Prospect Info: Tom Willander: 11th Overall 2023 Draft (Rogle BK J20) - Part 02

[Breakers]

Typical for McCarthy and Hutson to change in the offensive zone without possession

Give me a break

 

[Nick Lang]

BU lost 2-1 in OT and eliminated from the Frozen Four tourny. Willander was a -2 and his season is officially over

Brutal giveaway by Hutson on the first tying goal:



Bad change leads to game winner

Horrible play by Willander. What the hell was he doing going behind the net like that? The danger spot is in front of the net and you're the only dman left in the area.

It's a bad, careless pass by Hutson, right? A Denver player has closed that lane and Hutson shouldn't be trying to pass the puck through him. So then, why did Willander drift into and stay in that lane, when it's been closed?

He didn't make himself a good passing target; he coasted backward away from his isolated teammate and lost the opportunity to help out in any potential puck possession battle; and he abandoned the most dangerous scoring area. That Hutson made a terrible pass doesn't change the fact that Willander made a bad decision to go where he did.

I have a hard time seeing what Hutson does but damn talk about (Willander) taking yourself right out of position. Reminds me of Juolevi. Oh well, it's a learning process, he obviously expected something different to happen.

 

[credulous]

Agree that none of the goals were his fault. That said, lately his play has not been as good as it was at other points in the year. Maybe it's nerves or a minor injury, he's still being physical and skates well and doing fine but there hasn't the urgency and pace and sharpness that's needed at this time of year to really make a difference, and you would hope he can be a difference maker at this level. There are also some minor mistakes creeping into his game that are not a good look.

I'd thought earlier in the year if he continued developing rest of the year he could play in NHL after this year, but he would definitely benefit from another year at BU.

willander just doesn't make plays like you would expect for someone of his physical abilities. he's always just kind of there. other than one good play to force rizzo to the boards he didn't have a single memorable (in a good way, he had a few in a bad way) moment in the denver game. i dunno if it's confidence or lack of game sense or coaching but unless he learns to insert himself in the action he's not going to be an impact player at the nhl level

 

[Buresflyingelbow]

Lane Hutson just signed his ELC with the Habs so that should open up lots of opportunities for Willander for PP1 and top pair.

 

[Nucker101]

Willander finally unshackled from that PP1 merchant and puck hog Lame Hutson

 

[JT Milker]

willander just doesn't make plays like you would expect for someone of his physical abilities. he's always just kind of there. other than one good play to force rizzo to the boards he didn't have a single memorable (in a good way, he had a few in a bad way) moment in the denver game. i dunno if it's confidence or lack of game sense or coaching but unless he learns to insert himself in the action he's not going to be an impact player at the nhl level

With his skating and defensive IQ, he’ll step in as a top 4 guy within the next year. He could play on a pairing with Hughes right now without needing to be carried.

 

[Cancuks]

Not saying he's Juolevi but again when we draft for position over the best player available (Benson), it's playing with fire. More than likely we'll get burned yet again and Benson will be an allstar and Willander a #5 or #6 dman. I just don't get why teams want to invest years into developing a project and hope he turns into a top 4 dman someday. They say oh you can't draft these guys (top 4 two way dmen especially RD) but they get traded every year or you can pick them up as UFAs. You take the most talented player available in the draft, who cares if he's a winger or smaller center. Dallas does this every year and they end up with the Stankovens and Johnsons of the world. You can always trade prospects or picks for proven dmen.

 

[Lat]

Horrible play by Willander. What the hell was he doing going behind the net like that? The danger spot is in front of the net and you're the only dman left in the area.



I have a hard time seeing what Hutson does but damn talk about (Willander) taking yourself right out of position. Reminds me of Juolevi. Oh well, it's a learning process, he obviously expected something different to happen.

That was more on Hutson than on Willander. Hutson had full possession and made a really terrible weak pass straight to the opposition. Willander was in the right position to receive a proper pass on the other side of the net.

 

[VanJack]

Not saying he's Juolevi but again when we draft for position over the best player available (Benson), it's playing with fire. More than likely we'll get burned yet again and Benson will be an allstar and Willander a #5 or #6 dman. I just don't get why teams want to invest years into developing a project and hope he turns into a top 4 dman someday. They say oh you can't draft these guys (top 4 two way dmen especially RD) but they get traded every year or you can pick them up as UFAs. You take the most talented player available in the draft, who cares if he's a winger or smaller center. Dallas does this every year and they end up with the Stankovens and Johnsons of the world. You can always trade prospects or picks for proven dmen.

