Leo Carlsson since Feb: 21gp 10g 23p +13

WhiskeyYerTheDevils

yer leadin me astray
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Apr 27, 2005
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Shakopee, MN
After a slow start, he's been on an absolute heater. He leads all 2023 drafted players in scoring since February.
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Kid doesn't get enough recognition. He is going to be an absolute 200 ft monster when he hits his prime.
 
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After a slow start, he's been on an absolute heater. He leads all 2023 drafted players in scoring since February.
View attachment 1001762
Kid doesn't get enough recognition. He is going to be an absolute 200 ft monster when he hits his prime.

Funny thing is the eye test still suggests there's a lot more there. He still has that young player inconsistency where he doesn't do much for stretches. If he can get over that he's gonna be a beast.

Side note what the hell is going on with Bedard in that stretch? Ouch.
 
Greg Cronin and company are doing great work shaping the youth in Anaheim. Almost as great as his conversation with Keith Yandle years ago when he was being recruited by colleges.
 
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After a slow start, he's been on an absolute heater. He leads all 2023 drafted players in scoring since February.
View attachment 1001762
Kid doesn't get enough recognition. He is going to be an absolute 200 ft monster when he hits his prime.

I said i would take him over Bedard pre-draft. People laughed at me.

His progression has been slower but he’s doing it the right way.
 
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maybe we are all wrong and this has been his process and it will pay off in the end, but sure feels like it’s despite him.
I think you have to thank the New York Islanders for all of this. Brent Thompson and Greg Cronin are former Isles coaches. As a thank you, we will send you Scott Mayfield and Pierre Engvall for free. All that’s asked is that Jacob Trouba needs to miss one of his targets and accidentally collide with the official who overturned Kyle Palmieri’s goal the other game.
 
The thing I keep bringing up is he has room to be so much better as a player. His story this season is kind of wild in its own way.

At the start of the season he looked energized and confident and, in promising fashion, it looked like he cleaned up the one lingering aspect of his skating that was holding him back which was his first 4 steps acceleration. Carlsson was fast last year but he was lacking the ability to get into that speed from his first steps. At this point, any pre-draft knock that Fantilli was a fast skater while Leo was slower is pure buffoonery. Leo is in the 97th percentile for top skating speed leaguewide while Fantilli is in the 96th percentile (granted, Fantilli is in the 98th percentile for total speed bursts over 20mph while Leo is 87th). His early production was fair with 6 points in 10 games.

As the season unfolded, and the Ducks' offensive struggles really started to hold firm, Leo was struggling a lot. I think there's a number of factors that might have affected it between lack of linemate chemistry, Cronin and Co.'s failures at coaching offense properly, Cronin likely trying to force Leo to play an offensive style that didn't suit him, but certainly what was visible to anyone watching was Leo was becoming increasingly frustrated and unfocused. Trying to be a body language expert is something of a fool's game, I know, but it looked to me like he was exasperated with himself that we wasn't farther along and he was playing like he was unhappy overall and entirely lacking in confidence. This led to a lot of unfocused mistakes and really poor production. In December he had 1 point in 10 games. January 4 points in 15 games.

Like @WhiskeyYerTheDevils pointed out, his offense has exploded since getting the opportunity to practice and play with Team Sweden. But what strikes me is there are still elements of his game that can greatly improve. During his offensive struggles, his defense has improved tremendously, and I'll credit the Ducks for that but there's still plenty of rookie inexperience limiting his chance creation and his ability to be a play driver as a 1c. His execution on chances and confidence is back and better than ever but I truly believe he has multiple levels of excellence he still has to reach. He has the talent, vision, and smarts for it but it strikes me that he's still adapting to the NHL's pace of play and physical demands. When he starts growing more muscle mass and adding strength, I think he's going to be an absolute beast of a player. Really looking forward to seeing where his development goes next year.
 
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Fantili and Carlsson are both going to be fantastic hockey players for a long long time

That has been obvious since before the draft

I was a tad worried about Leo earlier on in the year but that looks silly now. Skill is off the charts and he’s a very responsible player too
 
It’s nice to see a couple of young Ducks players getting talked about. McTavish is another one who should be getting recognition.
 
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Fantili and Carlsson are both going to be fantastic hockey players for a long long time

That has been obvious since before the draft

I was a tad worried about Leo earlier on in the year but that looks silly now. Skill is off the charts and he’s a very responsible player too

Can't teach size which both have with plenty of skill. Just took a bit longer to adapt. Both players offer so much more than just flashy offense and points.
 
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