Tom Willander | D

[higgyfan]

1 hour ago, Tusk said:

Maybe at a junior level. But he aint no Hughes.

I think dEP showed alot more size and confidence on the puck the whole game. Letterkenny was passing too much.

Against Canada, we will see the best of everyone and I predict Letterkenny gets at least 2 goals, and villinger gets at least a -2.

 

Both Lekker and D-P are a year older than Willy and this is their 2nd tournament.  Also, Willy has

a +4 over two games now.

 

He will never be anything like Hughes; their games are very different.  We'll have a bit of a wait,

but he may end up being the perfect partner for Quinn in the coming years.

[Elias Pettersson]

VVillander plays more minutes than ASP.  That is reflective in the game he plays.  The coach trusts him more, especially on the defensive side.  This will translate to the NHL when VVillander plays in the top 4 for 20+ minutes a night shutting down the opposition’s best lines while ASP rides the press box like Adam Boqvist because he doesn’t know how to play defence.

 

VVillander seems to be the perfect partner for Hughes, which is why we drafted him.  We didn’t need to draft another Hughes…

[stawns]

36 minutes ago, higgyfan said:

 

Both Lekker and D-P are a year older than Willy and this is their 2nd tournament.  Also, Willy has

a +4 over two games now.

 

He will never be anything like Hughes; their games are very different.  We'll have a bit of a wait,

but he may end up being the perfect partner for Quinn in the coming years.

Very quiet tournament for him so far, but that's to be expected for an 18 year old.  He's been solid, as have all the swedes so far.  Tomorrow will be the real standard 

[Hogs and Podz]

3 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

VVillander plays more minutes than ASP.  That is reflective in the game he plays.  The coach trusts him more, especially on the defensive side.  This will translate to the NHL when VVillander plays in the top 4 for 20+ minutes a night shutting down the opposition’s best lines while ASP rides the press box like Adam Boqvist because he doesn’t know how to play defence.

 

VVillander seems to be the perfect partner for Hughes, which is why we drafted him.  We didn’t need to draft another Hughes…

Hey stop making sense!!!  ASP is flashy and you know.... scores good for a  offensive defenseman!!!  He's way better looking AND you can see him more moving around the ice like the flash!!  That's my guy!!! 

 

Willander is so boooorrrrriiiinnnnggg!  I fall asleep watching him!!!  He is to boring to be very good.  

 

The coach must be bad to be playing him MORE than ASP???!!!!  I'm just sick to my stomach... 

 

You know... No matter what, you draft an offensive defenceman because they are way more important AND way harder to get in the draft or trading for, then those silly old booorrrriiinnnggg defensive defensemen.  Like hello?!  Everybody knows that, like grab a brain!!!  It's all about points.... +/-  is so yesterday's NHL right?!

[NHL97OneTimer]

2 hours ago, stawns said:

Very quiet tournament for him so far, but that's to be expected for an 18 year old.  He's been solid, as have all the swedes so far.  Tomorrow will be the real standard 

Very quiet is excellent for an 18 year old defender playing ~20min/game and not yet seeing a goal against.  Loved the physical side too.

 

Pretty sweet to see 3 Canuck prospects playing at a high level, but I keep reminding myself that Juolevi is an excellent example of how you can't use this tournament to predict success.  Will be cautiously optimistic.

[stawns]

28 minutes ago, NHL97OneTimer said:

Very quiet is excellent for an 18 year old defender playing ~20min/game and not yet seeing a goal against.  Loved the physical side too.

 

Pretty sweet to see 3 Canuck prospects playing at a high level, but I keep reminding myself that Juolevi is an excellent example of how you can't use this tournament to predict success.  Will be cautiously optimistic.

 

Yup, next year will be his big year, he and ASP will anchor that dcorp.  This is a very deep, experienced swedish team......just making that team says a lot

 

I won't say much about OJ other than terrible injuries never let us see what he could have been

Edited December 29, 2023 by stawns

[N4ZZY]

7 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

VVillander plays more minutes than ASP.  That is reflective in the game he plays.  The coach trusts him more, especially on the defensive side.  This will translate to the NHL when VVillander plays in the top 4 for 20+ minutes a night shutting down the opposition’s best lines while ASP rides the press box like Adam Boqvist because he doesn’t know how to play defence.

 

VVillander seems to be the perfect partner for Hughes, which is why we drafted him.  We didn’t need to draft another Hughes…

 

Willander looks like the right choice on draft day so far. So far so good. 

 

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by N4ZZY

[Rypien-Punch]

he's gonna play and by god he's gonna win!

[spook007]

11 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

VVillander plays more minutes than ASP.  That is reflective in the game he plays.  The coach trusts him more, especially on the defensive side.  This will translate to the NHL when VVillander plays in the top 4 for 20+ minutes a night shutting down the opposition’s best lines while ASP rides the press box like Adam Boqvist because he doesn’t know how to play defence.

 

VVillander seems to be the perfect partner for Hughes, which is why we drafted him.  We didn’t need to draft another Hughes…

 

Mic drops.... 

