Prospect Info: Marlies/Prospects Thread - 2021/22 PART III

[Thornbury]

Does he have that kind of defensive acumen?

Based on what I have seen, certainly not yet, but he does seem to have a solid all round game. That's why I think another season with the Marlies will be needed to hone his defensive game and get stronger.

 

[TML1967]

Based on what I have seen, certainly not yet, but he does seem to have a solid all round game. That's why I think another season with the Marlies will be needed to hone his defensive game and get stronger.

He is a better skater than Muzzin was at his peak, but I think people do a disservice to how good Muzzin was in his peak. I dont think he will ever be the physical beast Muzzin was during his time in LA or his first year here.

 

[stickty111]

Tied last year's point total now in 12 less games

 

[stickty111]

Moore praised Robertson post game. Para phrasing but said he was great. He didn't look like someone who was comimg off a serious injury.

Robertson said physically he felt good, said mentally doesn't feel he is there yet. Still looking to process everything.

 

[IceColdBear]

Will Amirov, Niemela, Hirvonen and Kokkonen all be joining the marlies next year?

Could be a fun young team next season.

 

[kerk]

Will Amirov, Niemela, Hirvonen and Kokkonen all be joining the marlies next year?

Could be a fun young team next season.

of those 4, i imagine hirvonen and kokkonen would be the most likely, but i could see also hirvonen staying in finland for another season. kokkonen i think will definitely be here though.

with niemela and amirov, if they don't make the leafs, they head back to europe.

 

[SprDaVE]

Will Amirov, Niemela, Hirvonen and Kokkonen all be joining the marlies next year?

Could be a fun young team next season.

Amirov is signed to an ELC but has an outclause for next season if he's placed in the AHL. Very Unlikely.

Niemela doesn't have an ELC yet and he has a contract with Karpat for next season I believe. He will likely have the same conditions as Amirov when he signs his ELC. Unlikely.

Hirvonen isn't signed yet but will probably be signed soon. It's possible he joins when he does. Kokkonen and Holmgren should be on the Marlies next season unless I missed something.

Rindell is also a possibility. We lose his rights if we don't sign him by June 1st 2022 though so we'll see what happens there.

 

[mistaclick]

Niemela has a one year extension in Kärpät, so he'll either be ready for third-pairing minutes with the big bois or he's going back to Liiga. Amirov is also exempt from playing for the Marlies and will be loaned back to the KHL (no chance he's NHL ready next year).

I think Hirvonen could transition to a top-9 role on the Marlies next year. I am unsure of Kokkonen and Rindell, however from the limited play I've seen from them, I'd say Rindell is the better choice for an ELC.

I honestly wish Niemela could come to North America next season for Top2 mins on Marlies or bottom pairing on Leafs. I've watched maybe 12-15 of Kärpät's games, I love this kid's game and his style too. Get him over here and into the weight room with Dicky.

 

[kerk]

Niemela has a one year extension in Kärpät, so he'll either be ready for third-pairing minutes with the big bois or he's going back to Liiga. Amirov is also exempt from playing for the Marlies and will be loaned back to the KHL (no chance he's NHL ready next year).

I think Hirvonen could transition to a top-9 role on the Marlies next year. I am unsure of Kokkonen and Rindell, however from the limited play I've seen from them, I'd say Rindell is the better choice for an ELC.

I honestly wish Niemela could come to North America next season for Top2 mins on Marlies or bottom pairing on Leafs. I've watched maybe 12-15 of Kärpät's games, I love this kid's game and his style too. Get him over here and into the weight room with Dicky.

kokkonen had 7 points in 11 games with the marlies on a PTO last year i can't imagine a world where he doesn't get an ELC and rindell does.

 

[Morgs]

kokkonen had 7 points in 11 games with the marlies on a PTO last year i can't imagine a world where he doesn't get an ELC and rindell does.

Yep. I'd just let Rindell's clock run out at this point or trade his rights if any other team is slightly interested. The offense just isnt close to good enough to justify how bad the defense is. Kokkonen is a lock for minutes on the Marlies next season.

 

[mistaclick]

kokkonen had 7 points in 11 games with the marlies on a PTO last year i can't imagine a world where he doesn't get an ELC and rindell does.

Fair enough, he may. Other then just numbers, though, I have had the opportunity to watch some of the Pelicans game(s), and I didn't see much from Kokkonen that made him stand out, compared to his competition/teammates. Especially when I watched Karpat play against the Pelicans so I could see all 3 Leafs D prospects on one sheet. He was rather quiet and ineffective, but who knows that could just be a small/inaccurate sample. Nevertheless, both Rindell and Kokkonen will probably only get a couple years in North America before heading back to Finland, unless they boom.

 

[kerk]

Yep. I'd just let Rindell's clock run out at this point or trade his rights if any other team is slightly interested. The offense just isnt close to good enough to justify how bad the defense is. Kokkonen is a lock for minutes on the Marlies next season.

i think it's worth PTOing him at the end of his season to see if there's anything there, similar to what the leafs have done in the past. i remember ryan mcgregor getting into a few marlies games before we let his rights expire.

might help to have him, niemela and kokkonen all come over to end the year just to give them a little finnish posse lol. rindell has played with both of them at this point.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Kokkonen signed for another year in the Liiga remember, so he won't be coming over next year.

Seems like all of the Finns (Hirvonen, Kokkonen, Niemela) could be coming over at the same time.

I think Rindell and Loponen are done. Skating and defensive game were not good enough for them to excel at the top level.

 

[IceColdBear]

Amirov is signed to an ELC but has an outclause for next season if he's placed in the AHL. Very Unlikely.

Niemela doesn't have an ELC yet and he has a contract with Karpat for next season I believe. He will likely have the same conditions as Amirov when he signs his ELC. Unlikely.

