Recalled/Assigned: Lias Andersson - Part III (Loaned to SHL)

[PuckLuck3043]

Brett Howden is Tanner Glass if Tanner Glass wasn’t slow as shit. He sucks.

At least Brett Howden has 8 goals this year. Glass didn't score 8 goals in his entire career. Howden is a much better player.

 

[NYR Viper]

He played 11:12 in his first game, it counts

His scoring is very nice, underlying metrics not as nice so far, hopefully they improve.

I think what I read was that he was playing mainly on the 4th line with limited minutes in offensive situations. It's not to say it doesn't count, just that being thrown into your first game with little practice on a 4th line may not be a good indicator and something that should be mentioned. Like a pre-season game...

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

At least Brett Howden has 8 goals this year. Glass didn't score 8 goals in his entire career. Howden is a much better player.

And, dare I say it, has been looking better in recent games.

 

[eco's bones]

People really underestimate what it can do to a player to be playing with 4th liners. Look at Brendon Lemieux. Certainly he has his own unique traits, but isn't an offensive creator. Been getting 4th line minutes lately and now he has 1 assist and no goals in the last 14 games.

Lias Andersson was never going to succeed in that same role. Which isn't giving him an excuse for how this whole thing has played out. He needs to own that and he absolutely gave Quinn no reasons to move him up the lineup after the first few games. But people writing off him ever being a valuable NHL player, even if its not going to be as a top 6 center, is very premature.

I like Brendan Lemieux a lot but to me he's like a forward version of Brendan Smith as a defenseman. He tries to do too much on his own and does not play within his limitations very well. I don't how many times he's been stripped of the puck crossing the blueline trying to barge his way through the defense when the only really good option is to dump in and chase. He doesn't always seem to use his linemates very well. It's not unusual for a young player to play like that---eventually he figures it out or he doesn't. My guess is he'll figure it out at least somewhat but that he's destined to be a 3rd line NHL player. That's where his stick skills are anyway.

As far as Andersson--his skating holds him back. Not a good option as a center--his AHL numbers even prior to this year were underwhelming. For a player to be a top 6 NHL forward they actually need to earn it---it's not something you can just hand out to somebody. The Rangers are making both Chytil and Kakko work for it and they are both much better players than Lias Andersson.

 

[Inferno]

He played 11:12 in his first game, it counts

His scoring is very nice, underlying metrics not as nice so far, hopefully they improve.

How do you get underlying metrics from shl games outta curiosity

 

[Ola]

And, dare I say it, has been looking better in recent games.

The last game against Philly is the most physically involved I’ve seen him. I want a lot more of that, but it was definitely a start.

 

[kovazub94]

And, dare I say it, has been looking better in recent games.

He's been, umm, opportunistic.

 

[Ola]

How do you get underlying metrics from shl games outta curiosity

www.shl.se has Corsi and stuff. It was hard to link from the phone, just go to player stats and I think you can find them.

But really, HV71 has been winning a lot lately and he is out there taking all important defensive FOs, protecting leads etc. I think he was like at cf% 45. Don’t say anything to me.

But I recon for some these things will always be the be all tellers...

 

[ManUtdTobbe]

How do you get underlying metrics from shl games outta curiosity

Shot metrics are available on SHL.se

It’s a tiny sample so I don’t put much weight to it yet, hopefully they improve.

 

[Miamipuck]

Then what’s Lias Anderson ?

Who cares?

Howden is awful.

 

[UnSandvich]

And, dare I say it, has been looking better in recent games.

I mean, it'd be hard not to look better, when you consider how terrible he's looked the rest of his career.

 

[n8]

rather get someone who is an better prospect than Poolparty. Poolparty is overrated

And Lias isn't?

 

[Tossed Medal]

Who cares?

Howden is awful.

Nice clear and intercept by howden

 

[Hinterland]

I like Brendan Lemieux a lot but to me he's like a forward version of Brendan Smith as a defenseman. He tries to do too much on his own and does not play within his limitations very well. I don't how many times he's been stripped of the puck crossing the blueline trying to barge his way through the defense when the only really good option is to dump in and chase. He doesn't always seem to use his linemates very well. It's not unusual for a young player to play like that---eventually he figures it out or he doesn't. My guess is he'll figure it out at least somewhat but that he's destined to be a 3rd line NHL player. That's where his stick skills are anyway.