I suppose there's always a chance Benson's career could mirror some of the NHL's best under-sized wingers like Caufield, DeBrincat or Barzal.

But when you assess the state of the Canucks blueline, they really didn't have a lot of options but to roll the dice on Wilander. They only have three blueliners under contract for next season, Hughes, Soucy and Juulsen. And I guess a fourth, if you consider Hronek is an RFA and due a new contract.

But after that's it's a bit of a black hole organizationally for d-men. So I cut the Canucks some slack on this one. Solid top four d-men are a lot more valuable than wingers.

 

[Nick Lang]

That was more on Hutson than on Willander. Hutson had full possession and made a really terrible weak pass straight to the opposition. Willander was in the right position to receive a proper pass on the other side of the net.

I guess. The very first thing I thought when saw the clip was who is that vacating the front of the net and skating himself backwards out of play. Of course it was Willander, so that was my honest reaction. Not a good play in imo. Not that it excuses Hutson's play.

As I rewatch it isn't Hutson facing the other way, yet Willander keeps skating himself out out of position after he should clearly see that the play is not happening?

 

[Raistlin]

Not saying he's Juolevi but again when we draft for position over the best player available (Benson), it's playing with fire. More than likely we'll get burned yet again and Benson will be an allstar and Willander a #5 or #6 dman. I just don't get why teams want to invest years into developing a project and hope he turns into a top 4 dman someday. They say oh you can't draft these guys (top 4 two way dmen especially RD) but they get traded every year or you can pick them up as UFAs. You take the most talented player available in the draft, who cares if he's a winger or smaller center. Dallas does this every year and they end up with the Stankovens and Johnsons of the world. You can always trade prospects or picks for proven dmen.

when was Slavin traded? when was Brodin? McAvoy? I doubt you will see Sanderson, Faber or even Vlasic traded anytime soon, but thats the archtype he belongs into and his potential to reach their heights is within possibility. Yeah, you may get Matt Roy, Lindholm or McDonagh on the trade market. but when they are 27+ and past the zenith of their physical prime. RHD being even more unattainable. there is nothing wrong with selecting WIllander above Benson. Currently, he is tracking better than both Reinbacher and Simashev in D+1, that is apples to apples comparison.

 

[Hammman]

Not saying he's Juolevi but again when we draft for position over the best player available (Benson), it's playing with fire. More than likely we'll get burned yet again and Benson will be an allstar and Willander a #5 or #6 dman. I just don't get why teams want to invest years into developing a project and hope he turns into a top 4 dman someday. They say oh you can't draft these guys (top 4 two way dmen especially RD) but they get traded every year or you can pick them up as UFAs. You take the most talented player available in the draft, who cares if he's a winger or smaller center. Dallas does this every year and they end up with the Stankovens and Johnsons of the world. You can always trade prospects or picks for proven dmen.

Jesus christ, step back from the ledge.

 

[arttk]

I suppose there's always a chance Benson's career could mirror some of the NHL's best under-sized wingers like Caufield, DeBrincat or Barzal.

But when you assess the state of the Canucks blueline, they really didn't have a lot of options but to roll the dice on Wilander. They only have three blueliners under contract for next season, Hughes, Soucy and Juulsen. And I guess a fourth, if you consider Hronek is an RFA and due a new contract.

But after that's it's a bit of a black hole organizationally for d-men. So I cut the Canucks some slack on this one. Solid top four d-men are a lot more valuable than wingers.

I don’t understand why fans overrate the f*** out of Benson.
Willander’s upside is a top pairing RHD and Benson’s upside is a top line winger. All the issue that Juolevi had is not a thing with Willander. Work ethic good, elite skater, NHL size, elite defensive hockey IQ. The only question marks is can he develop his offensive game when he gets those opportunities next season, all the tools and toolbox is supposing there.

 

[VanJack]

I don’t understand why fans overrate the f*** out of Benson.
Willander’s upside is a top pairing RHD and Benson’s upside is a top line winger. All the issue that Juolevi had is not a thing with Willander. Work ethic good, elite skater, NHL size, elite defensive hockey IQ. The only question marks is can he develop his offensive game when he gets those opportunities next season, all the tools and toolbox is supposing there.

