Celebrini71
Registered User
- Oct 31, 2023
- 52
- 14
Him and Ustinkov have been excellent for the Swiss although Muggli likely gets at least one game for his hit from behindBeen impressed all tournament with his game.
Been impressed all tournament with his game.
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 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...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 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.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
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 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.He should be getting more attention