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

[StreetHawk]

I was thinking next sept he might come to camp, if he pays his own way. They would have a tough decision if he wanted to stay. he seems to be developing at a pace where he might be ready to be a 6 - 7th Dman, and if that is the case, he may decide to stay. I would say this is a tad on the unlikely side, but by no means out of the question.

No reason IMO for kids to leave NCAA early unless they play at an elite level in that league. He hasn't yet, so no reason to leave early.

 

[credulous]

we'll know way before camp whether willander is ahl/nhl bound or going back to bu. he'll either sign at the end of bu's season or he'll commit for another year. by training camp it'll be too late to make the decision

he could pay his own way to camp and decide then but it'd burn bu and there'd be no real benefit for him unless he really wants to avoid the ahl

 

[StreetHawk]

we'll know way before camp whether willander is ahl/nhl bound or going back to bu. he'll either sign at the end of bu's season or he'll commit for another year. by training camp it'll be too late to make the decision

he could pay his own way to camp and decide then but it'd burn bu and there'd be no real benefit for him unless he really wants to avoid the ahl

I doubt that Abby's facilities and non hockey staff are going to be better than what BU offers, as one of the better NCAA hockey programs. Guys typically don't leave the NCAA that early to play in the A. I think Connor did that for the Jets, playing year 1 of his elc in the AHL, but the kid put up like 70 points at Michigan as a freshman, which was insane. So, no reason to return as he already played at an elite level there.

 

[Wisp]

Two years of college is standard, even post draft (example Makar).

 

[Vector]

Two years of college is standard, even post draft (example Makar).

Brock Faber(3 years), Jake Sanderson, Cam York, etc. Normal for college defencemen to spend two years.

 

[MS]

I'll be absolutely shocked if the path is anything other than spending a 2nd year at BU and then signing at the end of their season and burning a year of his ELC. Same deal as Boeser and Hughes - two years of NCAA, then a cup of coffee at the end of that 2nd season.

 

[JanBulisPiggyBack]

I'll be absolutely shocked if the path is anything other than spending a 2nd year at BU and then signing at the end of their season and burning a year of his ELC. Same deal as Boeser and Hughes - two years of NCAA, then a cup of coffee at the end of that 2nd season.

Probably hey, we would like to quasi see him at the beginning of the OEL clawback year but certainly holding onto a regular 5-6 spot in the second year of the OEL clawback

That is if he isn’t finding his way higher up the roster

 

[kranuck]

No reason IMO for kids to leave NCAA early unless they play at an elite level in that league. He hasn't yet, so no reason to leave early.

You don't want picks staying for 4 years because it walks them to UFA. If you think they have NHL potential you want them out in 2-3 years and into your system.

Going to college gives him the opportunity to practice a ton, bulk up and get used to the NA play style.
Next year with a bunch of guys moving on from BU, he should get more opportunity to be the offensive driver and hopefully he will develop that side more next season.

The last point makes sense but wouldn't playing in the SHL give him more time to focus on hockey vs college?

 

[kranuck]

Small offensive defensemen that can’t play defense syndrome. With a lot of small offensive defenders dominating right now, they are getting overrated as prospects. It’s a very large margin of error.

does he have the skating and smarts to learn to play defence effectively at the NHL level?

 

[kranuck]

Those sorts of graphs are a plague on the sport right now.

at least this one has a breakdown.

The JFresh percentile ones and the game score ones are maddening. Just take stats that are already mediocre to bad, use them in a dumb way, obfuscate them to remove context, and then twist them into one number that's supposed to be authoritative.

Bad analysis.

It's a tough audience on HF Boards for players in their draft-plus-one seasons. Last year Lekkerimaki went through a bout of mono, and a series of nagging injuries that basically derailed his season--and some posters were prepared to write him off.

Maybe it's a hangover from the Benning draft years, where guys seems to start sliding from the moment they were drafted.

But Lekkerimaki and Wilander will be just fine. They're currently honing their skills against players who are older, bigger and faster than anything they've experienced to date. And they're more than holding their own.

You can see the potential when they're playing against kids their own age. They're dominant players.

I think that's exactly it.

Juolevi specifically has me ready to write off anyone who doesn't seem to be showing anything the year after the draft.

 

[StreetHawk]

You don't want picks staying for 4 years because it walks them to UFA. If you think they have NHL potential you want them out in 2-3 years and into your system.


The last point makes sense but wouldn't playing in the SHL give him more time to focus on hockey vs college?

Early is anything between freshman to junior year. Wallinder hasn’t done enough so far in his freshman year to justify leaving. He can still get better in college.

 

[Vector]

does he have the skating and smarts to learn to play defence effectively at the NHL level?

Honestly haven’t seen enough of him and I find evaluating these types really hard.

 

[Luck 6]

I'll be absolutely shocked if the path is anything other than spending a 2nd year at BU and then signing at the end of their season and burning a year of his ELC. Same deal as Boeser and Hughes - two years of NCAA, then a cup of coffee at the end of that 2nd season.

The difference here is we are now a playoff team. That extra year of ELC does matter. You could make a case that playing a bit of hard ball and retaining that extra year of ELC is the way to go. There’s no way a player like Willander walks anyways, so, there isn’t considerable downside.

I’m curious how other playoff teams approach these scenarios in recent days. I’d have to do some research.

 

[SelltheTeamFrancesco]

I like to thank Detroit for saving us from Zadina and now Danielson.

 

[Buresflyingelbow]

I could see him playing three years in College and skip the AHL and become a regular from there on. The amount of Gym time and becoming the top guy for BU is exactly what he needs.