As far as Andersson--his skating holds him back. Not a good option as a center--his AHL numbers even prior to this year were underwhelming. For a player to be a top 6 NHL forward they actually need to earn it---it's not something you can just hand out to somebody. The Rangers are making both Chytil and Kakko work for it and they are both much better players than Lias Andersson.

It's not just skating. AHL games are played on smaller American size ice and the pace isn't close from what we see in the NHL. Still Andersson failed to make it work.

 

[eco's bones]

It's not just skating. AHL games are played on smaller American size ice and the pace isn't close from what we see in the NHL. Still Andersson failed to make it work.

I actually don't disbelieve he had some kind of leg or foot injury issue. His pace in preseason seemed pretty good. It's the one of the reasons he made the team out of camp. It was pretty much downhill after that. Saying that his pretty good was pretty much average or a little less than by NHL standards. Some guys like Stepan can make that work or at least they can for a while if they have excellent hockey IQ.

 

[mas0764]

The rangers couldn’t give LA away at this point , howden has a bigger better frame , skates 10000x better then Anderson and isn’t a pouty entitled quitter .

Christ this guy and his agenda.

 

[Miamipuck]

Nice clear and intercept by howden

What an extraordinarily high bar to maintain for young players you deem successful.

 

[aufheben]

Howden , can Pk , can hit can block shots AND plays with NHL pace . He’s a far superior player then Lias Anderson . All LA has going for him was draft position . Howden is no great prospect but he’s better then LA

And on top of all that, he has his own thread, too!

 

[Fireonk]

I like Brendan Lemieux a lot but to me he's like a forward version of Brendan Smith as a defenseman. He tries to do too much on his own and does not play within his limitations very well. I don't how many times he's been stripped of the puck crossing the blueline trying to barge his way through the defense when the only really good option is to dump in and chase. He doesn't always seem to use his linemates very well. It's not unusual for a young player to play like that---eventually he figures it out or he doesn't. My guess is he'll figure it out at least somewhat but that he's destined to be a 3rd line NHL player. That's where his stick skills are anyway.

As far as Andersson--his skating holds him back. Not a good option as a center--his AHL numbers even prior to this year were underwhelming. For a player to be a top 6 NHL forward they actually need to earn it---it's not something you can just hand out to somebody. The Rangers are making both Chytil and Kakko work for it and they are both much better players than Lias Andersson.

I agree with you about Lemieux. I think he is a perfect example of showing the difference having real linemates makes in how dangerous a player looks who isn't an offensive creator themselves. Not only was Lemieux putting up more points when he was playing with better linemates he was just flat out more noticeable all over the ice. The extra time and space provided by good linemates shouldn't be dismissed.

Now you take a guy like Andersson, who is not a good skater to put it mildly, and you don't get him any time and space. Results are pretty predictable. The significant difference is that Lemieux still gives you just enough that a coach is going to want to experiment putting him up the lineup when someone gets hurt or they need to mix it up a little. Andersson wasn't doing that. Again, that part is absolutely on him, but not surprising that he wasn't able to succeed with the role he was given.

I agree with you on Chytil for sure. Not sure I agree about Kakko. Sure he has gotten benched a few times, but if he wasn't the #2 pick I don't think he would have lasted in the NHL all season based on his performance. Kid absolutely could have used some time in Hartford but he's gotten a pretty free ride, particularly the first half of the season.

 

[NYSPORTS]

I like Brendan Lemieux a lot but to me he's like a forward version of Brendan Smith as a defenseman. He tries to do too much on his own and does not play within his limitations very well.

he might need to skate with better players. Then again, his line mates might say the same about him.

I like the kid. Closing in on 24 years I think he’s the type that helps wear down opponents in the playoffs with his boards play. He’s not his father points wise and might not be as big of an agitator but he’s a tough kid. I think the a Rangers need more like him. Teams like the Bruins love his type.

