<\/p>\nGetting to Know Tinus Luc Koblar<\/p>\n
The Slovenian-born, Norwegian-raised giant playing in Sweden was a surprise pick, but could wind up being a pleasant surprise gem.<\/p>\n
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The TL;DR is that Koblar is a long term project, very raw right now but has a lot of potential. He’s big and physical, he can play as a solid two-way centre, he’s a good forechecker, he’s a very hard worker, and he looks like he has some good potential as an offensive contributor that he seems very close to figuring out. <\/p>\n
The project part will be cleaning up some mechanical elements of his game, like his skating and his shot, and practicing and practicing and practicing some more to unlock his skills to the point that he can be more successful on a more regular basis with the plays he tries to make. <\/p>\n
Going back to the thing I wrote in Johansson’s T25U25 article, what I like about Koblar is that he’s already had one leap in his development. What he is as a player now is an almost night and day difference between where he was at the start of last season. And I picked up some tidbits from the commentary around the development camp to believe he’s already made a big step in the quality of his shot.<\/p>\n
That’s why Koblar is another guy where I am buying the leap(s), and buying in on him aggressively even if it seems early. I don’t know how much time he spent in Toronto this summer but I hope he got to meet with Knies and spend some time picking up some of his tricks as a power forward. The puck handling and puck protection especially, how to use his size, etc.<\/p>\n
The Votes<\/p>\n
Shockingly, I was not the only one to go pretty aggressive on Koblar. Only one of the voters did not have him in their top 10, two of us had him in the top 5, and four alone had him at 6th. <\/p>\n
Voter
\n Vote <\/p>\n
Cathy
\n 6 <\/p>\n
Brigstew
\n 5 <\/p>\n
Species
\n 6 <\/p>\n
Hardev
\n 6 <\/p>\n
shinson93
\n 3 <\/p>\n
Cameron
\n 8 <\/p>\n
Zone Entry
\n 7 <\/p>\n
Svalbard38
\n 8 <\/p>\n
dhammm
\n 14 <\/p>\n
adam
\n 6 <\/p>\n
Weighted Average
\n 6.9 <\/p>\n
Highest Vote
\n 3 <\/p>\n
Lowest Vote
\n 14 <\/p>\n
Shockingly, I was not the one to rank Koblar the highest. I wrote about Koblar before the draft as a target for Toronto, I’ve seen him go through one leap already, and I am all in on him taking at least one more. The only guys I couldn’t bring myself to rank Koblar ahead of are Knies, Cowan, Danford, and Maccelli. So two prospects drafted in the first round, Toronto’s best young player, and an established NHL regular. I liked Thrun enough to put him ahead of some other regular NHLers who, so far, seem like they’re more depth (NRob, Thrun) and all other prospects. <\/p>\n
The Opinions<\/p>\n
Here’s what the other voters had to say about Koblar:<\/p>\n
Shinson93: I am high on Koblar. I\u2019ve been waiting years for the Leafs to get some center depth high in the draft. Similar to Johansson, I\u2019m looking at his family stock (olympian parents) and projecting he\u2019s still got more to go on his development curve. He\u2019s already got size and skill and a high end compete level. I\u2019ll be watching his WJC games and if he gets any Leksands SHL games this year.Cathy: I almost ranked him over Robertson. But I couldn\u2019t quite bring myself to do it. But I will bet you I\u2019ll think I should have some day. First, his family is an advantage to him. Not genetically, that sort of talk about athletes is both grotesque and a misrepresentation of how genetics work, but because his parents understand what it takes, how long it takes, how hard it is, and what you give up. And on top of that, he\u2019s in what is clearly a good hot house development system with Leksands, and he\u2019s got Johansson right there with him. It\u2019s not Willy and Pasta, but it also kind of is in form if not level. And make no mistake, I\u2019m very realistic about his potential level. He\u2019s not going to be a star. He\u2019s going to be fun, though.dhammm: It\u2019ll take a few seasons of explosive growth from Koblar for me to forecast a future for him like that of Holmberg or Engvall, which is fine but not exactly a spectacular outcome. The rank I gave him is mostly out of deference to scouts I read and take seriously.Svalbard38: I think when we drafted Koblar, a lot of people got flashbacks to Mark Hunter and his Large Adult Sons. TLK is 6\u20193, wasn\u2019t ranked especially highly by Central Scouting, and when we drafted size for the rest of the draft, some of the fanbase got worried. Central Scouting\u2019s ranking isn\u2019t everything though. Time and time again we see players go ahead of where the publicly available scouting says they should go, and if we know that other teams were in on Koblar, 64 might have been the right place to pick him. He\u2019s more than a big body, too. Everything I\u2019ve seen since drafting him praises his hockey IQ and his drive to win, and those qualities never go out of style.<\/p>\n
So now it’s your turn. Tell us what you think about Koblar and where you had him on your list!<\/p>\n
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