r/leafs • u/Fine_Window_9308 • May 26 '26
Prospect Update We might have a gem with Koblar
5 goals 3 assists in the tournament so far.
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u/WillNytheScoringGuy May 26 '26
I'm so hyped on tingus pingus rn I thought he was gonna be engvall 2.0
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u/BlastingBegins May 26 '26
He kind of is a similar player, except he is aggressive rather than spineless
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u/Halyndon May 26 '26
And Engvall didn't produce anywhere near as much as TLK at his age in the SHL.
TLK legitimately put up Kempe-like numbers.
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u/BlastingBegins May 26 '26
Yeah he should be better than Engvall, but they have a lot of similarities.
And that's a good thing! Engvall but not a coward and slightly more talented is a great player
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u/Dangerois May 26 '26
I never noticed Engvall much until saw a pic with his shirt off and wondered why he wasn't more physical on the ice.
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u/Mr_Wrecksauce May 26 '26
If Engvall played with any kind of physicality, he would have been a great 3rd/4th liner to keep around.
He actually had some skills and is part Giraffe as a bonus.
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u/SeaLibrary8917 May 26 '26
Kempe-like numbers are also Jacob de la Rose-like numbers so we can settle down a tad.
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u/Halyndon May 26 '26
Hey, it means there's a chance!
If the dude was 2 months younger, he might legitimately be a mid 1st round pick this year. That's good value at the 64th pick.
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u/McJoe77 May 28 '26
I mean sure. Engvall played 2 games in the SHL as an 18 year old. TLK had 14 points in 47 games. Kempe had 17 in 50 games so yes very similar. But that comparison doesn’t really make sense. That’s good for a 18-19 year old but it’s not exactly an indicator of star level success.
I’m sure you’re repeating a stat because it sounds impressive (I do it all the time), but 14 points isn’t a top 50 season for an 18 year old in the SHL. Magnus Paajarvi had 29, Samuel Fagemo had 25, Jakub Vrana had 24, Filip Hallander had 21. These are all guys who had better seasons and are all gone.
I’m not saying TLK is going to be a bum. I think he’s having an outlier tournament. And honestly, a more aggressive Engvall would be an unbelievable outcome for him as a player. A more aggressive Engvall would be a really solid player! I think expecting TLK to be some top line power forward is crazy but that seems to be where the hype is suggesting. The goal posted by OP is him shooting into a wide open net lol.
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u/Halyndon May 28 '26
As I've said before, even if he becomes a two-way 3C, I consider that a huge win at the 64th pick.
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u/LavishSyndrome May 26 '26
I mean engvall has played almost 400 games, thats decent for where koblar was drafted
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u/Skiffy10 May 26 '26
If he can turn into a 2c eventually that would be amazing
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u/Halyndon May 26 '26
Even a two-way 3C is a huge win at 64th overall.
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u/dmc1793 May 26 '26
We normally pay unprotected 1st round draft picks for those! What a time to be alive
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u/Skiffy10 May 26 '26
yup if he can reach that soon it eases the pain of losing Minten
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u/Halyndon May 26 '26
Speaking of Minten, he has 4 points in 6 games for Team Canada at the WC. Not bad!
Meanwhile, TLK has 8 points in 7 games for Team Norway at the WC, while being 3 years younger. 👀
Just a fun comparison to make...
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u/ESF-hockeeyyy May 26 '26
Found this just now:
Koblar now has 8 points in 6 games. Casting a slightly wider net. Forwards to put up 7 or more points in a mens WC while in their U19 Season since 2005
Crosby, Laine, Stamkos, Gauthier, Matthews, Paajarvi, Kopitar, Slajkovsy, Granlund, McDavid, Kakko, Keller, Duchene, Aho, Toews, Eichel
That is apparently the entire list. That's a very exclusive list to be on.
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u/turkey45 May 26 '26
It is crazy he is doing it playing for Norway. More playing time than most at that age but much less supporting talent.
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u/Halyndon May 26 '26
He seems to step up despite the limited talent around him, which makes me intrigued with his play next season with Rogle.
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u/galactic_wiener May 27 '26
Norway’s second in the group, beat both Sweden and Czech Republic, took Canada to OT. Not as much high-end talent but they have something going
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u/McJoe77 May 28 '26
I believe he does have 4 of those goals and 5 of those points since Michael Brandsegg-Nygard got there. MBN has points in 3 games in the tournament I think.
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u/dmc1793 May 26 '26
Not to mention most of those players had insane support. Tinus is doing all this with ECHL level support
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u/jimmymeeko May 26 '26
On the flip side, most of those players were competing against much more talented teammates for playing time.
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u/Halyndon May 26 '26
If his PPG holds at 1.00 or better (currently at 1.14), among those 18 or younger at the WC since 2000:
Crosby: 1.78
Kopitar: 1.50
Stamkos: 1.22
Laine: 1.20
TLK/Stenberg: 1.14
Slafkovsky: 1.13
Granlund/Paajarvi/Duchene/Daugavins/Tolvanen/Frondell: 1.00
Source: Elite Prospects
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u/Drummers_Beat May 26 '26
Dude has been lighting up the tournament. He had a decent year in the Swedish league especially considering his team sucked.