[nzan]

19 hours ago, stawns said:

Very quiet tournament for him so far, but that's to be expected for an 18 year old.  He's been solid, as have all the swedes so far.  Tomorrow will be the real standard 

He just got a little louder

[stawns]

Just now, nzan said:

He just got a little louder

 

Yup, great shot and great read to jump into the play

[DeltaSwede]

He just eats players up a long the boards. Love what I am seeing from him and super happy for him that he got the goal earlier

Edit: Another mistake free game. Cool as a cucumber 

Edited December 29, 2023 by DeltaSwede

[CanucksJay]

Can't believe we have 2 of the top 6 d men on what I think is the best defensive corps at world juniors

[flat land fish]

His mobility transitioning the puck out of the zone with his feet stood out and the clean exit passes.  Ticks the boxes as the smart mobile modern defenseman.

[Jim Tim]

Man this kid is unbelievable, so assertive in his own zone and transitioning the puck. Does it all. Couldn't be more excited to have him

[VegasCanuck]

17 minutes ago, Jim Tim said:

Man this kid is unbelievable, so assertive in his own zone and transitioning the puck. Does it all. Couldn't be more excited to have him

That shot was AWESOME! Really stepped into it!

 

[JamesB]

19 hours ago, NHL97OneTimer said:

Very quiet is excellent for an 18 year old defender playing ~20min/game and not yet seeing a goal against.  Loved the physical side too.

 

Pretty sweet to see 3 Canuck prospects playing at a high level, but I keep reminding myself that Juolevi is an excellent example of how you can't use this tournament to predict success.  Will be cautiously optimistic.

It is true that Juolevi was very good at the World Juniors and that was where (and why) Benning fell in love with him even though his overall profile did not justify the pick (and led to Linden forcing a change in way draft decisions were made with more emphasis on voices aside from the GM).

 

Juolevi was good at everything at the Junior level, but did not have a "separating skill". That led to him being mediocre at everything at the pro level. I remember reading scouting reports that said he was a "smooth" skater but at the pro level he was regularly turnstiled even before getting injured. He also seemed to lack the drive and energy level that are important. 

 

The current prospects are different. Willander is a great skater-that is his separating skill. Lekker obviously has a great shot and a very high offensive hockey IQ. And of course both guys have other skills as well. Willander, in particular, is a very good defensively (helped by his skating). Those are some of the reasons those guys were fairly high first round picks. D-Petey is a bit different. He has made a lot of progress since being drafted in the 3rd round. He has become a big, strong, physical, shutdown D. He is not a lock for the NHL but it looks like he has a good chance to play that role at the NHL level, at least on a third pairing and maybe on a second pairing.

 

One thing I like about all three guys is the progression in their games this year. That is hard to predict and is a very good indicator.

[R3aL]

I wanna see his goallll haven’t seen the shot 

 

nvm saw on Daniel gee twitter 

 

go swedennnn

Edited December 29, 2023 by R3aL

[NHLer]

 

yall welcome  

[Rekker]

On 12/28/2023 at 2:03 PM, Tusk said:

Maybe at a junior level. But he aint no Hughes.

I think dEP showed alot more size and confidence on the puck the whole game. Letterkenny was passing too much.

Against Canada, we will see the best of everyone and I predict Letterkenny gets at least 2 goals, and villinger gets at least a -2.

This didn't age well.

[Rekker]

1 hour ago, Jim Tim said:

Man this kid is unbelievable, so assertive in his own zone and transitioning the puck. Does it all. Couldn't be more excited to have him

Good size, righty, real nice skater. The smarts seems their as he isn't chasing play. Takes nice angles on the opposition. Still early on his development but definitely lots to be excited about. 

[DrJockitch]

2 minutes ago, Rekker said:

Good size, righty, real nice skater. The smarts seems their as he isn't chasing play. Takes nice angles on the opposition. Still early on his development but definitely lots to be excited about. 

Have been impressed. Still think looks like good raw talent but at 18 that is fantastic.
Will be really curious how smooth his game looks in 2 years. 

The tools are definitely there for him to develop into a modern highly mobile defensive d-man 

[flickyoursedin]

Coach be crazy playing ASP more than Willander! From the highlights ASP was fighting the puck! He coughed it up for a Canada breakaway and then later coughed up the puck which led to another player immediately taking a boarding penalty. 

[WillisD]

Just checked in to see Willander had the game winner! Even better to hear he's standing out defensively too. This guys gonna be a beauty

[Dizzle]

5 hours ago, JamesB said:

It is true that Juolevi was very good at the World Juniors and that was where (and why) Benning fell in love with him even though his overall profile did not justify the pick (and led to Linden forcing a change in way draft decisions were made with more emphasis on voices aside from the GM).

 

Juolevi was good at everything at the Junior level, but did not have a "separating skill". That led to him being mediocre at everything at the pro level. I remember reading scouting reports that said he was a "smooth" skater but at the pro level he was regularly turnstiled even before getting injured. He also seemed to lack the drive and energy level that are important. 

 

The current prospects are different. Willander is a great skater-that is his separating skill. Lekker obviously has a great shot and a very high offensive hockey IQ. And of course both guys have other skills as well. Willander, in particular, is a very good defensively (helped by his skating). Those are some of the reasons those guys were fairly high first round picks. D-Petey is a bit different. He has made a lot of progress since being drafted in the 3rd round. He has become a big, strong, physical, shutdown D. He is not a lock for the NHL but it looks like he has a good chance to play that role at the NHL level, at least on a third pairing and maybe on a second pairing.

 

One thing I like about all three guys is the progression in their games this year. That is hard to predict and is a very good indicator.

we saw incredibly little of OJ at the pro level, but I remember him making some real nice break out passes (even by nhl standards) when he did play.