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Leafs' Prospect/Marlies Discussion Thread!

Re: Leafs' Prospect Discussion Thread!

Just got an email saying both our tourney games will be streamed live on NHL.com
 
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Have they released the roster with numbers?

I'll be at the game but I know I'll lose track of who is who with every prospect wearing a new #
 
Re: Leafs' Prospect Discussion Thread!

Some brief observations from the tourney, to be taken with a grain of salt due to sample size:

- Liljegren definitely has tonnes of raw talent, but the decision making is questionable. He had some brutal giveaways was victimized by some of the older forward prospects. Skating was as advertised and the shot looks good too. Lots of work to be done though, as expected.

- Nielsen was as advertised. Cannon of a shot, big dude, ok skater and not good away from the puck. Did some things that really made me shake my head. Still needs more development time.

Dermott only played Sunday, but he was solid. You can tell he's much more polished than anyone else in our system. Very close to cracking the NHL.

Bracco has excellent vision and passing ability as well as an improving shot. Should fit in well with our skill guys after a couple years in the AHL to improve his defensive game and skating.

Timoshov-Marchment-Grundstrom was probably the most effective line. Marchment drove the Canadiens nuts and the line generated many scoring chances against Ottawa
 
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Re: Leafs' Prospect Discussion Thread!

Yes I was at the game too, agree about Liljegren. I see no chance of him making the NHL lineup this year, he's not ready.

- Liljegren is most comfortable with the puck, his decision making needs to be better, most impressed by how he keeps the blueline in seemingly impossible situation with his skating and his puck skills, a very good PP QB. On the other hand he gets beat WAY too easily, loses physical battle 10 out of 10 (which is not a surprise given his age and his size). He played much better on Sunday in his 2nd game than Monday. ALso played a lot better with Dermott

- Nielsen was very disappointing imo. He has a shot and that's about it. Skates awkward, puck skill is rather poor. Questionable decision making and I don't see him as a NHL top 4 dman based on what i saw during this tourney - which is very limited I'd admit. He simply doesn't have the skills to be a top 4 D from what I could see. Granted, he is still young and can improve, but very disappointed by his puck skill from someone who's spent a year in the AHL already.

- Dermott was good. I see bit of Gunnarson in him. He's a calming factor on the blueline, often makes the right play, has great hockey IQ and great vision. Doesn't stand out in any particular skill but very very steady.

- Another player who caught my eye was Gordeev. He's raw, but he's HUGE (6'7 I think?) and he skates very well for a big man. Has a very offensive mind and made a few nice rushes as a Dman too. He needs to fill out that frame as he's just very lanky now and not really a physical intimidation as his frame would suggest, but I think for a late round pick he looks like a really interesting pick.

- Grundstrom was good too, played a rugged game and was always in your face.

- Bracco didn't particularly impress me. He didn't do too much and I'm hoping it's because he thinks this isn't his camp to make an impression. He didn't seem like he really cared about this rookie tourney.

- Timashov and Marchment were also impressive, with very limited expectation obviously.

Ian Scott was very bad on Friday and good on Sunday. Goalies are tough to judge at this age, and they were pretty much playing pond hockey too so it's tough on goalies.
 
Re: Leafs' Prospect Discussion Thread!

Agreed on Gordeev. He was noticable out there and not just because of his size. Might be something there.
 
Re: Leafs' Prospect Discussion Thread!

I was at the game on Friday against Montreal. A little belated, but some thoughts:

Liljegren is not ready. He made a number of poor decisions and got caught up ice for odd man rushes against multiple times. One Hab goal was the result of Timmy literally putting the puck right on the Habs forward's stick from behind our own goal line. He looked lost at times defensively. But, the talent is there. His skating is silky. He's great with the puck. His shot is strong and sneaky. A year or two away at this point I would think.

Keaton Middleton impressed me a bit on D (until he got knocked out of the game in a fight).

