Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign Erik Källgren

[makbeer]

I would still rather have a goalie that gets infront of pucks instead of moving out of the way like Mrazek lol

I'm pretty sure rebound control is one of the easier things for a goalie to work on but maybe I'm wrong.

Rebound control is one of the tougher things and tends to be what separates a starter from a backup. There are a lot of beer leaguers who can make the first save haha.

That said I think people are overblowing the rebounds - I thought he swallowed up a lot of pucks, esp 3-4 off tips he ate up. He was also good at directing pucks out of danger areas.

 

[Leafsfan74]

It’s actually more important that it was a team effort than a pure Kallgren shutout. Shows that with a fresh goalie and mindset they can turn the page, clamp down on a game and protect a goalie.

It confirms that this team CAN play defense if they apply themselves accordingly.

Some of that probably has to do with the necessity since they can't expect to score themselves out of a hole with their top scorer and Hart trophy player on suspension (do they sometimes look to help him keep his Richard Trophy pursuit at the expense of defense?), the fact they have a rookie goalie in his first start and want to protect him, and, the impending deadline.

Keefe should ice the exact same lines on Thursday, choose whichever goalie he wants, and demand his team play with the same two way vigor and defensive focus. It will be a real playoff type test minus their sniper.

 

[janesy12]

There is no reasonable chance to bring in Fleury.

Probably not, but I'm sure they'll check in.

 

[TGB]

Great. Another young goalie with a strong start. How long before this one gets chewed up, I wonder?

It confirms that this team CAN play defense if they apply themselves accordingly.

Which is really annoying because it adds more evidence to the theory that the Leafs just don't care about playing good defense. It's one thing if the players are just undisciplined or getting full of themselves, but willful carelessness...you can't fix that.

 

[kb]

This was one of their poorer D efforts this season, but they got NHL goalie saves.

Amazing when that happens....

 

[authentic]

Rebound control is one of the tougher things and tends to be what separates a starter from a backup. There are a lot of beer leaguers who can make the first save haha.

That said I think people are overblowing the rebounds - I thought he swallowed up a lot of pucks, esp 3-4 off tips he ate up. He was also good at directing pucks out of danger areas.

Fair enough, but in a game like last night it seemed like Dallas was throwing a lot of shots on net to test him rather than looking for a perfect chance which you could argue would lead to more rebounds than usual? I've never watched him outside of the NHL so I don't know if this is a legitimate concern for him.

 

[authentic]

Great. Another young goalie with a strong start. How long before this one gets chewed up, I wonder?


Which is really annoying because it adds more evidence to the theory that the Leafs just don't care about playing good defense. It's one thing if the players are just undisciplined or getting full of themselves, but willful carelessness...you can't fix that.

If Mrazek was in net does that game look like good defense? Probably not except the final 6 minutes.

 

[nuck]

The talking heads have suggested that Fleury doesn't want to come to Toronto.

I recall there was something said about that several days ago but as recently as yesterday Lebrun was saying the Leafs are still potentially interested. In any case it sounds like the ask is kind of high, especially considering MAF is going to give the Hawks a pretty narrow list of options.

 

[yzerman]

Played very strong as i expected him to do.He plays little like a modern version of Tommy Salo very glad to se him doing this well as a swede and a Maple leaf fan.

 

[PROUD PAPA]

This was one of their poorer D efforts this season, but they got NHL goalie saves.

Amazing when that happens....

It was one of the better ones i've seen in awhile.

 

[yzerman]

It was one of the better ones i've seen in awhile.

Little of topic but I think they skated very vell and really solid game,and Maple Leafs have really good player in Sandin like a light version of Rasmus Dahlin i am more worried about Liljegren he compicates things but hope he learns still very young on the back end.

 

[PROUD PAPA]

Little of topic but I think they skated very vell and really solid game,and Maple Leafs have really good player in Sandin like a light version of Rasmus Dahlin i am more worried about Liljegren he compicates things but hope he learns still very young on the back end.

I think it's mainly a confidence thing with Lil. He's had some really poor defensive reads that look horrible both positioning wise and gap control. It seems like he puts too much emphasis on not getting walked that he overcompensates by backing off which results in giving attacking forwards options they shouldn't have. I think he'll be okay eventually i'm just not sure if management has the patience to see it through. The timing of the goaltending woes came at a terrible time for him as some of those errors simply shouldn't have found the back of the net. So instead of lessons being learned without costing us goals against, the ultimate price is paid. That doesn't excuse his mistakes, he has to own them and grow from them but his confidence must have taken some excessive hits that weren't necessary. Offensively he does look more comfortable with the puck which is great to see. My hope is he evolves into a 2-way #4 who can chip in with secondary roles on special teams.

Mods, i will get back on topic now.

 

[Stephen]

It confirms that this team CAN play defense if they apply themselves accordingly.

Some of that probably has to do with the necessity since they can't expect to score themselves out of a hole with their top scorer and Hart trophy player on suspension (do they sometimes look to help him keep his Richard Trophy pursuit at the expense of defense?), the fact they have a rookie goalie in his first start and want to protect him, and, the impending deadline.

Keefe should ice the exact same lines on Thursday, choose whichever goalie he wants, and demand his team play with the same two way vigor and defensive focus. It will be a real playoff type test minus their sniper.