 

[VanJack]

Assuming that Wilander is eligible to play for Sweden at the World Jr. Hockey Championships next season. So another year at BU and a second World Jr. stint would do him a world of good.

If he shows the same improvement next year that he's showed so far this season, then the Canucks will really have something.

 

[Wisp]

You don't want picks staying for 4 years because it walks them to UFA. If you think they have NHL potential you want them out in 2-3 years and into your system.


The last point makes sense but wouldn't playing in the SHL give him more time to focus on hockey vs college?

He won't have to compete with veteran pros for opportunity in College. Next season he'll get to run a top pairing & special teams as a sophomore.

 

[HairyKneel]

I dont see the Jovo comparison at all? Jovo was a high risk- high reward player who left a lot to be desired defensively.

Hamhuis is probably more accurate. Solid two way guy and a good skater that can play tough minutes against the oppositions top lines

Me either. I see a lot of Bret Hedican. Hamhuis isn’t a bad comparison. Although those guys were lefties, I’m thinking play style. Jovo was a maverick on the ice. A very good player but he was high risk high reward. Tommy seems a bit more conservative. I like this pick.

 

[HairyKneel]

Yeah same here.

As an aside, I think the only player who stylistically reminded me of Jovo was Bieksa.

Except KB was nowhere near the skater Eddie was. Didn’t quite have that thunder in his fist either, though he was a better technical fighter, albeit a bit of a spot picker. But a decent comparison due to their swashbuckling ways and they were both more good news than bad at the end of the day.

 

[Vector]

Me either. I see a lot of Bret Hedican. Hamhuis isn’t a bad comparison. Although those guys were lefties, I’m thinking play style. Jovo was a maverick on the ice. A very good player but he was high risk high reward. Tommy seems a bit more conservative. I like this pick.

Brett Hedican is a very good comparison and I feel stupid for not thinking of it myself.

 

[F A N]

I don't expect him to leave BU after this season. Expect him to return to college next season and sign once his season is over. He can't play for Van unless he leaves school. Thus, no reason for him to miss next year's WJHC.

I was thinking next sept he might come to camp, if he pays his own way. They would have a tough decision if he wanted to stay. he seems to be developing at a pace where he might be ready to be a 6 - 7th Dman, and if that is the case, he may decide to stay. I would say this is a tad on the unlikely side, but by no means out of the question.

I don't really care what Willander wants. I hope the Canucks have a plan and Willander follows the plan. Personally I think the safe route is for Willander to return to college for another year. I think the goal is for Willander to step right into the NHL. Whether that means 2 years of college vs 3 years... NCAA seems to develop stud Dmen well enough.

 

[krutovsdonut]

i understand the willander comparisons to hedican and jovo but i think he's a less extreme example of a guy playing catch up on hockey iq. to watch him he's more of a natural all rounder hockey player learning reads in a challenging new position than a slightly awkward looking hockey player with raw talent but focussing on hockey late. i think hedican was focussed on football when younger, and jovo was a soccer guy. they were so naturally talented that they were able to mostly catch up and be great but you could argue both could have been truly elite players if their "hockey iq" had matched their raw talent.

willander to me has no absolutely amazing stand out raw talent like skating or athelticism at the level of hedican and jovo that compensated for a less developed hockey iq. to me he also shows more natural hockey poise or iq a lot of the time but is still learning how to read the ice as a dman and sometimes is not sure what to do. it's the difference between being fast enough to recognize a situation and react but not knowing what to do, rather than being too slow to recognize and react at all. i think he's going to be great if his reads as a defenceman keep developing and he fills in the gaps.

sidebar, but i think you could go down a road analysing what hockey iq is using guys like jovo and hedican. they kind of stand out as exceptions in the "all the tools but no toolbox" cliche. it's more like they had serviceable toolboxes from canadian tire full of snap-on tools.

 

[Vector]

i understand the willander comparisons to hedican and jovo but i think he's a less extreme example of a guy playing catch up on hockey iq. to watch him he's more of a natural all rounder hockey player learning reads in a challenging new position than a slightly awkward looking hockey player with raw talent but focussing on hockey late. i think hedican was focussed on football when younger, and jovo was a soccer guy. they were so naturally talented that they were able to mostly catch up and be great but you could argue both could have been truly elite players if their "hockey iq" had matched their raw talent.

willander to me has no absolutely amazing stand out raw talent like skating or athelticism at the level of hedican and jovo that compensated for a less developed hockey iq. to me he also shows more natural hockey poise or iq a lot of the time but is still learning how to read the ice as a dman and sometimes is not sure what to do. it's the difference between being fast enough to recognize a situation and react but not knowing what to do, rather than being too slow to recognize and react at all. i think he's going to be great if his reads as a defenceman keep developing and he fills in the gaps.

sidebar, but i think you could go down a road analysing what hockey iq is using guys like jovo and hedican. they kind of stand out as exceptions in the "all the tools but no toolbox" cliche. it's more like they had serviceable toolboxes from canadian tire full of snap-on tools.

LOL? What?

 

[Regress2TheMeme]

Willander being a converted forward with elite mobility and a heavy wrist shot reminds me of Brent Burns on paper. He should be able to walk the blueline and get pucks through to the net with his toolbox. Very much looking forward to seeing this player in the NHL.

 

[arttk]

The last point makes sense but wouldn't playing in the SHL give him more time to focus on hockey vs college?

Not sure, it seems like staying in college gives him more time to workout. It's not like they play that many games and have a lot of travel.