Leafs prospect Liljegren savours Swedish sojourn
BUFFALO, N.Y.— Timothy Liljegren has been to the top of the CN Tower, and to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The teenager has figured his way around Toronto. He’s got himself a regular role with the Toronto Marlies, a team that makes him feel at home.
And now he’s patrolling Sweden’s blue line at the IIHF World Junior Hockey championship.
Yes, the 2017-18 hockey season is working out way better than the 2016-17 season for the top blue line prospect of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“I play a minimum of 15 minutes a game for the Marlies, so that’s been good,” Liljegren said Wednesday after a Team Sweden practice. “To re- ally belong to one team is something that I wanted, so it’s been good.”
Liljegren said it was his preference to come the Marlies, when he had the choice to return to Sweden this year to play for Rogle, his club team in the Swedish Hockey League. But he didn’t like how they treated him after he came back from a long bout of mononucleosis. He was loaned to Timra in a division below, didn’t play much and felt a season of development was wasted. His draft stock dropped from the top five to 17th, where the Leafs felt lucky to get him. “I came for the summer camp and rookie camp and I felt I developed a lot, and for me being a Marlie was the best place to continue to develop,” Liljegren said. “I didn’t really want to throw away one more year in Sweden with Rogle. I think I made the right decision.”
Liljegren doesn’t have a favourite welcome-to-the-AHL moment at this point, but he thinks he got his big welcome at Leafs rookie camp in London in September.
“The first game in the rookie tournament, in my first three shifts I was hit like five times,” Liljegren said. “That was a learning moment for me to keep my head up all the time.”
Liljegren had a four-game point streak at the start of the year, and has a goal and eight assists in 18 Marlies games.
Loaned to Sweden, Liljegren had three shots on goal and a penalty in Sweden’s opening 8-1win against Belarus on Tuesday. He played mostly with Linus Hogberg (Vaxjo Lakers) and Jacob Moverare (Mississauga Steelheads).
His bout with mono last year precluded him from even being considered for Sweden’s team last year.
He’s tickled he made the “Tre kronor” squad.
“It’s an honour,” said Liljegren. “It’s something you dream about as a kid, to wear the Three Crowns.”