If you thought Morgan Rielly was the only defensive prospect that Leafs fans should be paying attention to at the World Junior Championships, Swedish blueliner Tom Nilsson has become a very noticeable presence in the tournament.
The 19 year old Nilsson, who was selected 100th overall by Toronto in the 2011 Draft has been given a larger role on Sweden’s squad due to the loss of a number of blueliners to injury and has taken advantage of the opportunity.
The Leafs were attracted to Nilsson for his solid defensive play, but the offensive side of his game is beginning to come around. The young blueliner has two assists in five games, but was recognized for playing an integral part in Sweden’s 3-2 shootout victory over Russia in the WJC Semi-Final Thursday, earning him player of the game honors.
Sweden has a chance to win their second straight Gold Medal as they face Team USA on
Saturday morning.
In Kevin McGran’s recent piece in the Toronto Star, former Leaf Mikael Renberg states that he has been impressed with the young prospect.
“He’s been the best defenseman on the Swedish team,” said Renberg. “He’s a steady defenseman, he plays physical when he needs to play physical.”
Tom Nilsson at the WJC:
Renberg is doing work as a broadcaster for Swedish TV and believes that there is potential for Nilsson in the near future, but that he needs to gain some experience and play against better competition to hone his game.
“It’s hard to say if he’ll make the NHL. He needs a couple of more years, at least one more after this. I would like to see him in the (Swedish) elite league. He plays in the second league......I would say he is one or two years away before he can even make a try. I’m not 100 per cent sure he’ll be an NHL player, but if he keeps playing the way he is now, he might have a chance.”
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An interesting tidbit involving the Oilers first overall pick Nail Yakupov, whose performance at the WJC has been slightly underwhelming. In preparation for his rookie season, Edmonton has been looking to add a Russian player to help acclimate the 18 year old to the NHL and be a good influence.
According to Sportsnet's Jeff Marek, one target of that search was winger Nikolai Kulemin, who was signed to a two year, $5.6 Million deal over the summer.
No specifics were indicated as to what Edmonton offered for the Leafs forward, but undoubtedly it would not include the top echelon of their young forwards(Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Jordan Eberle) but probably involved a second level forward(Sam Gagner, Ales Hemsky, Magnus Paajarvi) who for reasons of contract amount, position or physical stature, would not be a good fit for Toronto.
Kulemin is coming off a seven goal season, so his perceived trade value might be low, but with smaller skill forwards like Kessel, Bozak, Grabovski or MacArthur aplenty in Toronto's top six, GM Brian Burke and coach Randy Carlyle are likely leery of moving a physical, defensively responsible forward like Kulemin, who could rebound and score 20 to 30 goals down the road.
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