I think it's the 'Benning aftershock' effect. Other than Quinn Hughes, for almost a decade the Canucks failed to draft a single d-man who impacted their NHL lineup.

The list of draft failures is long and tortuous, led of course by Juolevi. But the Canucks couldn't find anybody is later rounds of the draft as well. And the result was by necessity a string of expensive UFA signings on their blueline, that created a salary-cap black hole which impacted their entire roster.

The last d-man drafted during the Benning years was of course Jett Woo. And it's probably down to less than 50/50 that he's an NHL player.

So in Wilander, D-Petey, Kudryavtsev and Mynio, the Canucks at least have glimmer of hope of the blueline. Obviously not all of them will work out, but finding d-men in the draft is almost essential if you're going to be a competitive NHL team.

 

[JT Milker]

I don’t understand why fans overrate the f*** out of Benson.
Willander’s upside is a top pairing RHD and Benson’s upside is a top line winger. All the issue that Juolevi had is not a thing with Willander. Work ethic good, elite skater, NHL size, elite defensive hockey IQ. The only question marks is can he develop his offensive game when he gets those opportunities next season, all the tools and toolbox is supposing there.

Juolevi and Willander are almost identical sizes, both height and weight.

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

I don’t understand why fans overrate the f*** out of Benson.
Willander’s upside is a top pairing RHD and Benson’s upside is a top line winger. All the issue that Juolevi had is not a thing with Willander. Work ethic good, elite skater, NHL size, elite defensive hockey IQ. The only question marks is can he develop his offensive game when he gets those opportunities next season, all the tools and toolbox is supposing there.

As someone who would have preferred Benson at that spot (then and now), the case for Willander is one based on asset value, not ultimate upside.

Benson's 99th percentile outcome is Martin St. Louis. Willander's equivalent is closer to right-handed Jacob Slavvin.

However, Willander's 90th percentile outcome is a guy like Brandon Carlo. Benson's is more like Nicolas Aube-Kubel or Eeli Tolvanen. IE, essentially worthless.

I still prefer Benson - he had some wild, Pettersson-esque statistical dominance in his draft year. I think he'll be a superstar. Funnily enough, I was on the other side of this argument in 2022 - I did not think Lekkerimaki was likely to hit his highest projections, and would rather have gone for the all-around D that was available: Pickering. I still believe that.

 

[Guardian452]

I think it's the 'Benning aftershock' effect. Other than Quinn Hughes, for almost a decade the Canucks failed to draft a single d-man who impacted their NHL lineup.

The list of draft failures is long and tortuous, led of course by Juolevi. But the Canucks couldn't find anybody is later rounds of the draft as well. And the result was by necessity a string of expensive UFA signings on their blueline, that created a salary-cap black hole which impacted their entire roster.

The last d-man drafted during the Benning years was of course Jett Woo. And it's probably down to less than 50/50 that he's an NHL player.

So in Wilander, D-Petey, Kudryavtsev and Mynio, the Canucks at least have glimmer of hope of the blueline. Obviously not all of them will work out, but finding d-men in the draft is almost essential if you're going to be a competitive NHL team.

Benning was gifted Hughes, and if he wasn't available, Bouchard or Dobson could have been drafted by the Canucks instead, so it was near impossible to miss. The only good D that I would give him credit for drafting is Forsling, but then he immediately screwed up by trading him for Clendening.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Benning was gifted Hughes, and if he wasn't available, Bouchard or Dobson could have been drafted by the Canucks instead, so it was near impossible to miss. The only good D that I would give him credit for drafting is Forsling, but then he immediately screwed up by trading him for Clendening.

The Benning era of defencemen is hilariously bad.

Gudbranson, Sbisa, Pouliot, Larsen, Pedan, Clendening, Bartkowski, Juolevi, Del Zotto, Fantenberg, Hamonic, etc. and then we actually had capable defenders like Tanev, Forsling, Stecher, etc. they were let go for way worse options. The man was just so overwhelmingly incompetent.

 

[MS]

The Benning era of defencemen is hilariously bad.

Gudbranson, Sbisa, Pouliot, Larsen, Pedan, Clendening, Bartkowski, Juolevi, Del Zotto, Fantenberg, Hamonic, etc. and then we actually had capable defenders like Tanev, Forsling, Stecher, etc. they were let go for way worse options. The man was just so overwhelmingly incompetent.

