Button: Timothy Liljegren is a talented defenceman (TSN1050)
TSN Resident Scout and General Manager Craig Button joined Andy McNamara to break down the World Junior Summer Showcase on TSN and discussed Timothy Liljegren.
The bottom line is Timothy Liljegren has a lot of talent. He’s a defenceman that can skate that is very competitive. He’s somebody that I’ve watched for two years. You build the dossier on the player. You continue to watch. What you’re going to assess is your own assessment. Is he better than I thought? Is he not as good as I thought? But he’s a really good defenceman. He uses his skating to transport the puck. He uses his skating defensively. He’s got great leverage. He’s got great strength on his skates. He gets under his opponents and can take you off the puck. Those are the elements that allow you to play in the NHL.
Now, at what level you’re going to play at and how good you’re going to be is predicated on some other things. Some of those things are developmental. I think, for defencemen, a big part of it is not just learning what to do but just as importantly what not to do. Young defencemen, because they have the puck a lot and can do so many things at younger ages, have to learn that you might not be able to do those same things as you advance up the levels. I don’t think it’s any different for Timothy Liljegren. I think the Leafs got a real good solid player there and somebody that is going to have a good, long NHL career.