I think we all knew they can play but the deterioration of the goaltending behind them and the fussy puck possession activate the defense game style really eroded the mutual confidence between the team D and G. Not going to put too much pressure on Kallgren but having a new player kind of breathes fresh air into that dynamic.

 

[Stephen]

Totally agree, I think Jack will be our best bet. He played ~55 to 60 solid games before having a rough 20. It's nice to have Kallgren do well, but I just don't know if that can be done consistently yet. I will say his style of tending is what we need. Quiet and positionally sound. He's not an overly mobile goalie, in fact I'd say he's maybe even a below average on the athletic front, but we really don't need him to make those type of saves. We need him to be square to the shooter and track pucks. Both of which he has shown he can do very well in his 4+ periods in the NHL and his entire time with the Marlies. But he's unlikely to steal you games in the same capacity that we have seen with Campbell, or any top NHL goalie for that matter. AT least not yet in his NHL career.


I think it was definitely refreshing to see our guys battle in front of him. The odd shot that ended up getting through you could see Erik tracked exceptionally. The only one I think he got a bit lucky with was the deflection that went straight into his trapper without him moving. I am not sure he saw that one. But that's what strong positioning will do for you. He was a big part in that shutout. But yes I agree, the team played great defensively for him. It's amazing what happens when you let NHL quality goalies see the pucks from distance

Yeah, the goaltending science between positional play and quiet technique really minimizes these fluke bounces hurting a goalie who tracks the puck.

I love beating a dead horse but the way Mrazek plays it’s like he’s taking himself positionally so he can dive back and make a spectacular play.

The Steve Dangle show made a funny point that Mrazek doesn’t square to the puck. He squares to the shooter and locks in on their body positioning which makes him so vulnerable every time there’s a shift in direction. Plus he probably plays with his eyes closed.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Leafs are leading the league is Save percentage now since the Ides of March.

All hail our savio(u)r Kallgren.

 

[Twine Tickler]

Yeah, the goaltending science between positional play and quiet technique really minimizes these fluke bounces hurting a goalie who tracks the puck.

I love beating a dead horse but the way Mrazek plays it’s like he’s taking himself positionally so he can dive back and make a spectacular play.

The Steve Dangle show made a funny point that Mrazek doesn’t square to the puck. He squares to the shooter and locks in on their body positioning which makes him so vulnerable every time there’s a shift in direction. Plus he probably plays with his eyes closed.

Ya I personally just think Mrazek is a terrible fit for our team. He is an athletic goalie that relies way too heavily on his reflexes. He almost intentionally moves himself out of position to bait shooters into playing to his strengths. You'll often see him give away the glove hand or short side because he knows he can get over quick enough.

That's all fine and dandy when there is no traffic. Far too often he overplays shots from distance and it leaves him terribly vulnerable to redirections and second chances. Which just so happens to be our biggest weakness.

Far too busy in the blue paint, not many teams can defend well enough to make him look good. He has an unbelievable skillset, but he just cannot square himself up to save his life. It's too engrained in his head at this point. And in all honesty, I am not even sure it would help him at this point to change styles. Just change scenery

 

[Once]

He really needs to work on his rebounds. A lot of pucks just seemed to bounce or squeeze out of him, and it caused a lot of issues and more chances against. So he definitely got a little lucky, and the Leafs were bound to get a break.

He was really good in traffic and making the routine saves though. Like just having confidence your goaltender can stop a shot from beyond the slot easily was nice for once.

His rebound control and hands aren’t the greatest. I chopped some of his earlier bluffs up to nerves but you could tell it’s a limitation of his as the game progressed.

So far, I like the whole package. I like his mechanics, poise, his positional play, and reflexes.

I don’t know what his top end is but
the basic foundation of his game is already substantially ahead of whatever Mrazek is on.

 

[TorMapleJays]

Was at the game vs Pheonix and he was clearly nervous, made his first save and got a loud ovation. He played very well that game.

Run with it.

Of course Andersen is leading the league in GAA.

 

[TMLeafer]

He stays in the crease, which in itself seems a miraculous feat after what we've seen in recent weeks.

 

[JKG33]

He had a great game that's for sure. But the thing is with new goalies, opposing teams have next to no video on them like they would an NHL goalie.

I hope he keeps it up, but there's a good chance that NHL teams will have him "figured out" after a couple starts. Not to say he'll suddenly regress to an .800 sv%, but I also don't see him coming in as more than a 1B

 

[34]

Hopefully Källgren can be that savior for the Leafs.​

 

[Byron Bitz]

Will he have to go through waivers to be sent down?

 

[saltming]

Will he have to go through waivers to be sent down?

I'm pretty sure no as he was an emergency call up.
Anyone correct me if I'm wrong please

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Why is Kallgren pronounced Shallgren ?

The answer is here.

The peculiar Swedish "k"

Hejsan! I've had a lot going on for the past weeks so haven't managed to finish editing my latest video until now. It's called "The cat who drove the refrigerator into the church" and is about the Swedish letter "k". "K", in Swedish, is a peculiar letter that can be pronounced in (basically) two...

blogs.transparent.com

 

[ZEBROA]

Shellgren (Stockholm) Shallgren(Norrland)