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Linus Karlsson | C

Rollieo Del Fuego

By Rollieo Del Fuego
in Prospects / Farm Team

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SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME Canucks Franchise Player

SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME

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Wonder why Skelleftea doesn’t try using Karlsson on more draws?

 

He’s currently rocking an impressive 83% faceoff win percentage (15/18).

 

I know they use him almost exclusively as a RW, but with his RH shot, and apparent ability to win faceoffs, I kinda wish they’d try him down the middle a little bit more.

 

He has played centre in the past, and righthanded centreman who can win faceoffs are a valuable commodity (as we can see with the current Canucks).

 

But I suppose righthanded RW’s who can win faceoffs are also valuable, especially on a line or PK pair with the lefthanded centre.

 

Karlsson isn’t really used much on the PK. Despite Skelleftea not giving up any goals during his ~10 minutes of PK time this season, and him actually scoring a shorthanded goal and having a +1 goal differential on the PK.
 

Wonder if this is an area where he should be seeing more usage?

 

Karlsson has a solid 56% CF% and 55% close situations CF%. By my calculations, he’s 43.3 CA/60 (which is somewhere around -3 CA/60 Rel), so the defensive stats look decent. And his 12 blocked shots are 6th best on the team.

 

He’s currently Skelleftea’s leading goal scorer, so I’m not sure how much they’re looking to develop him as a defensive player and penalty killer. But given that his pure talent level and ceiling are somewhat limited (by NHL standards), it may be things like winning faceoffs or killing penalties that could be his ticket to a bottom-six role one day, so hopefully he eventually sees more of that kind of usage, as he continues to develop in Sweden.

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bigbadcanucks Canucks Second-Line

bigbadcanucks

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23 hours ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

Wonder why Skelleftea doesn’t try using Karlsson on more draws?

 

He’s currently rocking an impressive 83% faceoff win percentage (15/18).

 

I know they use him almost exclusively as a RW, but with his RH shot, and apparent ability to win faceoffs, I kinda wish they’d try him down the middle a little bit more.

 

He has played centre in the past, and righthanded centreman who can win faceoffs are a valuable commodity (as we can see with the current Canucks).

 

But I suppose righthanded RW’s who can win faceoffs are also valuable, especially on a line or PK pair with the lefthanded centre.

 

Karlsson isn’t really used much on the PK. Despite Skelleftea not giving up any goals during his ~10 minutes of PK time this season, and him actually scoring a shorthanded goal and having a +1 goal differential on the PK.
 

Wonder if this is an area where he should be seeing more usage?

 

Karlsson has a solid 56% CF% and 55% close situations CF%. By my calculations, he’s 43.3 CA/60 (which is somewhere around -3 CA/60 Rel), so the defensive stats look decent. And his 12 blocked shots are 6th best on the team.

 

He’s currently Skelleftea’s leading goal scorer, so I’m not sure how much they’re looking to develop him as a defensive player and penalty killer. But given that his pure talent level and ceiling are somewhat limited (by NHL standards), it may be things like winning faceoffs or killing penalties that could be his ticket to a bottom-six role one day, so hopefully he eventually sees more of that kind of usage, as he continues to develop in Sweden.

In your view and assessment, does Karlsson resemble Sammy Pahlsson in anyway?  A player like that would be a boon for the Canucks.

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Eddie Abbotsford Regular

Eddie

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Kids coming along - if he could end up being a good 3rd or 4th line center that would be a shot in the arm for a rebuild of the rebuild of the retool. 

Dunno if its the black jersesy with all the crap on them but he's looking a bit bigger now too - any update on his size since his draft stats ? 

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SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME Canucks Franchise Player

SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME

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2 hours ago, bigbadcanucks said:

In your view and assessment, does Karlsson resemble Sammy Pahlsson in anyway?  A player like that would be a boon for the Canucks.

Not really. Although to be fair, Sammy Paulsson himself didn’t necessarily resemble “Sammy Pahlsson” until he was well into his mid-20’s.


