when you recover, your mind feels like its in a bit of a fog, and you just feel off for some reason reacting to and processing a lot of things a step slower that would normally be pretty easy for you.

Not saying it's all the mono leading to the mental mistakes that scouts have seen. But having recovered from just an ordinary virus myself, I can empathize with the experience.

 

[Maplebeasts]

Liljegren hasn't performed at a high level. He played badly, got bounced around, and had his draft ranking plummet. There are legitimate concerns about him as a prospect. He isn't getting proper coaching and playing time over in Sweden, another season of getting no responsibility will destroy him. I don't even think he would dominate the CHL. Good, or even great, probably, but dominate? He wouldn't be the best player in the league.

He had a season this year on par with Karlsson, Hedman, and Ekman-Larsson as far as production goes for 17 year old seasons in Sweden, while having the excuse of mono and an early return to try and save his draft stock. Get out of here with this "playing badly" nonsense. Your complaints work more if you consider that he didn't progress much from last season, but as someone who had mono myself last year, it is brutal. You have zero energy and focus, and just aren't near your peak physically for months. I couldn't even imagine trying to play pro hockey with it, let alone develop and hold status as a top pick.

 

[Damisoph]

 

[Walshy7]

nvm.

 

[Mr Hockey]

This thread has become ridiculous, I'm out

 

[LeafingTheWay]

How bad is mono?

Remember Marner in the playoffs? Me neither. He was invisible after being dynamic and insanely good 3/4 of the season. That's what mono does to you.

 

[Puckstuff]

2014: Nylander
2015: Marner
2016: Matthews
2017: Lilijgren


honestly, the best string of maple leaf drafting in history, by far.

 

[The Thin White Duke]

How bad is mono?

Remember Marner in the playoffs? Me neither. He was invisible after being dynamic and insanely good 3/4 of the season. That's what mono does to you.

At least a broken leg is a contained and obvious injury. Mono changes everything about your day to day life, from the amount of food you can manage to eat to the amount and quality of sleep you get.

 

[crump]

Out of curiosity, I checked central scouting's results for the combine and although they only list the top 25 in each of 14 tests, I thought maybe he bombed out resulting in hesitation at the draft which led to his drop, but he did quite good in the tests that probably mean the most to a hockey player. He finished top 25 in both Mean and Peak power Anaerobic V02 tests, as well as the vertical jump and standing long jump. He has good Anaerobic power and leg strength. So at the very least you can see he has his energy and strength in his legs back.

 

[Community]

How bad is mono?

Remember Marner in the playoffs? Me neither. He was invisible after being dynamic and insanely good 3/4 of the season. That's what mono does to you.

While mono affects everybody differently, when I had mono I didn't move for 2 weeks, was sleeping like 16+ hours a day for 2 months, and could definitely feel the effects for 4 months (this is without doing any strenuous physical activity which would make it a lot more noticeable and taxing on your body, even days where I was sitting around a lot I felt it 4 months later).

It takes a massive toll on your body and coming back from that is very difficult. I'm surprised Marner played so well in the world championships that quickly after mono to be honest!

While I would've liked to see him play better when he came back, mono is something that can basically take away a year of his progression and I'm confident he can rebound (although it's obviously harder to predict how well he would've done in his draft year if he was healthy).

 

[weems]

We're trying to build a championship juggernaut.
At #17 in a weak draft his upside is just too hard to pass up. If he hits, you're prolly looking at an insane core that will wreak havok on the league for years, if he busts so what we still have an amazing core with cap space and tons of tradeable assets. There wasnt a single player left on the board that gave us the upside that Liljegren did. Even if he does have some questions defensively his offensive skillset looks so loud that it might not matter considering the league has trended so far in the speed and skill department. His skating, hands and shot will at least make him a NHL player in some capacity.

We've been set up so well that we can take some big home run cuts in the draft.

 

[Eternal Leaf]

2014: Nylander
2015: Marner
2016: Matthews
2017: Lilijgren


honestly, the best string of maple leaf drafting in history, by far.

Indeed.

Kadri, Rielly, Nylander, Marner, Matthews, and Liljegren.

