LD Rasmus Sandin - Rogle BK, SHL (2018, 29th, TOR)

[93LEAFS]

two assists, both wrist shots setting up tips.

 

[AvatarAang]

two assists, both wrist shots setting up tips.

i look forward to all the leaf fans overhyping this kid and all the leaf haters undervaluing him.

 

[Peasy]

Hes so good at getting shots through.

 

[Xirik]

remember, he's getting these points from Louie Domingue

 

[supermann_98]

@M1b3S Sandin already has twice as many assists than a certain 19 year old center with the initials JK who’s played 25 more games than him this year

 

[ponder]

Nice game from the kid! On every viewing I come away very impressed with his hockey IQ, especially offensively, but good defensive hockey IQ too. Obviously has nice hands and a good shot as well.

His main weakness continues to be skating, he’s a below average skater for good size, but I’m hopeful he can improve on that (many young guys do), and it doesn’t hold him back too much.

 

[Pyrophorus]

remember, he's getting these points from Louie Domingue

Not all 4 of them.

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

Big time playa

 

[IceHockeyDude]

What? Another highly skilled Swedish dman. Who would have ever guessed? Good job Sweden!

 

[Randy Randerson]

I thought he looked generally really good last night. A few critiques - he threw the body more than expected but bounced when he did so will need to get heavier and stronger which should come in time. I also thought his straight line skating was exposed a bit when he had that foot race back to his own net, his stride is a little awkward.

generally hard not to like his game though, he looks like he's going to be a good NHL'er and certainly has upside to be an all star

 

[7even]

i look forward to all the leaf fans overhyping this kid and all the leaf haters undervaluing him.

As is tradition

 

[AuraSphere]

His stock has probably risen considerably since the last rankings, he's probably going top 15-20 now? Really wanted him with the leafs pick

I AM THE PROPHET

 

[slimbob8]

I thought he looked generally really good last night. A few critiques - he threw the body more than expected but bounced when he did so will need to get heavier and stronger which should come in time. I also thought his straight line skating was exposed a bit when he had that foot race back to his own net, his stride is a little awkward.

generally hard not to like his game though, he looks like he's going to be a good NHL'er and certainly has upside to be an all star

Agreed about the straight line skating being exposed. I noticed that a couple times as well. I don't think skating will ever be his strong suit like it is with Rielly, but he seems to make very crafty and smart decisions regularly which should hopefully allow him to excel.

 

[Martin Skoula]

Agreed about the straight line skating being exposed. I noticed that a couple times as well. I don't think skating will ever be his strong suit like it is with Rielly, but he seems to make very crafty and smart decisions regularly which should hopefully allow him to excel.

Rather have him skate to the right spot a little slower than skate to the wrong spot really fast.

 

[ponder]

Rather have him skate to the right spot a little slower than skate to the wrong spot really fast.

To be fair, there are a decent number of issues with a slower (straight line) dman:

• Can’t get back as quickly when they pinch
• Lose races to the puck
• Can’t pull away from guys when carrying the puck on breakouts
• Can get beaten more easily when defending moves like driving wide

Sandin has really good edges/agility, but his straight line speed is poor, especially for his size. I’ve seen a good number of his games across the Marlies, Leafs and team Sweden, and have seen him encounter all of the above issues at times. I still really like him as a prospect, so many positives with his hockey IQ, puck handling and shot, but I hope skating (specifically straight line speed and acceleration) is something he’s working on a lot, it’s his main weakness IMO, and also something that lots of guys improve significantly.

 

[Martin Skoula]

To be fair, there are a decent number of issues with a slower (straight line) dman:

• Can’t get back as quickly when they pinch
• Lose races to the puck
• Can’t pull away from guys when carrying the puck on breakouts
• Can get beaten more easily when defending moves like driving wide

Sandin has really good edges/agility, but his straight line speed is poor, especially for his size. I’ve seen a good number of his games across the Marlies, Leafs and team Sweden, and have seen him encounter all of the above issues at times. I still really like him as a prospect, so many positives with his hockey IQ, puck handling and shot, but I hope skating (specifically straight line speed and acceleration) is something he’s working on a lot, it’s his main weakness IMO, and also something that lots of guys improve significantly.

