Liljegren To Represent Sweden At World Juniors; Then Gets Traded For Karlsson?
To nobody’s surprise, 2017 No. 17 overall pick Timothy Liljegren will represent Sweden at the World Juniors in Buffalo this year.
Liljegren has spent the 2017-18 with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL so that the Leafs can keep a close eye on their prized prospect’s development. In 12 games with the Marlies the 18-year-old defender has produced six points.
Barring injury or some other unforeseen circumstance, of course, this will be Liljegren’s first opportunity to play on the biggest stage in Junior hockey. Liljegren was on track to play for Sweden at last year’s tournament, but a case of mononucleosis kept him out of the tournament, derailed a good chunk of his season, and ultimately played a key role in him falling down to the mid-first round of the draft.
Sweden’s blueline will be fascinating to watch in Buffalo this year. Not only will they have an exciting prospect in Liljegren, but the team will also feature 2018 No. 1 overall prospect Rasmus Dahlin, who, according to Ray Ferarro, “defends like Lidström and skates like Karlsson.”
Far-fetched as fuck but a nation can dream people. Interdivision trades almost never happen and when they do the one team ends up paying a king’s ransom in the deal.
What we do know is this, Ottawa is a joke and their owner is going to run that team into the ground, or Quebec City, one of the two.
We also know the Leafs are going to make a trade for a defenseman sometime sooner than later and if they end up going after an elite defenseman, Timothy will be the piece that helps facilitate the deal.
It will be nice to see him dominate at the Junior tourney and get back on track but remember, it’s just the junior tourney. Justin Pogge looked like Patty Roy for a couple weeks once and that got the Leafs nowhere.
Regardless, trading Leo Komarov won’t be enough to get an impact D-Man so maybe the Leafs say fuck it and send a mega package to Ottawa for Karlsson and his Swedish mullet.
If Karlsson really wants to fuck the Sens, he makes his way across the 401 and then signs an extension.
Who knows what the future holds but what we do know is this, in Lou we trust.
Shug McSween
Shug McSween is a veteran here at DeanBlundell.com and has been contributing since day one. A sports nut with a sophisticated opinion, expect McSween to cover any and everything he's passionate about. When he's not busy writing and editing for our crew, McSween likes to get away via fairways and greens. He also contributes to The Hockey Writers, NHLTradeRumors.me and BballRumors.com