That's magnificent drafting in the 1st round. A few bumps in the road (i.e. Percy or no pick in 2010) but it's been solid.

 

[TheBigThree]

At least a broken leg is a contained and obvious injury. Mono changes everything about your day to day life, from the amount of food you can manage to eat to the amount and quality of sleep you get.

I had mono for 4 months at the end of last year, worst time of my life. I had the worst possible. If you never had it please stop commenting on how mono didn't affect his play, I'm shocked he came back early from it, I was bed ridden for 4 months and in the hospital maybe 3 times with days of bed rest. It's July now and I'm still feeling the effects after 5 months

 

[HOCKEYGOON]

I had Mono in High School.... it literally sucked the life force out of me for 1-2 months.

Getting out of bed felt like running a marathon.

I couldn't imagine playing at a highly competitive level of hockey right after having it.

 

[Stephen]

2014: Nylander
2015: Marner
2016: Matthews
2017: Lilijgren


honestly, the best string of maple leaf drafting in history, by far.

2012: Rielly
2013: Gauthier
2014: Nylander
2015: Marner
2016: Matthews
2017: Liljegren

That's a pretty nice run.

 

[Albus Dumbledore]

Ughh Mono is pretty bad, I had it in middle school, was bed ridden for 2 days and then went back to school for a school basketball tourney I powered through. The adrenaline or something kept me going because I wasn't my best and it was noticeable but I still wasn't half bad though. And after that day stayed home for the next week. I don't think my case was that bad but if your playing through it or still have lingering effects it's pretty bad. It's a legitimate excuse, you're like not yourself at all, it's really rough to just have it but to play through it boy that is hard, I know first hand.

 

[Mugzy97]

[NHL2][/NHL2]

Ughh Mono is pretty bad, I had it in middle school, was bed ridden for 2 days and then went back to school for a school basketball tourney I powered through. The adrenaline or something kept me going because I wasn't my best and it was noticeable but I still wasn't half bad though. And after that day stayed home for the next week. I don't think my case was that bad but if your playing through it or still have lingering effects it's pretty bad. It's a legitimate excuse, you're like not yourself at all, it's really rough to just have it but to play through it boy that is hard, I know first hand.

It's unsafe to play through it. Mono makes your spleen swell up and if you take a good enough blow it could rupture and kill you.

 

[thewave]

[NHL2][/NHL2]

It's unsafe to play through it. Mono makes your spleen swell up and if you take a good enough blow it could rupture and kill you.

I am guessing they image that and see if its ok.

To all you nay sayers, this guys going to be as good as Nylander just on D. You're all going to gather around the great wave and pay homages and appreciate my sagely wisdomisms.

We won the draft! Agaaaain.

 

[Walshy7]

We're trying to build a championship juggernaut.
At #17 in a weak draft his upside is just too hard to pass up. If he hits, you're prolly looking at an insane core that will wreak havok on the league for years, if he busts so what we still have an amazing core with cap space and tons of tradeable assets. There wasnt a single player left on the board that gave us the upside that Liljegren did. Even if he does have some questions defensively his offensive skillset looks so loud that it might not matter considering the league has trended so far in the speed and skill department. His skating, hands and shot will at least make him a NHL player in some capacity.

We've been set up so well that we can take some big home run cuts in the draft.

with his skating (elite) and offensive skillset (very good) i honestly think he has a high floor, as in 3rd pair PP QB is more likely than bust IMO. In todays NHL, skating is the #1 skill needed and Liljegren has that in spades. Obviously im not saying he is a sure thing, just he is a surer thing than youd imagine at 17

 

[Sypher04]

Nevermind just the mono, or the other injury (I don't know what it is, but Liljegren referenced it himself in an interview), or being bounced around amongst different teams, or Rogle being an unmitigated disaster last season, it's not at all unreasonable to think coming back after missing 2 months with mono that Liljegren wouldn't have been in game shape either (physically)

 

[Wendelstache]

We got a kid with higher upside than Rielly at 17 ... what is there to complain about?

At worst this kid is going to turn out to be a better skating version of Ellis.

With his elite skating and shot, I can't wait to watch his development!