I'm hoping it gets better of course, but his brain has me optimistic that even if he never gets fast, he'll know what his limits are and adjust his game around them.

Having said that, I expect it to get a lot better. His mechanics are solid, just looks like an issue of explosiveness which is a fairly linear solution in the weight room.

 

[Randy Randerson]

Agreed about the straight line skating being exposed. I noticed that a couple times as well. I don't think skating will ever be his strong suit like it is with Rielly, but he seems to make very crafty and smart decisions regularly which should hopefully allow him to excel.

agree, I think there's lots of smaller guys who aren't extremely fast that make it work if they're smart enough, and I think he is. Rielly tends to be able to enter the offensive zone and beat defenders wide to start the cycle, and maybe that's never Sandin's strong suit but there's more than one way to skin a cat

To be fair, there are a decent number of issues with a slower (straight line) dman:

• Can’t get back as quickly when they pinch
• Lose races to the puck
• Can’t pull away from guys when carrying the puck on breakouts
• Can get beaten more easily when defending moves like driving wide

Sandin has really good edges/agility, but his straight line speed is poor, especially for his size. I’ve seen a good number of his games across the Marlies, Leafs and team Sweden, and have seen him encounter all of the above issues at times. I still really like him as a prospect, so many positives with his hockey IQ, puck handling and shot, but I hope skating (specifically straight line speed and acceleration) is something he’s working on a lot, it’s his main weakness IMO, and also something that lots of guys improve significantly.

I think all of those except the straight line races to the puck over large distances can be counteracted by high IQ too, which it seems like he has: abandon ill advised pinches more often/anticipate needing to hit the gas more quickly and doing it earlier so there's less space to cover by the time its critical, get defenders moving in the wrong direction so they take more time to recover and get in lanes on breakouts (he's really good at looking guys off, sort of Marnery in that respect), better anticipate the wide drive to be in position/active stick to counter the cutback. I'm optimistic on him even if the skating never gets "fixed", but also think that he will see a lot of improvement in that regard because of the organizational success at improving skating

even with that issue I could see him being a Ryan Ellis level player... Pobody's Nerfect

 

[LeafsNation75]

 

[Mickey Marner]

His skating doesn't worry me. Straight line speed isn't as important as lateral movement is for defensemen. As long as he can close gaps and strafe the blue line, he should be fine.

 

[ponder]

I'm hoping it gets better of course, but his brain has me optimistic that even if he never gets fast, he'll know what his limits are and adjust his game around them.

Having said that, I expect it to get a lot better. His mechanics are solid, just looks like an issue of explosiveness which is a fairly linear solution in the weight room.

When I look at his stride, I actually think it IS mechanics. Fast guys get a deep knee bend, great extension out to the side on every stride, all the way through the little toe kick at the end, then really quick recovery for another stride. Sandin’s seem to cancel early, he’s not getting those long, powerful strides where you gain so much speed, and he often sort of pushes back instead of to the side. His stride looks kind of awkward, quite unlike the textbook powerskating stride most NHLers have. Still very fixable though.

I do agree that he’s a good player regardless, but improved speed would take him to the next level.

I think all of those except the straight line races to the puck over large distances can be counteracted by high IQ too, which it seems like he has: abandon ill advised pinches more often/anticipate needing to hit the gas more quickly and doing it earlier so there's less space to cover by the time its critical, get defenders moving in the wrong direction so they take more time to recover and get in lanes on breakouts (he's really good at looking guys off, sort of Marnery in that respect), better anticipate the wide drive to be in position/active stick to counter the cutback. I'm optimistic on him even if the skating never gets "fixed", but also think that he will see a lot of improvement in that regard because of the organizational success at improving skating

even with that issue I could see him being a Ryan Ellis level player... Pobody's Nerfect

Yeah agreed, he’s very smart and that can mitigate a lot of skating issues. I can see him being Ellis-like too, even if his skating doesn’t improve. But if he can become a plus skater, with that brain and skill set ... watch out!

