I have good NHL vibes about one through 17 with a few exceptions. SDA, I like but he needs to be more assertive with the puck. I bet he could be an AHL all-star one day. And I like Voit and Abruzzese, but am a bit more cautious with them due to lost development time.
Like some of the later dark horses too.
All in all, a fun group to track at least
He's simply the least proven. Not only is his body of work smaller, but we need to see what he looks like on North American ice and an increased pace of play.
Knies. Hirvonen, Niemela, G Peksa, Villeneuve, Tverberg, Schingoethe, Miller, Voit, Ovchinnikov
My personal opinion. In terms of upside I think I go.
I'd have it more like:
Thats very debatable. Liljegren, Sandin, Robertson are more ready. Kokkonen still needs work on his mobility and more time in the AHL.
? Not sure what's silly about saying Liljegren is more ready than Kokkonen. I'm also not sure what this has to do with anything said.
Considering I'm the one who said Kokkonen is the Leafs most ready prospect, even I don't know what he's talking about. But yes I concede, Liljegren is #1, Kokkonen #2. Yes Sandin has played NHL games, but his defense isn't there for me. I really find it asinine that Kokkonen isn't even considered by most to be top 5 ready. He's been playing consistent minutes in a top 5 league since he was 16.
I thin Kokkonen would be our best bottom of the lineup guy other than Liljegren today, but that’s because he’s most able to play that role. The rest need high skill ice time.
I think it's just that the Leafs have a lot of prospects who are either NHL ready or close. Liljegren, Sandin, Anderson and Robertson all have NHL games under their belts and a good track record of success against pros in North America. They also have a few prospects who could easily surprise and push for jobs soon as well. Amirov and Niemela both could easily impress this season and start knocking on the door. I agree that Kokkonen is a lot closer to the NHL than people think though. He's rock solid and was spectacular with the Marlies, even if it was a small sample size.
I have Sandin ahead of Lilly in terms of upside because of his ability on the PP. Every time I watch Lilly on the Marlies I come away impressed and think he will be a very solid 2 way defender, likely on the 2nd pair. Sandin i think is more likely to be a top pair guy capably of putting up 40+ points. Similar to Krug. I just think he needs more work defensively and keep working on his skating.
I don't doubt that Sandin has a higher offensive ceiling. His awareness in the offensive zone, passing and ability to get the puck through will ensure he puts up a lot of points. What I'm worried about is the fact that he is a smaller guy who doesn't have much speed. In the playoffs we saw his skating get him into trouble and was burned a bit more than I would have liked. As of now I think Sandin is going to be an effective second pairing guy who can quarterback a powerplay and put up about 40 points. If his skating improves and he adds some strength I could see him as a top pairing guy. I see Liljegren as a 30-35 point guy who is going to be a rock defensively. He has a lot less questions defensively than Sandin while having some very loud offensive tools himself. Like I was saying, he is a great passer who can move the puck well, is a better skater, has some power behind his shot, and imo the best set of hands on a dman in the organization. He also QBed the Marlies powerplay for a time and was quite good at it.
He does need to get a lot stronger. I would guess at least two years away, but he's definitely a player.
