Klefbom was one of the top overall Dmen in the SEL before his injury (not my words, I'm talking the opinions of Swedish fans/media who watched him play on a regular basis). He was so good that he was even surpassing Brodin in TOI during some games in Brodin's last season there. He was also a WJC All star and an absolute beast in Sweden's last 2 games. These are greater accomplishments than anything Marincin achieved pre-NHL.
I think a part of the reason why his offensive numbers looked putrid is because he was placed primarily in a shutdown role in the SEL. He was actually lauded as an offensive defenseman pre-draft so the tools are there. You can see towards the end of last season when he gained confidence that he has a nice offensive skillset. Very nice outlet pass, solid shot and good instincts. He'll never be an offensive stalwart but I could see him putting up some 25 point seasons, maybe a bit more if he gets some PP time eventually.
I just think that he has loads of potential and the only thing that has held him back is injuries. Otherwise, he would have been a fixture on the Oilers blueline by now IMO.
He was solid for sure but hit a bit of a rookie wall towards the end of the season, nothing that greatly separated him from Klefbom by any means. We're talking about a small sample size for both of these guys. Marincin is a bit further ahead currently, it's certainly not a huge gap.
You have the rose coloured glasses of 2 years ago skewing your vision. Two years ago Klefbom was a very highly regarded Draft pick/prospect who had a solid SEL season and an amazing WJ with the sky the limit.
Fast forward to the present and he has had multiple injuries (may be injured right now wasn't able to finish the AHL playoffs) that took a full year of development from him. He has struggled in the AHL to date. In the NHL against weak opposition while on the bottom pairing he was good but when they bumped him up the line up he has some troubles. If you didn't notice him struggling at times in the NHL you weren't watching.
Marincin also struggled a bit towards the end but overall his play was nothing short of outstanding. He was quite visibly our best defenseman and underlying stats support this. Again, if you didn't notice this I am not sure what games you were watching.
Small sample size but Marincin has loads of potential to grow in every conceivable way and is already a bonified top 4 level NHL defenseman. Klefbom right now is a player that struggles in the AHL and had success in a bottom pairing role in the NHL.
Just my personal opinion, so no reason to get crazy, but I think that is a huuuge difference. Marincin (as it stands right now) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Klefbom.
I would say Klefbom still has the potential to be better than Marincin but with the injuries and both thier play to date that seems unlikely. Klefbom has a lot of catching up to do.
Anyone who says Klefbom is better than Marincin is clearly only talking potential and very obviously ignoring what has been proven to date. Thus why some are saying this fan base loves potential.