Karlsson right now doesn’t exactly give me Pahlsson vibes, as far as playing smothering defence, providing physical play, and offering clutch scoring while being an elite checker and shutdown player.

 

However, I do see a pretty good foundation in his game that could be built upon. And I think his best chance at making the NHL is as a versatile two-way forward who can play bottom-six and special teams, and hopefully win faceoffs as a RH option.

 

I suppose I’d just like to see him challenged more, to play defensive matchups, kill penalties, and take faceoffs at his natural centre position. Maybe he fails in such a role, but if he were to succeed, and further hone that side of his game, I think it would serve him well, as far as eventually cracking an NHL roster.

 

Right now, he probably profiles more as an offensive player, and is getting most of his usage as such, in the SHL. But I think his offensive upside is somewhat limited, as far as it projects to the NHL, so he may have to re-make himself into more of a bottom of the lineup or 3rd line guy, should he wish to actually reach the NHL. That usually means playing a tighter checking style, and becoming more of a role-player.

 

So, no, I’m not suggesting we have a Sammy Pahlsson type right now in Linus Karlsson.

 

What I’m saying is I’d like to see him challenged to play more of a defensive role, and then assess his performance against men at the SHL level. I see signs of him having some untapped ability there, and if he can prove himself in those areas, and add that to his existing offensive game, he may be a useful player one day on an NHL third or fourth line.

 

Especially if he can actually play as a two-way righthanded centre/faceoff option, which is definitely a team need right now, and probably always will be, just given how rare those guys seem to be. 
 

I think his offence is good enough for that kind of bottom-six role, as a guy who can chip in some timely scoring, while also holding down defensive responsibilities. I don’t think he’s quite skilled enough offensively to be a future top line scorer in the NHL, so I think he’ll have to continue to work on the other details of his game, if he hopes to advance to play at the highest level.

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Fred65 Canucks First-Line

Fred65

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9 hours ago, Junkyard Dog said:

Still producing at the SHL 10 goals and 10 assists (20 points) in 25 games

He hs to be a quitea nice sprise for his team, he's right up at the top of their scoring, tied for 4th. I suppose there will be meetings in Vcr before his term ends. I'd think Lidgren will be waatching him a lot. What we can't see is his speed and physicality. Only his stats

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Junkyard Dog Canucks All-Star

Junkyard Dog

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3 minutes ago, Fred65 said:

He hs to be a quitea nice sprise for his team, he's right up at the top of their scoring, tied for 4th. I suppose there will be meetings in Vcr before his term ends. I'd think Lidgren will be waatching him a lot. What we can't see is his speed and physicality. Only his stats

By a lot of accounts and reports I have found he plays a good game below the dots. He isn’t afraid to get into the dirty areas. 
 

Speed is a bit of an issue being an average skater. That’s his biggest and only real knock I can find. 

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BCNate Canucks Regular

BCNate

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1 hour ago, Baer. said:

SHL is a pretty low tier league. Players need to be well over PPG to be considered possible NHLers. But he's still young and has time to improve.

21 points in 26 games isn't that big a reach though.  I could see him in Abbotsford next year,  who knows how he progresses from there.

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ohmy Abbotsford Star

ohmy

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4 hours ago, Baer. said:

SHL is a pretty low tier league. Players need to be well over PPG to be considered possible NHLers. But he's still young and has time to improve.

Also Victor Olofsson says hi. Not well over PPG but still ripping it up with the Sabres. Linus could easily carve out a middle six/ bottom six roll if his foot speed is up to snuff.

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vancan2233 Abbotsford Star

vancan2233

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5 hours ago, Baer. said:

SHL is a pretty low tier league. Players need to be well over PPG to be considered possible NHLers. But he's still young and has time to improve.

https://thehockeywriters.com/top-10-best-ice-hockey-leagues/#:~:text=1 10.) Ontario Hockey League (OHL) 2 9.),13 3.) Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)

Top 10 Best Ice Hockey Leagues

3.) SHL (Swedish Hockey League)

 

 

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