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

No offense to Lias but we know he can play in the SHL.

If he wasn’t putting up numbers I’d be more surprised

 

[Edge]

No offense to Lias but we know he can play in the SHL.

If he wasn’t putting up numbers I’d be more surprised

But we would probably make sure to include it as a strike against him.

 

[nyr2k2]

I don't know if it would be right to expect him to score at a 9 in 11 pace. For instance, if he had 36 in 44 over a full season, he'd be tenth in the SHL in scoring, and would be the youngest guy in the top ten (with 7 guys being older than 25 and 4 being older than 30). So it would still be an impressive accomplishment.

It's not impressive because all the other things that transpired generally taint our view of him as a player. But the reality is that a 21-year-old forward producing at that clip for a whole season, would be great.

 

[Edge]

I don't know if it would be right to expect him to score at a 9 in 11 pace. For instance, if he had 36 in 44 over a full season, he'd be tenth in the SHL in scoring, and would be the youngest guy in the top ten (with 7 guys being older than 25 and 4 being older than 30). So it would still be an impressive accomplishment.

It's not impressive because all the other things that transpired generally taint our view of him as a player. But the reality is that a 21-year-old forward producing at that clip for a whole season, would be great.

Even before this incident, there was always a sort of hedging with Andersson. And in many cases, I don't think we fully realized that what he was doing, for his age range, was definitely more of the exception than the rule.

Now, after quitting the team, I certainly understand why certain feelings are only going to be magnified. But whether you think Andersson has an NHL future or not, I feel like there's a least room to acknowledge that a lot his resume outside the NHL has been fairly impressive --- especially for a kid who is only now 21 years old. I feel like when we dismiss that, it becomes that "pile on" tendency that we've nurtured over the last several years where we feel compelled to take a valid point and then add some stretches to really "hammer home" a point.

Can Andersson build an NHL career? Remains to be seen. Can he do so with the Rangers? Doubtful, but you never know.

Does he need to make adjustments if he ever wants to stick as an NHL player? Certainly.

Does his ability to make said adjustments diminish what he's accomplished at a young age in other high profile leagues? No, it shouldn't.

 

[Ola]

If Lias was like Philly, NYI, NJD, Bos or Washington property that was being shopped my valuation of him would have improved of what I have seen lately in Sweden, and I hope this is the case with Lias in relation to other organizations now.

@Edge I think that Lias always has had a lot of more or less "latent" skill in terms of vision, understanding of the game, his shot is good and so forth. But I think that always moving up the ranks much faster than his peers resulted in that he wasn't really comfortable in any area, while having ability to improve a lot all over the board. On top of that you have the skating issue that to some extent is what it is and always would have held him back.

I think moving back to Sweden was the right move for him. No matter what potential he has, or hasn't, a young player like him should always improve the fundamentals as much as possible while they are teenagers or young 20s. Lias can certainly improve a lot more or less across the board. He is running the PP for HV71, I think that is big for him. Getting to do it at that level, calm down with the puck more. Skating the puck out of his own end. All those type of plays.

And ultimately, I think the organization having different views than him in this regard is that created the irrepairable loss of trust between the two sides. Like you have a kid that hasn't played junior hockey more or less since he was 16 y/o, after December 31, 2015, when he established himself in the SHL, that following that of course has played in a more limited role and haven't had the opportunity to perfect all those areas of his game that you must be more skilled than the opponents to work on so to speak. Then he is really really fast put in a very limited mold.

Lias is by all accounts mature beyond his age and very smart and well spoken. He was the captain of the Swedish junior teams and so forth. I can see how he could "convince himself" that no matter if I have potential or not, it can't be good for me to specialize to this extent when I am 19-20 y/o.

And I am sure this is not how the organization sees that they treated him. These things are never black or white. But if we like look at his usage last season. He got 2:19 minutes of PP time all season in 42 games, despite that we were tanking and had an extremely thin line-up, everyone saw a ton more PP time than him, except McLeod and Nieves had as much PP time as he did. Howden got 90:19. Its obvious that it was a message to him to forget about developing in all those areas that you only can work on by having the puck in game action.