Tom Willander | D

[MikeyD]

15 minutes ago, Pure961089 said:

I think Willander has been hiding his final true form for years.  Letting ASP take all the spotlight.  But I think Willander is the real gem.  Tell me who this reminds you of at 00:57 mark.  His rush up the ice is Makar tier . 10/10 

 

 

 

There's lots of guys in this year's draft capable of doing that rush. Good speed generation and motor, but he's also not really deceiving or adjusting speed to open up room to set up angles or open up passing lanes.

 

Do you like to see it? Yes. But at the NHL level most of the times going 1v5 or 1v4 with you solo ahead of the play without those aspects of change in pace or deception just end up being dead end rushes. There's potential there though for sure. But those kind of rushes are a dime a dozen at junior level. He had no business gaining the line on that rush because he lacked support. Only reason he gained it is because junior and team Germany lol.

 

Edit: you should check out Tanner Molendyk. You may find him exciting. 

Edited June 29, 2023 by MikeyD

[Pure961089]

9 minutes ago, riprypien said:

His skating reminds me of Pettersson.

Pettersson's not that fast. He's fast but not that fast. 

[cripplereh]

I am glad we got another D man.

 

EPD , Hirose,Woo, Johansson, McWard and others. Make our D in the next three years look awesome.

[Pure961089]

3 minutes ago, MikeyD said:

There's lots of guys in this year's draft capable of doing that rush. Good speed generation and motor, but he's also not really deceiving or adjusting speed to open up room to set up angles or open up passing lanes.

 

Do you like to see it? Yes. But at the NHL level most of the times going 1v5 or 1v4 with you solo ahead of the play without those aspects of change in pace or deception just end up being dead end rushes. There's potential there though for sure. But those kind of rushes are a dime a dozen at junior level. He had no business gaining the line on that rush because he lacked support. Only reason he gained it is because junior and team Germany lol.

 

Edit: you should check out Tanner Molendyk. You may find him exciting. 

You should watch more video. He does all that.  

[MikeyD]

Just now, Pure961089 said:

You should watch more video. He does all that.  

I was singularly commenting on the rush you asked me to watch. 

[Sean Monahan]

2 hours ago, MikeyD said:

It'd be amazing if he turned out like Brodin for the defensive aspect. Could grow into it with proper development. He's definitely well above average defensively for somebody his age. His engagement is probably my favourite aspect. I found him, Reinbacher and Simashev all had upper echelon defensive work. And like you said, if he was more dynamic with his offense he would have been selected even higher than Reinbacher. Reinbacher is more polished (the most out of this draft in my opinion) and then Simashev and Willander are in a tier below that but all have unique aspects of what makes them good. All 3 have spots of brilliance, but need a lot more consistency in their offensive games. 

Yeah I was talking about Brodin as more of a high-end comp. Maybe a best-case scenario, though best case would probably mean he develops his offensive game a bit. 

[Tinky-Winky]

DAM, canucks fans are never happy, so much hate and anger on social media on this poor guy ....its stupid

[CanuckleHorse]

2 hours ago, Tinky-Winky said:

DAM, canucks fans are never happy, so much hate and anger on social media on this poor guy ....its stupid

I was looking at the posts on Facebook to see if this was true I’d say %99 of the people are very happy and those that are mouthing off are not fans just the usual dedicated goofs who are always on Canucks posts the poor lost souls that we owned and made to look foolish now we could never get rid off 

[DeltaSwede]

Can't say I viewed him much at all this season (I didn't watch a second) but tried to get some info/highlights in when his name got linked with the Canucks. 

 

Projections I'll leave for the pros but I agree with Allvin almost word-to-word on his evaluation of the player. I am really intrigued by his choice of heading to BU. Didn't know that prior to the pick being anounced.

 

That choice and commitment says so much more if you understood it from "the Swedish perspective". It speaks volumes for his character - that's a mature and committed thing to do. It's the odd ball choice, perhaps also one that not everyone even realizes exists. I'm sure his decision was met with a lot of questioning, yet he still seems fully committed and engaged in this "next chapter" as he likes to say. When he explains why, it all makes sense, it seems almost obvious that BU is the best spot for him. 

He seems so aware of himself as a player and person. Those rumored elite draft interview grades seem to check-out. 

 

I think we've got a chance of having something really, really good here. 

Edited June 29, 2023 by DeltaSwede

[Smashian Kassian]

10 hours ago, -Vintage Canuck- said:

 

 

Wow really impressive kid. We've drafted a lot of Europeans lately but how often do you get one whos English is so advanced at this age.

 

Not a surprise his interviews blew teams away at the combine. Good head on his shoulders. 

 

 

[Smashian Kassian]

What I found so impressive about Willander's game is his poise with the puck and his defensive details/awareness.

 

Off the puck he's really smart about identifying his man & taking the option away, this is something some kids at this age tend to have trouble with imo. Then when he's defending the rush or against the walls he's really good at initiating contacts, using body position to protect the puck once it's free, then with his poise finding the right option instantly. It's the kind of stuff that gets magnified in the playoffs.

 

Offensively he hasn't showed the most but he's does have really good puck skills & he's pretty good at getting shots through from the blueline which is an underrated skill imo.

[WeneedLumme]

4 hours ago, Tinky-Winky said:

DAM, canucks fans are never happy, so much hate and anger on social media on this poor guy ....its stupid

Seriously? I see a lot of very happy Canucks fans with just a couple of trolls spouting their usual crap pretending to be clever and knowledgeable. Where are you looking, HFBoards?

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[DrJockitch]

6 minutes ago, WeneedLumme said:

Seriously? I see a lot of very happy Canucks fans with just a couple of trolls spouting their usual crap pretending to be clever and knowledgeable. Where are you looking, HFBoards?

I think it is the nature of these boards and fandom that some people get enamoured with and argue for specific players which gets them more emotionally invested. 
Sometimes they make emotional responses because of that. Someone threw an absolute tantrum about us not picking Benson on the draft thread because they had a chub on for Benson. 
Canucks had him as their BPA and he is definitely a more valuable asset than a slow small winger. 

[Ballisticsports.]

10 hours ago, Pickly said:

You only have so many picks in a draft and the Canucks clearly needed a RHD. They drafted a RHD and people are still bitching because apparently some 5’7 playmaker was still on the board. How’s Kyler Yamamoto working out for Edmonton?
 

Good size, great skating, and wants to be in Vancouver. I call it a win @ #11 until further notice.  
 

 

I agree

I don't know enough about any of these kids and surely no one on here has more knowledge than what our scouting team has seen and heard from the kid

He just wants to play hockey and in Vancouver, so I hope the best for TW and to be better than what management even expects

As in any draft, players picked below him may turn into stars, (as may TW) and plays in a harder to find position

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[coryberg]

8 hours ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

Solid 2 way guy, we need a guy like Willander, probably since Edler left us. You just know Allvin had Reinbacher and maybe even Simashev higher and then probably ASP and Lindstein lower.

 

Going to Boston in the NCAA is huge next year for him too. Get used to North American hockey, hopefully get into the AHL in the following year and bottom pairing NHL minutes the next year when the OEL big cap hit hits on an ELC.

 

Hope he does well in Boston, would like to see at least 0.5PPG, hopefully he can end up being a solid Hampus Lindholm/mini-Heiskanen type guy for us. If he can be a 40-50 pt 15+ defenceman I'd be happy with the pick.

Way to go out on a limb! 

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[-Vintage Canuck-]