Up front Bracco was by far our best forward, followed by Dzierkals. Dzierkals is quick and seems pretty strong on the puck.

The forward I came away most impressed with was Vladimir Bobylev. Big, skates well, very strong on the puck, physical presence. I think we may have something here.

Grunnstrom was kinda meh. Don't see top-6 offensive skills. Maybe not even middle-6.
 
Re: Leafs' Prospect Discussion Thread!

I think we may be too harsh on Liljegren. I agree he is not ready, but in the MTL game he was burnt by his D partner a lot as well. He was caught in oddman rushes a LOT because of bad pinches by his partner (Gordeev / Smart). The pass from behind the net to the slot was his fault completely, but it was a tough game for him thanks to his partner. He was physically beat a lot though ... and for that reason alone he is definitely not NHL ready.

Middleton looked good until that fight. I don't get how he lost the fight to someone who's only up to his shoulder (or not even) ... seems like he took an uppercut hard to the chin.
 
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Guys tended to single him out more it seemed. The hyped ones always have a bigger target on their backs in camps
 
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It's worth keeping in mind that while Liljegren's game against the Habs was a bit of a dumpster-fire, he looked 100% better the next game against the Sens. And even when he's not having a great game, his underlying skills definitely jump off the screen. His skating and puck-handling are as advertised.

Anyway, as I'm fond of pointing out---this kid just turned 18 about four months ago. So really, I've always come in with the default expectation that he'll need more time before he's NHL ready---particularly with the playing time he also missed last year, and with the way he was jumped around from team to team.

Give him a full, stable year with the Marlies, and then we'll see what we've got. There's no rush.
 
Re: Leafs' Prospect Discussion Thread!

I think my views on Liljegren are somewhat coloured by my (very high) expectations for him.

But most of the odd man rushes he was on the ice for Friday were a direct result of him getting caught up ice. The skills are there though. He's just not as NHL-ready as I had hoped.

As a side note, watching players fight with visors is awful. Awful because a) they barely land any punches of significance; and b) you get to watch them bludgeon their hands on helmets and visors. The fight on Friday was pretty much just Middleton swinging and beating up Pezzata's helmet and/or visor, and then the little bugger landed one solid punch on Middleton that basically ended it.
 
Re: Leafs' Prospect Discussion Thread!

But most of the odd man rushes he was on the ice for Friday were a direct result of him getting caught up ice.

This makes blueliners look bad but it is usually the result of his teammates not recognizing he's jumped up and needs to be covered. On one of them at least, I saw his d partner stay in on the offensive blueline after watching him jump up with the puck. I think it was Middleton but I'm not sure. The forwards on Friday were MIA on the defensive coverage too.
 
Re: Leafs' Prospect Discussion Thread!

This makes blueliners look bad but it is usually the result of his teammates not recognizing he's jumped up and needs to be covered. On one of them at least, I saw his d partner stay in on the offensive blueline after watching him jump up with the puck. I think it was Middleton but I'm not sure. The forwards on Friday were MIA on the defensive coverage too.

It is a shared responsibility. The D needs to exercise good judgment with regards to when it is appropriate to pinch. Part of that judgment involves the ability of the forwards to cover for you in the event you got caught. Timmy may have been hung out to dry by his teammates at times, but he also made bad pinches.
 
Re: Leafs' Prospect Discussion Thread!

It is a shared responsibility. The D needs to exercise good judgment with regards to when it is appropriate to pinch. Part of that judgment involves the ability of the forwards to cover for you in the event you got caught. Timmy may have been hung out to dry by his teammates at times, but he also made bad pinches.

Yeah, probably a lot of this is just guys not knowing one another. I'm not sure they even practiced much before the game.
 
Re: Leafs' Prospect Discussion Thread!

And another two assists tonight for Rasanen. That's 7 points in 5 games for him and he's now listed at 6'7 and 226 lbs. Yikes.
 
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