When the best player available also fits one of your organizational weaknesses, you’ve started the draft off right. That’s exactly what the Leafs got with Timothy Liljegren.
Pick #17
More qualitatively, his skillset seems to fit in beautifully in the modern NHL. He can skate, he can pass, and he can carry the puck. He also has the confidence to use these skills, sometimes to his own detriment. All told, he has the talent that scouts drool over. There are questions about his defensive ability, but that’s par for the course with prospects like this. I don’t doubt that there’s validity to those questions, but I’m always a fan of betting on puck skills, skating, and playmaking.