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Dallas Stars Draft Profile: Rogle BK Defenseman Timothy Liljegren

By Tom Dorsa |
Jan 14, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; A view of Victory Plaza and the NHL Centennial Museum truck before the game between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 14, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; A view of Victory Plaza and the NHL Centennial Museum truck before the game between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Up until the NHL Draft on June 23rd, the team at Blackout Dallas will be rolling out previews of the potential Dallas Stars selections. Today, we look at Timothy Liljegren.

Name: Timothy Liljegren

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Right-handed

Hometown: Kristianstad, Sweden

Birthdate: April 30th, 1999

Size: 6-foot-0, 197 lbs

Team: Timra IK on loan (Hockeyallsvenskan), Rogle BK (Swedish Hockey League)

Stats: One goal, four assists, five points with Rogle BK, one assist, one point with Timra IK.

NHL Ceiling: Top-pair offensive defenseman with power play quarterback skill

Each of the 31 teams in the National Hockey League would kill for offensive-defensemen that skate with the potency that Timothy Liljegren possesses. Often compared to Los Angeles Kings blueliner and Norris Trophy winner Drew Doughty, Liljegren is a fluent puck-handler and skater with NHL-level skill and size that would fit will well with the Dallas Stars.

The Dallas Stars have an excess of puck-moving righties on the blueline such as John Klingberg, Julius Honka, or Stephen Johns. Liljegren would not be an immediate fit on their current roster due to this, but the Swede provides an intriguing element of skill and speed and that makes the decision at #3 overall even harder.

Timothy Liljegren is an electric offensive-defenseman with marvelous puck-moving abilities backed up by quick, consistent footwork. His skating allows him to bring the puck up the ice and feed forwards, or release his heavy, accurate wrist shot. He often eludes opposing forecheckers with agile, tireless edgework that rivals defenders in the NHL right now.

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Liljegren will almost certainly be a future power play specialist with whichever NHL franchise uses their first round pick on the transitionally-adept right-handed defenseman. He doesn’t get beat too often in his own zone due to wonderful anticipating of breakout plays, and Liljegren has the size to back up any potential mistakes in bringing the puck out.

In watching his highlights, it’s easy to notice that he isn’t ever too hesitant with the puck. A number of defensemen in today’s professional game are deft in terms of seeing all of the options the play presents and acting accordingly, which is arguably the foremost attribute put forth by Liljegren: he sees the ice remarkably well and puts the puck where it needs to be at all times in a matter of milliseconds.

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This skating ability and wherewithal to make a quick, intelligent decision also helps out in the defensive zone, ad aforementioned. It’s a grueling task to forecheck against a Liljegren-led defensive pair as his active playing style makes it burdensome on opposing forwards.

The only question mark is one out of Liljegren’s control; the bacterial disease known as mononucleosis singlehandedly derailed the 2016-17 season for the Swedish defenseman after many expected him to make a stellar jump into the SHL with Rogle BK. Since Liljegren suffered from fatigue and soreness due to this illness, he never got on track with scored only five points in 17 games.

Liljegren failed to register a goal after being loaned to the second-tier club Timra IK (the team for which forward Elias Pettersson plays), as he never seemed to turn the tides after battling mononucleosis. However, Liljegren isn’t the only Draft eligible player that went through this sickness, and most teenagers (Liljegren is just 18) can rebound pretty quickly from it.

If Liljegren pans out next season in the Swedish Hockey League, it isn’t hyperbole to expect an surfeit of goals and assists. To underline this point is to mention his stats with Rogle BK’s under-16 team when the Swede was just 14 years old: 27 games played, 22 goals, 19 assists, 41 points. Liljegren’s capabilities as a defender in Sweden’s top ice hockey sanctioning body are more along the lines of these stats as opposed to his underwhelming 2016-17 numbers.

Liljegren’s potential is as advertised: top-two blueliner with speed to burn, and a lethal power play option. As the NHL leans further and further toward a game where speed beats size, Liljegren will be a fit anywhere.

Next: Martin Nečas Could Join Radek Faksa as Skilled Czech Centers in Dallas

The Dallas Stars love to play a breathtaking up-tempo game, one that Liljegren can not only hold his own in, but improve mightily. Let’s see where the Swede winds up come June 23rd.

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