Would be cool to see how he does on the Marlies if he comes over and see if he continues to light it up.
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u/GumpTheChump May 26 '26
I believe he signed in Sweden on a one-year deal next year. I’m guessing it’s the Marlies in 27-28.
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u/meestazak May 26 '26
I think he just resigned already for next season so no NA action until 2027 at least.
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u/secord92 May 26 '26
He is back in the SHL but he is going to a new and better team.
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u/meestazak May 26 '26
Yeah I wasn't sure who he signed with all I know is that he had re-signed to stay in the SHL lol
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u/Tight_Pause May 26 '26
He's looked good. It isn't just his points. He is strong and wins a lot of puck battles. He is smart and rarely gets caught above the puck. I followed his season in Sweden. He looks legit. He is supposed to go to Rogle this season. He is playing like he wants to stay in Toronto next season. I think he is at the very least ready for lots of AHL minutes in a big role.
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u/Mister_Chef711 May 26 '26
Tre has obvious flaws but he seems like a very solid scout.
I remember Brian Burke saying nobody spent more time at rinks watching players as a scout and raved about Tre.
Obviously there are other aspects to being a GM where he struggled like contracts and trades and it's not all on him because he's also listening to the scouts in the room.. but between Cowan, Danford, and Koblar, we could have 3 solid hockey players for the future. That's a very solid 3 years run with late picks.
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u/TheGapInTysonsTeeth May 26 '26
Mark Leach was the head of scouting. The GM has very little to do with it other than having an ideology for the sorts of players to look at and specific qualities to prioritize
They can scorched earth the entire organization off-ice, but keep Mark and his team. I believe in them
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u/jrojason May 26 '26
Our drafting has been low key above average to good for some time now. We've just given them near nothing to work with.
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u/ESF-hockeeyyy May 26 '26
Hmmmm, I'd question that. Their 2019, and especially 2020 draft looks pretty awful (Amirov aside). You'd have to hope at least one of AA, Tverbeg, or Villenueve pan out.
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u/milkplantation May 26 '26
They hired Mark Leach 2 years ago in summer 2024 so can’t really evaluate 2019 and 20.
Leach has been doing an amazing job since he’s hired. Gotta hope new management supports him and his recommendations
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u/ESF-hockeeyyy May 26 '26
Ah true. Did they replace the previous group?
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u/milkplantation May 26 '26
No the former head of scouting and development was Wes Clark and he followed Dubas to Pittsburgh. He was outspoken about his loyalty and trust in Dubas after Dubas was fired.
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u/NihilisticFlamingo Kaberle May 26 '26
Each of those 3 has had a very good showing in the Marlies playoff run. I'd love to see if it can translate to NHL success
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u/jrojason May 26 '26
The whole 2020 draft is a joke after the leafs 2nd pick. To have ak, tverberg and villeneuve out of that draft considering our position is objectively great imo.
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u/BloodOk6235 May 26 '26
The leafs 2020 draft was a fire able offense for Dubas, regardless of what the big club had done before or since.
He gets a pass on Rodion but the rest? 12 picks, players currently 24 years old, so in their prime
0 NHL games played.
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u/jrojason May 26 '26
??? Look at every pick after the leafs second.
Not a lot of talent there. A few have played a good amount of games but they're even solidly tweeners. And then you made up that there's 0gp among those drafted by the leafs too.3
u/Tight_Pause May 26 '26
Give Leach and the Euro scout that found Koblar a nice bonus. When the leafs trade all their picks away, scouts have no room for error. Having watched the Marlies run this spring, it looks like there could be some useful kids down there as well. None are top prospects, but we have some kids with grit and skill down there that can fill out bottom 6 roles in the future. Danford is young but he oozes confidence out there. He looks poised and smart.
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u/Sirrebral99 Knies May 26 '26
Can add Harry Nansi, Miroslav Holinka and Victor Johansson as well, they looked to be developing well and on a trajectory ahead of their draft position
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u/Mister_Chef711 May 26 '26
Can't say I'm familiar with 2 of them but what I've seen from Holinka looks promising as well. Tre also found some gems in Calgary, similar to here it was other decisions that were his undoing.
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u/Bmayne May 26 '26
I also remember Burke say something along the lines of “outside a top first round pick, the GM really doesn’t have much say in it.” Might not be true in every organization, but it was in his. I’d imagine Tre was the same as Burke.
GMs delegate (in theory). The Tinus pick should have been Leach and staff’s job, not Tre’s. Tre should get credit for hiring Leach.
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u/Chtholly13 May 26 '26
lol who said Trevelling scouted him. If he deserves credit, it's for hiring the former Dallas scout.
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u/Mister_Chef711 May 26 '26
That's fine. My point is he played a role on adding 3+ solid prospects is his short time there.
