
Timothy Liljegren #3
Much hyped when the Toronto Maple Leafs drafted him, Timothy Liljegren has seen his stock go up and down like a yoyo in his time as a Leafs prospect.
First, he was the can’t-miss second-coming who only fell in the draft due to mono, and then he was a bust, and then he was definitely going to make it, and then he had a so-so NHL debut, which made him a bust again.
The truth is, that Liljegren is still a great prospect with high-end NHL potential. He wasn’t even that bad in his NHL debut, but if you don’t hit and you don’t score, it doesn’t really matter what else you do, because if you are on the ice when goals go in you will take the blame.
The truth is that Liljegren did not come by his 11 game audition naturally. The Leafs had multiple injuries and were forced into using players who otherwise wouldn’t be playing, or at least, not in the roles they had.
For example, in his NHL debut, Liljegren dressed with Dermott, Holl, Ceci, Barrie and Marincin – how can anyone expect a rookie to perform when the team is missing their top two defensemen? Liljegren played in games the Leafs mostly lost, and he only ever got more than ten minutes and change once. He was under eight minutes twice. From Corey Pronman in the Athletic
"He shows great poise and vision from the defensive zone on exits and can make plays from the offensive blue line. He’s a very skilled player who can beat checks one-on-one. He’s a good skater, more elusive with good edgework than fast, but with his feet and hands he’s able to maintain possession well. Defensively he’s taken big steps, becoming a reliable defender at the pro level in how he kills plays and can be trusted by coaches to play a significant role."
To me, that kind of glowing review has a lot more impact than 11 games used as an afterthought in an emergency situation. He isn’t physical and he isn’t going to score a ton, but I think he will one day be a great top-four player, and potentially could even be a top line guy.
It’s funny, everyone always preaches patience with prospects, but whenever a team actually does show patience, fans write the player off and say “well if he was any good, he’d be here by now.”
By all accounts he’s one of the best players in the AHL, and though the Leafs blueline is crowded, expect Timothy Liljegren to push everyone and make the Leafs that much better and deeper. It’s not impossible that he steal someone’s job this year, and it’s probable that he does eventually.