Prospect Info: Marlies/Prospects- Early Off Season time

[Kiwi]

Not drafted to be a late bloomer, he was supposed to be readier than most of his draft class, but he still might be a late bloomer. He had a much better year in the AHL than at least I expected. He's surprisingly game to mix it up in the corners and initiate contact - sometimes a little too much. He may get himself in trouble some time down the road with some tough guy type. He has good hands and yes he's a bit lumbering out there although the skating isn't very far off being acceptable.

To play in our top 9 he needs to be able to keep up with our other guys and I just don't see that as yet, 4th liner with some use as a net front PP guy I can see but until he can keep up with our skill guys it's going to cap his ceiling imo

Which is a pity because I like the other attributes he has and think they would compliment what's already on our roster

 

[4thline]

Re: Liljegren same hockey age (birth year) as Bouchard. Outproduced him, more mobile, better defensively.

One is where, in the teens? Other is an HM in the 50's. There comes a time that you have to accept that the public consensus/ media have made up their minds on a player and aren't going to admit that they jumped the gun until he proves them wrong at the NHL level.

 

[4thline]

To play in our top 9 he needs to be able to keep up with our other guys and I just don't see that as yet, 4th liner with some use as a net front PP guy I can see but until he can keep up with our skill guys it's going to cap his ceiling imo

Which is a pity because I like the other attributes he has and think they would compliment what's already on our roster

Depends how we run the lines in terms of make up and playstyle. He's a poor fit with Kerfoot/Kapanen, but with Tavares either of Marner/Nylander would be smart enough to play a more east/west possession game

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

Re: Liljegren same hockey age (birth year) as Bouchard. Outproduced him, more mobile, better defensively.

One is where, in the teens? Other is an HM in the 50's. There comes a time that you have to accept that the public consensus/ media have made up their minds on a player and aren't going to admit that they jumped the gun until he proves them wrong at the NHL level.

If Liljegren was Canadian and put up some massive seasons offensively in the CHL he would probably be top 10-20 on this list too.

He produced similarly to Shea Theodore in the AHL while being better defensively and Wheeler had him in the top 20 at the same age.

Missing out on the world juniors at age 19 and playing in the AHL for his age 18 and 19 seasons really hurt his value because to people who don't pay attention it would seem like he was stagnating staying in the same league for 3 years.

 

[stickty111]

That's the problem with prospect lists, at the end of the day it's completely subjective and tends to come down to what the person putting together the list values trait wise

We're comparing guys over different leagues with completely different playing styles, how do you compare a defensive defenseman playing against men in Finland to a forward in the CHL playing against guys his own age who took an offensive jump this season?

I don't take those lists over the entire league seriously, hell we don't even have a consensus view of our own prospects, [USER=204205]@SeaOfBlue[/USER] @stickty111 and myself don't always agree on our own guys and that's only over 1 team rather than 31

I don't know man. I still see Finn being a great player

 

[Menzinger]

To play in our top 9 he needs to be able to keep up with our other guys and I just don't see that as yet, 4th liner with some use as a net front PP guy I can see but until he can keep up with our skill guys it's going to cap his ceiling imo

Which is a pity because I like the other attributes he has and think they would compliment what's already on our roster

Imo the Leafs will be lucky if they get 200 games of him being a 4th liner

 

[Kiwi]

Depends how we run the lines in terms of make up and playstyle. He's a poor fit with Kerfoot/Kapanen, but with Tavares either of Marner/Nylander would be smart enough to play a more east/west possession game

He struggled to keep up on the 4th line but he's going to keep up with faster more skilled players?

I've got doubts

I don't know man. I still see Finn being a great player

Man we've had some brutal prospects over the years thankfully things have improved somewhat

Imo the Leafs will be lucky if they get 200 games of him being a 4th liner

I don't either, I see him as a 4th line filler type at this point

 

[deletethis]

Re: Liljegren same hockey age (birth year) as Bouchard. Outproduced him, more mobile, better defensively.

