Timothy Liljegren is the biggest “will he or won’t he” for the Leafs this year. Unlike Carl Grundström, the choice for Liljegren is not the NHL roster or back to Sweden. He can play in the AHL.
Liljegren had a rough outing in his first rookie tournament game. Since that tournament only has two games this season, it’s not going to tell anyone a lot about Liljegren’s game or state of development, but it’s a hint.
One hint is that his defensive game has lots of room for improvement. While I’m sure people will rush to explain that Liljegren was hung out to dry on some of his four goals against on Friday night — almost as fast as he fruitlessly rushed to get into position some of the time — he is a rookie for real, and he makes mistakes.