Four Swedish league prospects close out my Kings' draft preview. Here are all the previous possibilities who I've profiled -- if LA doesn't select any of them, well, it really is that kind of Draft this year:
Owen Tippett
Nick Suzuki
Robert Thomas
Martin Necas
Juuso Valimaki
Cody Glass/Michael Rasmussen
Casey Mittelstadt/Eeli Tolvanen
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At this point, the bloom might be off Timothy Liljegren. There's a fair chance that he falls out of the lottery, which would be a far cry from his preseason top-two status.
This doesn't mean the 6'0" defenseman is short on skill -- he still should go in the first round -- but fans hoping that they're getting a number-one overall talent on the cheap should probably temper expectations.
Let's start with the good.
Uffe Bodin, Editor-in-Chief of Hockeysverige.se, gave a solid tease:
A really fluid and mobile skater with tons of speed and the ability to carry the puck from end to end. Liljegren is extremely skilled offensively...
The ceiling is very high, but he needs to learn when to pick his spots...
High risk/high reward defenseman that could either turn into an Oliver Ekman-Larsson or...
Let's save that "or" for later, but rest assured, that "or" won't be Bobby.
Learning "when to pick his spots" might be a fatal flaw. A scout told
The Hockey News, "His hockey sense may not be where it needs to be."
(
The Hockey News excerpt from May 29, 2017 Draft Preview issue,
available now.)
Bodin noted, "Still has a lot of work to do defensively..."
Beyond that, some NHL organizations have questions about Liljegren's make-up. One NHL scout called him "a headcase with a lot of red flags." He also noted that comparing Liljegren to Erik Karlsson was "hilarious."
By all accounts, Liljegren suffered a disappointing season with SHL side Rogle. The possible extenuating circumstances which explain his performance are well documented. Bodin recaps:
Had a rough season due to an early bout with mono. Came back a bit too fast and had trouble adjusting. Didn't get a whole lot of ice-time on his struggling SHL team Rogle...
As for Bodin's floor for Liljegren, he suggested David Rundbald.
Like Liljegren, Elias Pettersson also owns a high ceiling.
But at 6'1" and just 161 pounds, the playmaker has a long way to go before reaching his potential -- physically, for sure, but perhaps mentally too.
The Hockey News spoke with a scout who had some reservations about the rail-thin teenager's compete level:
"The way he plays now, he stays out of some of the high-traffic situations," said a scout. "So you have to ask yourself whether it's smart to not put yourself in those situations or is it because he's scared?"
To an extent, Bodin agreed, "If the game gets more physical, he can disappear." But he added, "Once Pettersson gets stronger, I anticipate that he will be able to handle that much better."
Besides the "physical" question, Bodin was very enthusiastic about the pivot:
Swift playmaker who's really hard for defensemen to get a hold of when he gets his game going. Had an impressive season with Timrå in Sweden's second-highest league and averaged almost a point per game playing against men...
He's got excellent vision and can do amazing stuff with the puck in full stride...
I think of a young Henrik Zetterberg...
An NHL scout who I spoke with was also seeing stars, "Pettersson is probably the most skilled and creative guy in the first round." He observed that if the Swedish playmaker had enjoyed a better World Juniors, he'd probably be a top-five pick.
Lias Andersson is not thought to have Liljegren or Pettersson's ceiling.
But an NHL scout who I spoke with pointed out, "What's more impressive, Nick Suzuki's production or Lias Andersson? 19 points in 42 games in the SHL [against men]." Suzuki notched 96 in 65 tilts in the OHL. It's also worth noting that Andersson is just a month older and playing in higher league than Pettersson.
However, the consensus against the 5'11" center's scoring potential is almost universal. Bodin outlined the good and not-so-bad:
Two-way center with some moxie to his game. Andersson is by no means a big player, but he looks bigger than he is on the ice thanks to his attitude and exuberance. He's got a great shot and has shown the ability to produce on the Swedish top-level as he caught fire a few times during his past season with HV71. I don't think he has the high end tools to be a big producer in the NHL, but I can imagine he'll become a pretty productive, versatile third-line center.
The Hockey News echoed this good and not-so-bad:
"His offensive ceiling might not be as high as others', but he'll definitely play and contribute at the NHL level"...
"He's a coach's dream," said another scout.
Andersson is considered a "safe" pick -- and "safe" is not an exciting buzzword during the Draft.
"Odd to see Lias Andersson not getting a lot of respect," observed another NHL scout. "He's also in the same conversation as Suzuki/Rasmussen in terms of a quality all-around game."
Kristian Vesalainen owns neither Liljegren/Pettersson's ceiling or Andersson's reliability. In fact, he's not even Swedish, but the 6'3" Finn winger did suit up for SHL side Frölunda HC last year.
Toni Rajamäki of HockeyProspect.com described Vesalainen as being a "versatile winger with good size, mobility, and puck-handling skills. He protects the puck well and he can be very physical with and without the puck."
Bodin added, "During the U18 WJC, he really put on a show, winning the scoring title and getting the nod as the MVP of the tournament. To me, Vesalainen has a style reminiscent to that of countryman Jesse Puljujärvi, although he doesn't have the same skill-set."
However, Vesalainen had a tough time finding the board with Frölunda, scoring one goal in 26 games.
The Hockey News spoke with a scout who wondered about this:
There is a lot of ability there, and the WJC is not designed for those underaged kids to be successful, but he wasn't scoring in Sweden, he wasn't scoring in Finland and he wasn't scoring at the world juniors, so eventually you do have to raise an eyebrow.
Rajimaki raised more than an eyebrow:
He's not a natural scorer and his shot is average. He misses lot of opportunities, and every now and then, makes wrong choices with puck...
I'm concerned about his game-reading ability...
His hockey sense is average and that's one thing people doesn't talk about. It's not bad and he can definitely play in the NHL, but it's worse than the top players' hockey sense in the Draft...
But in this Draft, who knows? Maybe Vesalainen and Liljegren land in the lottery? Maybe Andersson falls to the back of the first round?
It should be a wild day tomorrow!
***
Thanks to all the insightful scouts and publications who contributed to my 2017 Kings' Draft Preview.
Uffe Bodin,
Justin Froese,
Brock Otten,
Toni Rajamäki, and
Dennis Schellenberg, take a bow!
Also, special thanks to
Sean Shapiro for permitting me to reprint excerpts from his excellent
Wrong Side of the Red Line prospect previews.
***
If there weren't enough news between the Draft,
losing Brayden McNabb to the Vegas Golden Knights, and the revelation of the 2017-18 NHL schedule, LA announced the hiring of Don Nachbaur as an assistant coach. For now,
read Jon Rosen's report. I'll post my thoughts in the coming days.
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