D Leon Muggli - EV Zug, NL(A) (2024, 52nd, WSH)

[Celebrini71]

What's a good Comp?

 

[Antiillafire]

Been impressed all tournament with his game.

 

[LeProspector]

Been impressed all tournament with his game.

Him and Ustinkov have been excellent for the Swiss although Muggli likely gets at least one game for his hit from behind

 

[Hinterland]

Been impressed all tournament with his game.

I actually don't think he had a good tournament. Too many giveaways and he was the lone responsible for at least two goals against. On the one play he was too soft and passive, then scored an own goal vs the US as well. Now today that stupid boarding vs Norway. Ustinkov has been far better than Muggli in this WJC20.

 

[Speyer]

He had some nice individual plays but I agree that he hasnt even remotely been playing up to his potential. Especially defensively he isnt usually this prone to mistakes and the boarding was uncharacteristic too. Maybe he just wanted to do to much because of the scouts, I don't know.

I dont think Ustinkov has been that good either though. I definitely expected him to drive the play more from the back end. Aside from a couple secondary/pp assists today he hasnt exactly generated much offense yet.

 

[Hinterland]

He had some nice individual plays but I agree that he hasnt even remotely been playing up to his potential. Especially defensively he isnt usually this prone to mistakes and the boarding was uncharacteristic too. Maybe he just wanted to do to much because of the scouts, I don't know.

I dont think Ustinkov has been that good either though. I definitely expected him to drive the play more from the back end. Aside from a couple secondary/pp assists today he hasnt exactly generated much offense yet.

I think Ustinkov has been really good. Can't expect much more from a double underager defenseman. He's been rocksolid against the puck and didn't have any horrible giveaways either. Nothing too crazy offensively but lots if good breakout passes and clean zone exits. Very calm with the puck, sometimes beating opponents with speed or moves when given a chance. I think he's been one of the better Swiss defensemen.

 

[Speyer]

I think Ustinkov has been really good. Can't expect much more from a double underager defenseman. He's been rocksolid against the puck and didn't have any horrible giveaways either. Nothing too crazy offensively but lots if good breakout passes and clean zone exits. Very calm with the puck, sometimes beating opponents with speed or moves when given a chance. I think he's been one of the better Swiss defensemen.

I guess it all comes down to expectations. He was certainly solid defensively but I don't think he has raised his draft stock much. I personally hoped he could do more offensively. I haven't really seen many plays where he created something in that regard with his speed or his hands...

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

Best PPG Def U18 in NLA history (or almost).

Hansruedi Tanner 0.33 (1966-67) 7 points in 21 games
Leon Muggli 0.32 (2023-24) 11 points in 34 games
Roman Josi 0.23 (2007-08) 8 points in 35 games

And he is a very effective defender on defense. At the U20 tournament, he was used in a stabilizing role next to Dionicio

 

[Speyer]

Best PPG Def U18 in NLA history (or almost).

Hansruedi Tanner 0.33 (1966-67) 7 points in 21 games
Leon Muggli 0.32 (2023-24) 11 points in 34 games
Roman Josi 0.23 (2007-08) 8 points in 35 games

And he is a very effective defender on defense. At the U20 tournament, he was used in a stabilizing role next to Dionicio

I have written a lot in this thread about his defensive qualities. But i am really surprised about his offensive contribution this season. And I am not just talking about points. I watched the game vs. the Lakers the other day and Zug was trailing in the third. Muggli was relied heavily upon in this stretch and initiated a lot of attacks with smart outlet passes and zone entries. His wrist shot is also already a pretty effective tool on a pro level. Its not super hard but it leaves his stick in a hurry and is somewhat deceptive. I think all of his goals came of wrist shots from pretty far out and also some of his assists came from rebounds of such shots.

 

[Hinterland]

Best PPG Def U18 in NLA history (or almost).