Jim Benning literally didn't know what he was looking at when he was watching a hockey game and in particular had no idea what an effective NHL defenseman was. Add Dan Hamhuis to the 'out' list as well.

Anyway, I have absolutely zero concerns about Willander. He's probably going to blow up offensively next year without Hutson there and go straight to the NHL after the NCAA season.

 

[Nona Di Giuseppe]

I don’t understand why fans overrate the f*** out of Benson.
Willander’s upside is a top pairing RHD and Benson’s upside is a top line winger. All the issue that Juolevi had is not a thing with Willander. Work ethic good, elite skater, NHL size, elite defensive hockey IQ. The only question marks is can he develop his offensive game when he gets those opportunities next season, all the tools and toolbox is supposing there.

When Juolevi was drafted ppl made Hamhuis comparisons. The issues Juolevi has weren’t for seen just as Willander may not be until he fails

 

[IComeInPeace]

When Juolevi was drafted ppl made Hamhuis comparisons. The issues Juolevi has weren’t for seen just as Willander may not be until he fails

One of the scariest moments for me as a 40+ year Canucks fan was when Juolevi got walked a handful of times in the prospects tournament after he was drafted…

…but the problem was this wasn’t the first tournament he’d attended; it was in the 2nd one (when he was about to embark on his D+2 season).

It was happening in his initial tournament too, but everyone blew it off as ‘it’s not structured play and everyone’s kind of scrambling around’ or ‘he’s still really skinny and he needs to put on some size and strength in his legs…’

…but then he showed up a year later and it was no different. I was still a believer at that point. Not because he showed me so many other things, but out of sheer desperation.

It wasn’t just the injuries and surgeries. Before the first surgery there were already media members bringing up his lack of mobility (especially in that 2nd camp).

Virtually all of these guys have stuff they have to work on when they are drafted with the exception of maybe the top 1 or 2 guys.

I have a hard time believing scouts didn’t see that issue before he was drafted. I think they thought he could work hard and overcome it because he was otherwise a decent enough skater.

Not excusing the poor selection, but I wonder if Juolevi had the off ice work ethic and commitment to make it at the highest level of pro hockey.

I think it was his D+3 season he’d put on a lot of weight (which was needed as I think he was only 180 pounds when he was drafted)…but there were some media members commenting it wasn’t necessarily the best weight.

…then his last camp, which is a huge make it break it point in his career: seeing him laying on the ice near death after the bag skate.

The one thing I think we can already say about Willander (aside from his great skating) is that he seems to take his hockey career really seriously (the move to BU and apparently he interviewed really well before the draft).

 

[arttk]

Juolevi and Willander are almost identical sizes, both height and weight.

Juolevi was not an elite skater and he has huge work ethic issues.

 

[Diversification]

...

The one thing I think we can already say about Willander (aside from his great skating) is that he seems to take his hockey career really seriously (the move to BU and apparently he interviewed really well before the draft).

I mean, Willander basically doesn't get walked by opposing forwards. That's sort of his calling card. That, and he put up 25 points in 38 games on one of college hockey's premier teams as a #3 dman and also excelled at WJC with high leverage minutes.

His game doesn't pop offensively. I doubt it will pop next year either. In that respect, he's no Lane Hutson. But he's tracking as a guy that you can throw tough minutes at and has enough puck skills to play up in the top 4 at the NHL level.

Outside of his draft year, you really couldn't say anything like that about Olli Juolevi.

 

[Josepho]

It's funny every time this fanbase defaults to Juolevi and this whole "drafting for position" thing because you can just as easily look at Anaheim picking Lindholm over Forsberg in 2012.

 

[VanJack]

The debate is moot, because it was apparent from the beginning of last year's draft that Wilander was their man, if he was still on the board at pick #11.

And assessing the dismal state of the Canuck blueline, what choice did they really have? Not only is Wilander a gifted skater, but he's a rare right-shot rearguard. They're almost impossible to find or trade for. So drafting one is the only option.

Just not seeing his comparisons with Juolevi, who was a left-shot d-man and spent his junior career with London in the OHL and hailed from Finland. Wilander would skate rings around him, and anchored Sweden's World Jr. Team and BU. And of course both teams went to the finals or semi-finals.

Canuck fans need to relax. Allvin has more knowledge on drafting d-men in one of his pinkies than Benning had in his entire body.