One is where, in the teens? Other is an HM in the 50's. There comes a time that you have to accept that the public consensus/ media have made up their minds on a player and aren't going to admit that they jumped the gun until he proves them wrong at the NHL level.

There's always been a hockey media bias in favour of Oiler prospects. I think HF was essentially created to pimp Oiler prospects in the mid-1990's onward.

Liljegren has been playing higher levels compared to Bouchard due to the nature of the CBA. Bouchard's only played one pro season and before that was forced to play 4 straight seasons in the much weaker OHL. Liljegren's ahead in terms of experience. I don't think the cavern is so great but I'd be inclined to choose Bouchard over Liljegren too.

 

[daethfromabove1979]

He struggled to keep up on the 4th line but he's going to keep up with faster more skilled players?

I've got doubts

I wouldn't say he struggled, he only played one game and he did score a goal...

 

[stickty111]

 

[Kiwi]

I wouldn't say he struggled, he only played one game and he did score a goal...

He looked laboured when he was on the ice

I hope he can continue to improve that area of his game because the other tools look like they would fit what we need but I don't think he's there yet

 

[SeaOfBlue]

He looked laboured when he was on the ice

I hope he can continue to improve that area of his game because the other tools look like they would fit what we need but I don't think he's there yet

In Korshkov's defense, that NHL game was his 3rd game in 3 days. He came off of a back-to-back on the weekend to play in that game, and the 2nd game was a barn-burner which went into OT. He played A LOT within 3 days, and this is a guy who, only a couple of weeks prior, came back from a laceration on his lower leg that caused him to miss a month.

How many Leafs' players look laboured after a back-to-back, nevermind a back-to-back-to-back with one of them being an OT game?

He's improved his speed a lot throughout the year. His acceleration and agility were not too bad from the start, but even that has improved as well. A few more months with the Marlies may be all that he needs, and he could probably play on the 4th line from day 1 if we needed him (which we do not; we have far too many options as it is).

 

[Kiwi]

In Korshkov's defense, that NHL game was his 3rd game in 3 days. He came off of a back-to-back on the weekend to play in that game, and the 2nd game was a barn-burner which went into OT. He played A LOT within 3 days, and this is a guy who, only a couple of weeks prior, came back from a laceration on his lower leg that caused him to miss a month.

How many Leafs' players look laboured after a back-to-back, nevermind a back-to-back-to-back with one of them being an OT game?

He's improved his speed a lot throughout the year. His acceleration and agility were not too bad from the start, but even that has improved as well. A few more months with the Marlies may be all that he needs, and he could probably play on the 4th line from day 1 if we needed him (which we do not; we have far too many options as it is).

I thought his skating was improving as last season progressed which is why I still have some hope he could still be a 3rd wheel type on a middle 6 line if that continues

He's good enough to hold up at the AHL level but it was reasonably obvious he wasn't mobile enough to take the next step so he could not only survive but thrive at higher levels

I've already said I think he's a 4th line fill in type right now but I'm hoping for more than that still even though he's starting to get up there age wise for a prospect

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I thought his skating was improving as last season progressed which is why I still have some hope he could still be a 3rd wheel type on a middle 6 line if that continues

He's good enough to hold up at the AHL level but it was reasonably obvious he wasn't mobile enough to take the next step so he could not only survive but thrive at higher levels

I've already said I think he's a 4th line fill in type right now but I'm hoping for more than that still even though he's starting to get up there age wise for a prospect

I was mostly commenting on how his one NHL game is not really a good measure for his ability to keep up.

 

[stickty111]

 

[SeaOfBlue]

It's already caused Trevor Kuntar to change his commitment to Boston College.

 

[93LEAFS]

We have nowhere for them to play. I've heard the OHL is eying November 1st start date, but that is far from set in stone, with the hope they can have fans in attendance sometime around January 1st. But, the league can't run a full season without gate-revenue. Then you have the USA based-teams issues. Simply put, you can't isolate junior players in a bubble. You can't ask billets to put there lives on hold (most who are over 50 years old), and who knows what this means for schooling. The AHL will have similar issues, they simply won't pay for a full year without gate-revenue or put them in a bubble. The NHL probably wouldn't pay for the current bubbles if it wasn't so dependent on completing the season for playoff payouts from their TV deals (part of why they rather prolong this season, then cancel and try to start again on-time). We are a long way from figuring out whether we can have mass-gatherings indoors, which makes all leagues that rely on gate-revenue not fundable. And, NHL owners who are already getting massively hit, are unlikely to subsidize the CHL and AHL.