Hansruedi Tanner 0.33 (1966-67) 7 points in 21 games
Leon Muggli 0.32 (2023-24) 11 points in 34 games
Roman Josi 0.23 (2007-08) 8 points in 35 games

And he is a very effective defender on defense. At the U20 tournament, he was used in a stabilizing role next to Dionicio

I think you're confusing Muggli with Terraneo who was Dionicio's partner at the WJC20. Terraneo played a fantastic tournament. Muggli did not. I understand that he was a double underager but he was clearly outplayed by Ustinkov who is even a few days younger and has less NL experience. I honestly don't know why Coaches continued to play Muggli. He created no offense at all, he was soft against the puck, especially boxing out in tight which led to lots of preventable quality chances and even goals against. The only time he actually did something physical was on the extremely dumb hit he should have gotten a longer suspension for.

He played exactly one good game which was the most important one, the knockout game vs Sweden. Other than that I found him to be underwhelming considering his NL experience.

His NL play is very good though. There's no doubt about that. The Zug defense may be the toughest to crack leaguewide. He wouldn't be playing if he wasn't for real.

 

[Hinterland]

Muggli has his first NL playoff goal. Now at least 50% of this goal belong to Marc Michaelis who used Corban Knight to provide a double screen but it was still a nice walk on the blueline and good awareness by Muggli realizing the opportunity and a good job by him to get the puck on net through the attempted blocks.

Had himself a pretty good regular season as well. Very solid and reliable against the puck. Scoring not quite comparable to Reinbacher's draft season but Muggli scored 4 points more than Josi back in the days. Note that the NL is a much better league now than it was in 2008. 12 points despite averaging just 12:50 and without playing PP is very good for a two way defenseman.


offtopic question: is search ever gonna work again? or is there a way to make it work? whatever I try to search for and however I try to make it work, ever since the migration, search always returning empty for me...which is slightly annoying and makes it almost impossible to bump a thread. That one was on page 13 or so of the prospects board and it took me ages to find it.

 

[Kuracmugger]

He‘s ranked as number 11 on the nhl central scouting skaters list. He‘s underrated in my opinion. Could be a late 1st early secound round pick a player this young in the swiss NL with scoring numbers and ice time like that should have more popularity.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

I have him in the late 1st/early 2nd range right now. Trying to figure out my top 100, need to watch more film.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

He should be getting more attention

 

[Speyer]

He should be getting more attention

I think what's holding him back a bit is his international play this season. He had a very impressive U18's last year and was therefore expected to have a dominant performance (for swiss standards) this year. He couldn't quite live up to that promise though. He didn't really stand out at the WJC either. Had a very good quarter finals game where Switzerland almost knocked out Sweden. But in the other games there were deifinitely some defensive mishaps from him that are somewhat uncharacteristic for his game. He seemed somewhat overmotivated and nervous. That resulted eventually in a game misconduct penalty and a him being suspended for two games.

His play in the NLA was very mature and solid this season though. Not completely mistake free but that cant really expected from any 17 year old prospect. Overall he certainly wasn't a liability in his own end. He also improved his offensive game a lot this season. While his shot seemed a big liability last season it was a good enough tool for him to beat NL goaltenders every now and then this year. Particularly his wrist shot is not bad at all at this point and allowed him to collect some assists that resulted from rebounds of his shots too. He still needs to improve his one timer from the blueline however. Muggli can also join the rush or the cycle due to his good skating and passing skills. Hard to say if his offense can translate to the NHL level in any meaningful way. But I don't really see him as a purely defensive dman as some scouts have him pegged. Mainly because he had a strong upwards trajectory in that area this season and might improve further in the next few years.

I think its hard to say where he will fall in the draft. Most draft lists seem to have him between rounds two and four. I don't think it would be crazy to pick him in the second though. There were not many dmen this year that held their own in a pro league like Muggli did. He might not have the highest upside among secound round prospects but I think its already a success if you can get a fulltime NHL player in that draft range. And that is certainly a role that Muggli could fill out in the future if he continues to develop well.

 

[Hinterland]

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Says he interviewed with 23 NHL teams at the combine.

 

[UpsideHockey]

Leon Muggli UPSIDE 2024 NHL Draft Prospect Profile​

bit.ly/LeonMuggli

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Late 20s early 30s. But because we're talking about the NHL, probably goes in the 40s

 

[MMC]

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