 

[93LEAFS]

He needs to get more explosive, especially with how aggressive we ask our defencemen to play in Keefe's system. But, he's 19 and getting more explosive is part refining mechanics, and part adding more lower-body and core-strength. At his size, it will be tough to win puck battles in open-ice against bigger stronger guys without improved speed, as he can't out muscle them. He's a great prospect. We got him at 29th Overall, in 18 months since the draft we can't expect him to have a fault or two. Thankfully, skating is one of the easier things to improve. He has the potential to be top-pairing, and looks like a likely top 4 defender. Considering how picks in the 20's work out, I'll be happy even if he becomes just a reliable middle-pairing guy, but given what he's already shown, I'm obviously optimistic and hoping for a bit more.

 

[Randy Randerson]

Yeah agreed, he’s very smart and that can mitigate a lot of skating issues. I can see him being Ellis-like too, even if his skating doesn’t improve. But if he can become a plus skater, with that brain and skill set ... watch out!

It feels like he needs to break down his form and learn to skate again if he's going to get to being a plus skater, that might be a tall order. Even without it though, theres some really good defensemen who are smaller and not that fast in a straight line. If he turns into a spurgeon/ellis/krug level player that's a really good get

 

[ponder]

It feels like he needs to break down his form and learn to skate again if he's going to get to being a plus skater, that might be a tall order. Even without it though, theres some really good defensemen who are smaller and not that fast in a straight line. If he turns into a spurgeon/ellis/krug level player that's a really good get

Agreed with all of that, BUT skating really is one of those things where you can get so much more power with the right coaching/commitment. The Leafs also have a tremendous skating coach in Barb Underhill. For example, Matthews and Engvall were both good skaters pre-Barb, but they’ve taken it to the next level working with her. Gauthier is the poster child though. He was very slow before he started working with Barb, now I’d say he’s a plus skater, especially for his size. He’s improved tremendously. Skating is a very fixable issue, if Sandin is willing to put the work in I wouldn’t be surprised to see his stride transform over the coming years.

 

[Randy Randerson]

Agreed with all of that, BUT skating really is one of those things where you can get so much more power with the right coaching/commitment. The Leafs also have a tremendous skating coach in Barb Underhill. For example, Matthews and Engvall were both good skaters pre-Barb, but they’ve taken it to the next level working with her. Gauthier is the poster child though. He was very slow before he started working with Barb, now I’d say he’s a plus skater, especially for his size. He’s improved tremendously. Skating is a very fixable issue, if Sandin is willing to put the work in I wouldn’t be surprised to see his stride transform over the coming years.

I agree that if he's going to fix it, the leafs are about as well equipped to help him as any team.

I think those examples all had good skating form when they got to the organization though, Sandin will have to break his down and start again to really get to a plus level

 

[93LEAFS]

Agreed with all of that, BUT skating really is one of those things where you can get so much more power with the right coaching/commitment. The Leafs also have a tremendous skating coach in Barb Underhill. For example, Matthews and Engvall were both good skaters pre-Barb, but they’ve taken it to the next level working with her. Gauthier is the poster child though. He was very slow before he started working with Barb, now I’d say he’s a plus skater, especially for his size. He’s improved tremendously. Skating is a very fixable issue, if Sandin is willing to put the work in I wouldn’t be surprised to see his stride transform over the coming years.

While I think he can improve his skating, I do think about the guys you listed one common trait they have should be noted. They are all tall guys. In general, taller guys tend to have less core-strength in their late teens than smaller guys (not sure it applies to someone like Matthews who was very filled out), which generally gives them a larger area to improve.