I mean, where is there for him to play? It's almost mid-July, and I haven't heard any plan that makes the AHL, CHL or USHL viable. Kids are supposed to be at CHL camps in 6 weeks or so.

 

[deletethis]

Having access to the Leafs' training facilities might be a great motivator to sign for many NCAA players but that full Harvard scholarship is a near priceless thing that I'd be very hesitant to give up. The elite of the world go through that school.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Having access to the Leafs' training facilities might be a great motivator to sign for many NCAA players but that full Harvard scholarship is a near priceless thing that I'd be very hesitant to give up. The elite of the world go through that school.

Harvard does not have athletic scholarships, but rather they have financial need packages. If he comes from a rich family, he's likely paying full tuition on top of playing hockey. However if he is not rich, they have other financial accomodations that are available to all students, and they may be some special grants that are athlete-exclusive (like there are at all schools, but are far from full-scholarships). However I do not think anyone gets a full-ride at Harvard, and if there are some who do, they are likely not athletes.

The main thing that hockey gets you is a greater chance of acceptance. You still need great grades, but being able to play on one of their sports teams is a major resume booster. Thousands of non-athletes apply to Harvard each year and only like 5% of those get in. Whereas if you are a high level athlete like Abruzzese, your acceptance rate is like over 80% (because there is less competition and they need people to fill their teams).

If he is more concerned about no sports than his Harvard education, then he may sign with us. It was enough to convince Kuntar to switch his commitment and get a full-ride from Boston College instead of going to Harvard (I guess there is a better chance for BC to play next year). However if he doesn't feel like there will be a good shot for him in the AHL, or he does not care if he plays next year, then he will likely just stay at Harvard.

Boston College lands former Harvard commit Trevor Kuntar

 

[Cor]

CJ was on the SDP, and talked about Robertson a bit.

- Says that Nick Robertson has "annoyed" the Leafs strength coaches a lot this year, as he constantly filmed his work outs, sent them video to get feedback on everything, and would often sent pictures of his meals to the Leafs nutrition staff for feedback as well. Says if Keefe feels Robertson is one of the best 12 forwards to play for the team in the re-start, then Robertson will be playing. CJ says if Babcock was the coach, there's likely no chance that Babcock would've considered it, and says that is the case for most veteran coaches around the league.

 

[TML1967]

Liljgren seems to be missing from his assigned skating group...

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Aberg is in fact going to play in the KHL next year with Traktor, which could explain why he is missing from the roster.

It is now official. Too bad, he was a nice option for the Marlies next year, but I am sure we can find a suitable replacement.

 

[Magic Man]

CJ was on the SDP, and talked about Robertson a bit.

- Says that Nick Robertson has "annoyed" the Leafs strength coaches a lot this year, as he constantly filmed his work outs, sent them video to get feedback on everything, and would often sent pictures of his meals to the Leafs nutrition staff for feedback as well. Says if Keefe feels Robertson is one of the best 12 forwards to play for the team in the re-start, then Robertson will be playing. CJ says if Babcock was the coach, there's likely no chance that Babcock would've considered it, and says that is the case for most veteran coaches around the league.

Sounds like a pretty bad kid. I wouldn't want one of my most talented prospects taking life seriously.

 

[Cor]

Sounds like a pretty bad kid. I wouldn't want one of my most talented prospects taking life seriously.

haha. For the record, he meant "annoyed" in a joking way. Trying to show how much Robertson was contacting the Leafs staffs

 

[deletethis]

Life tip: if someone you are counting on for guidance is actually annoyed by your enthusiasm, it's not your problem, it's theirs. I'm sure that was just a poor choice of words by CJ.