Hirvonen isn't signed yet but will probably be signed soon. It's possible he joins when he does. Kokkonen and Holmgren should be on the Marlies next season unless I missed something.

Rindell is also a possibility. We lose his rights if we don't sign him by June 1st 2022 though so we'll see what happens there.

If I'm Amirov, I'd rather play top line in the AHL than get no minutes in the KHL.

If he's going to actually play in the KHL, it would make some sense for him to stay home, but it's got to be frustruating not getting a chance to play.

I'm not sure how much $ he'd make in Russia vs his ELC in the AHL, though, which could be a factor in his decision.

 

[Fogelhund]

If I'm Amirov, I'd rather play top line in the AHL than get no minutes in the KHL.

If he's going to actually play in the KHL, it would make some sense for him to stay home, but it's got to be frustruating not getting a chance to play.

I'm not sure how much $ he'd make in Russia vs his ELC in the AHL, though, which could be a factor in his decision.

His teams entire salary cap is allegedly $12.8 million. He can't be making that much over there.

https://fullpresshockey.com/2021/10/25/khl-team-salary-payroll-revealed/

 

[aingefan]

Kokkonen signed for another year in the Liiga remember, so he won't be coming over next year.

Seems like all of the Finns (Hirvonen, Kokkonen, Niemela) could be coming over at the same time.

I think Rindell and Loponen are done. Skating and defensive game were not good enough for them to excel at the top level.

What’s your take on Rindell/Loponen being high quality AHL’ers?

 

[LeafChief]

I haven't watched much of Rindell but I wonder if it would make sense to try to convert him to a forward considering his offensive skills seem to be quite good.

Probably not worth the hassle and it's not something that usually leads to success but a fun thought nevertheless.

 

[67Cup]

A team that converted Red Kelly, Wendel Clark, Gary Leeman and, to a less successful degree, Nathan Dempsey, from D to F, should at least consider that transition more often.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I haven't watched much of Rindell but I wonder if it would make sense to try to convert him to a forward considering his offensive skills seem to be quite good.

Probably not worth the hassle and it's not something that usually leads to success but a fun thought nevertheless.

He has played forward in the Liiga. That is part of the reason he put up as many points as he did in his D+2. The problem is he doesn't have enough of an offensive game to make it as a forward. His skating is not good enough, and he doesn't have any elite offensive skills.

The thing with guys like Rindell and Loponen that should be considered is that their defensive IQ was below average when we drafted them, and given their overall skill set was far too average in a frame that is below average for a defenseman, there is nothing really to like about them in terms of drafting them. I thought maybe Loponen could have developed a little bit, but he did not.

There are also far too many talented forwards these days for the Leafs to be able to pull a position switch like that at this point. The latest you can do it with any kind of reasonable success is probably when they are 14 or 15 years old... Not when they are almost 22.

It's not a big deal... The only good guys who were drafted after Loponen were Wolf (if you like very undersized goalies) and Rizzo (who was the one guy I actually wanted at that pick, and he is now a PPG+ freshman at Denver) unless you want to count some OAers who went fairly high in the 2020 draft. Instead of Rindell I would have taken McClennon, Seeley, Magnusson, Bowen, Fontaine, Pashin, Bjorklund, Duran, Ollas, Schingoethe/Miller (both were taken by us later), or Tverberg (instead of trading a 7th to get him)... But some of those guys have not really worked out any better than Rindell (or Fusco, who was also taken before some of them), and once again you could have gone for an undersized goalie like Levi.

 

[FreeBird]

Will Amirov, Niemela, Hirvonen and Kokkonen all be joining the marlies next year?

Could be a fun young team next season.

maybe this year as their season is over before the Marlies

 

[diehardleafsfan9878]

Fair enough, he may. Other then just numbers, though, I have had the opportunity to watch some of the Pelicans game(s), and I didn't see much from Kokkonen that made him stand out, compared to his competition/teammates. Especially when I watched Karpat play against the Pelicans so I could see all 3 Leafs D prospects on one sheet. He was rather quiet and ineffective, but who knows that could just be a small/inaccurate sample. Nevertheless, both Rindell and Kokkonen will probably only get a couple years in North America before heading back to Finland, unless they boom.

Quiet is exactly the type of game Kokkonen plays. He's a quick puck mover from the defensive end. Gets the puck out quickly and efficiently, usually by passing it up, and not dumping it out. His defensive awareness, especially on the pk is incredible. I wish I could find some of the work he did on the pk at the last world juniors. He knew exactly where to have his stick, and when to move it to a different passing lane at the perfect time.

 

[Twine Tickler]

His teams entire salary cap is allegedly $12.8 million. He can't be making that much over there.

KHL Team Salary Payroll Revealed

I mean that likely doesn't include the duffle bags full of under the table cash...

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[Stephen]

Moore praised Robertson post game. Para phrasing but said he was great. He didn't look like someone who was comimg off a serious injury.

Robertson said physically he felt good, said mentally doesn't feel he is there yet. Still looking to process everything.

Heard on Real Kyper he skated fast, got smoked with a big hit in his return... rinse and repeat. Is that a fair assessment?

 

[stickty111]

2 of the key players driving the Marlies early success aside from the obvious ones have been Kral and Abramov.

Kral started with 2 points in 17 games. Since then, he has 15 points in 16 games.
Abramov started with 5 points in 18 games. since then, he has 14 points in 17 games.

What Kral has done is amazing and he has been good all year. Abramov started slowly likely just adjusting to the pro game, and has been one of the better Marlies since. He probably deserved to have more then just 5 points in the first stretch, but at least the production is coming on now. It's even more impressive considering Moore moves him around the lineup a lot. He was put in a 1C role later kind of out of necissity, and he did really well in that role.