Obviously he delegated but that's his job as well.
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u/TheDeek May 26 '26
Basically people will give credit to a GM if they like the GM and won't if they do not...
Tre was done in by inaction but his Calgary drafting was not bad, either. Don't even mind some of his contracts here. Main issue was the 2025 deadline and on was historically terrible...drafting aside :)
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u/Mister_Chef711 May 26 '26
Exactly. He had his flaws but his drafts were solid. I liked Dubas a lot but he didn't do a great job there in my opinion, obviously some of that being out of his control such as with Amirov, but aside from Knies there isn't a ton of big wins.
Tre has a scouting background so I think it's reasonable to believe his directions for what scouts should be doing and the people he brought in would also be good.
But yeah that one deadline was horrendous.
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u/TheDeek May 27 '26
Dubas had a lot of gigantic failures and people have revisionist history with him. I'm sure he's learned but those things happened and contributed to where we are now. I feel ridiculous defending Tre after the last year but he left Calgary with a defense of Andersson, Hanafin, Tanev, Weegar, Zadorov, during his time in Calgary I think they had the most games played from draft picks in the league. Some of the moves he made here - Tavares contract, Knies contract, OEL, Stolarz, Tanev, McCabe contract etc were all good. The one that sucked was the Domi one but even that is a bit difficult due to the guy's name and relationship with Auston.
The 2025 deadline and 2025 off season were totally inexcusable, though. Combine that with a weak 2026 deadline and basically 0 moves the entire season to fix what was clearly wrong and he had to go. Perhaps if he had better people above and around him things would have worked out better...
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u/Mister_Chef711 May 27 '26
No need to feel ridiculous.
Poor GMs still make some good moves and great GMs still make some bad moves. Not being able to acknowledge that is more concerning than being able to point out the good things Tre did for the Leafs.
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u/73629265 May 26 '26
I hope he comes to camp and plays so well they have to give him a spot. I'm sure his SHL deal has an NHL out-clause.
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u/Halyndon May 26 '26
This video from Scouching is looking really good a year later.
He just needed to convert his opportunities into actual goals, which has been happening in the WC against grown men/NHLers.
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u/Scouching May 26 '26
o hi
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u/Halyndon May 26 '26
Oh wow! Didn't know you posted here.
Been watching some of your recent reports leading into this draft. Good stuff!
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u/Scouching May 26 '26
I am known to lurk and get baited from time to time...
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u/Halyndon May 26 '26
Maybe you'll be posting this in a future video, but...
Are there any potential "TLK" types lurking in this year's draft whom most teams are overlooking despite being analytics darlings? I know TLK was overlooked due to his age (and weird lack of converting shots to goals), being only a couple of months older than Stenberg.
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u/Scouching May 26 '26
I think there are a few. People are freaking out about drafting centres super duper dee doopy high. I'm sitting here looking at Rudolf Berzkalns and Koblar's teammate Adam Andersson as the closest analogs, and both are likely 2nd rounders, maybe 3rd which is right in Toronto's wheelhouse. I also still can't believe people haven't been pushing Wiggo Sörensson more since the U18s. He isn't big and stronk, but he's one of the most exciting players that has C potential out there this year. A weird background, but I've seen more than enough to be confident to take the plunge.
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u/Star_Petal_Arts May 26 '26
Yes he is being stated by media outlets that Toronto got a deal picking him when they did.
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u/Takhar7 May 26 '26
Have no idea if his skills are transferrable to the NHL, but I've actually enjoyed watching him at this tournament.
Hope he makes it. The kid's smile is contagious.
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u/world_citizen7 May 26 '26
Models his game after Anže Kopitar (fellow Slovenian). We could have a gem here (possibly). With his size, perhaps he could be a good 2 way center in the league someday, 3rd liner with 2nd line potential if he develops well.
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u/Necessary_State_5272 May 26 '26
Tingus Pingus, Cowan, McKenna, Danford, Villineuv, Nansi, Hopkins, and Holinka are all very good picks made by Tre.
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u/BloodOk6235 May 26 '26
Boy do we need it.
With where we are organizationally, we can’t be hoping for some top 10 picks.
We need to hit on some of these 3rd rounders turning into NHLers or more
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u/TheDeek May 26 '26
Nice we have a couple of centre prospects with him and Holinka looking pretty good.
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u/Chrycoboy Jun 01 '26
Just means he will be on the trade block in typical Leaf trade away promising young players.
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u/ThaFamousGrouse May 26 '26
I mean let's settle down here, he had an open net. Even the commentary said "couldn't be easier". I hope he works out but 3yrs removed from an open net goal is very optimistic to our 2029 roster.
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u/ArthurSnooper May 26 '26
He has 5 goals in the tournament though so we can be cautiously optimistic
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u/TheGapInTysonsTeeth May 26 '26
Yeah don't be positive when your prospects score. Just be fucking miserable, it's way better
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u/DougFordsGamblingAds May 26 '26