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roastpuff · 08-07-2020, 06:30 PM

[SHN] 1v1 Series - Rookie Rivalry Round 1: Magnus Liljestrom vs. Jukka Timonen

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graphics credit to @reid - thanks Reid!

Hello, and welcome to a new Simulation Hockey News Network Series - 1v1! In this series of articles we will take an in-depth look at two players who are closely matched to see the fine details and nuances between the two of them, and talk about what similarities or differences they might have between them! To kick off this series of articles, we will focus on some of the rookies for this S55 season of the SHL, and how they fit into each team’s structure.

For our premiere article, we will take a look at two budding defensemen who made their debut this season for their respective senior teams - Jukka Timonen, of the Manhattan Rage, and Magnus Liljestrom, who plays for the Winnipeg Jets. Both were first-round picks for their respective SHL teams, and Liljestrom holds the distinction of being the first overall pick of the S53 SHL Draft. Timonen was picked with the 10th overall pick of the same draft, but that doesn’t mean that he is any less talented of a player than Liljestrom. They’re both in the top 5 for TPE in their class, with Liljestrom holding a razor-thin lead, and both have slotted into their SHL teams quite nicely.

First, we will take a look at their player builds and see how they compare with each other.

Build and Skills

As you can see, the two rookie defensemen share a broad swath of similarities physically before diverging in terms of the focus of their skill sets. In terms of physical attributes, Timonen holds an advantage in balance and strength, whereas Liljestrom has the advantage in his bravery and willingness to go retrieve the puck. Where they start to differ majorly, however, is in that Timonen is offensively focused while Liljestrom prioritized defense over attacking.

Timonen is more slippery than Liljestrom, being more able to find space and getting open to pass and shoot the puck, and has a better range for his shot. His puck handling skills and passing skills are also a significant step up above Liljestrom’s passing and puck handling, enabling him to make and receive passes that thread the seams more closely, and to do dazzling dangles around opposing forecheckers when getting out of the defensive zone or when performing a zone entry.

However, even though Timonen is the bigger body than Liljestrom (6 feet 3 inches compared to 5 foot 11 inches, and 215 pounds compared to 199 pounds), he doesn’t really use his physical size very much, preferring to rely on his stick checking and sound positioning to cover the puck or shooting lanes defensively. His hitting isn’t great, and he isn’t as eager to get into the scrum to retrieve the puck in his own zone. However, Timonen doesn’t hesitate to get in front of pucks to block shot attempts, so full marks there.

Whereas Timonen is an offensively-geared defenseman, Liljestrom is slanted in the opposite direction: defense first. Liljestrom has a keen eye defensively, reading the play in his own zone better than Timonen, and excellent positioning meaning that he’s usually in the right position at the right time to disrupt the attack with either his active stick or excellent checking to tie up the opposing player. He’s not the biggest hitter out there, but he is willing to lay the body and separate the puck from the carrier, and doesn’t waver when going down to block shots from the point or from the slot. Liljestrom also willingly engages in board battles and scrums for the puck, but needs to work on his strength so that he can emerge victorious more often.

This defense-first approach doesn’t mean that Liljestrom doesn’t have offensive chops; though he may not be as good of a puck handler or a passer, and doesn’t get away as cleanly from forecheckers as easily, Liljestrom can still keep up with developing offensive plays and on the rush as his offensive read is still very good. His shooting accuracy does suffer at range however, and he isn’t really known for a dangerous shot.

Ice Time and Deployment

After we have examined their individual builds’ strengths and weaknesses, how has that translated into their performance on the ice for their respective teams?

@"smalinowski7" - Jukka Timonen - Manhattan Rage Rage

Timonen’s deployment as a quarterback defenseman has been primarily on the third pairing for Manhattan, alongside veteran blueliner Reginald MacIntyre. The yang to Timonen’s yin, MacIntyre is a crease-clearing defenseman who is tasked to be the defense to Timonen’s offense, and to mentor the rookie as he grows and matures in the SHL. The pair average around 15-16 minutes a night, with Timonen getting looks on the 2nd unit power-play with roughly a minute per night of special teams time, and basically no penalty kill time, as Manhattan has many veterans to hold down the back end. With that special teams time, so far Timonen has collected one power play point, an assist, though he has distributed the puck fairly well for a rookie defender.

So far, through 24 games, Timonen has managed to get nine points, all assists, and currently sports a -9 plus-minus rating, which is unfortunately tied for the worst on Manhattan alongside his partner, MacIntyre. Sporting a 97.4 PDO rating, Timonen has been unlucky even though he holds a decent Corsi For percentage of 47.8% which is quite good for a rookie defenseman. Due to the generally higher TPE nature of the other Manhattan players, Timonen’s relative Corsi is at -10.9% which is not overly concerning, as his partner has 400 more TPE than he does and should rightly be driving the play more than Timonen does. Hopefully moving forward, Timonen’s luck will improve and his advanced stats will regress more towards the mean as he continues to grow in skill and TPE level.

@roastpuff - Magnus Liljestrom - Winnipeg Jets Jets

Liljestrom has been mostly on the second pairing for Winnipeg (possibly the third, as the line blender that is Winnipeg makes this somewhat unclear) paired with either Osbert Whacker as a shutdown pairing, or with Adam Barron as a more offensively oriented duo, as his two-way defenseman build is very versatile in that regard. He is currently seeing the least ice-time by about half a minute for any Winnipeg defender with around 18 minutes a night, but that is understandable given his rookie status. However, Liljestrom does put in time on special teams - just over half a minute for the powerplay on the second unit, and about a minute and fifteen seconds for the penalty kill, and that has paid off with one power play point, an assist, and a shorthanded point, another assist. Liljestrom has amassed 23 shot blocks, which is respectable, but has a propensity for giving the puck away with 12 giveaways to 4 takeaways, which needs improvement.

Winnipeg has only played 22 games, which is the fewest when compared to some other teams, but Liljestrom has managed to get 11 points which is tied for 2nd amongst all rookies, and leading all other rookie defensemen. He also sports a +3 plus-minus rating which is tied for 3rd best on Winnipeg, and leads all the rookies for S55. In terms of advanced stats, Liljestrom has been blessed with a bit of puck luck as his PDO sits at 102.8, with a positive 0.3 goal differential, while the shots against still sits at a negative value. With a Corsi For % of 44.7% Liljestrom is behind Timonen in that regard, and could use some improvement in holding on to the puck. Winnipeg’s defenders are mostly excellent outside of Whacker, but Liljestrom is holding his own with a relative Corsi For % of -3.5% which could be attributed to his time with Adam Barron, who has close to 1400 TPE.

Conclusion

We’re not really here to declare a winner and a loser (and these two defensemen are really hard to separate in terms of impact), but instead comparing and contrasting two players who sit at a similar level to see how they fit into each team’s structure and how they differ in terms of the focus of their builds. These two young defensemen look promising for each team’s future top pairing, though they have different focuses - Liljestrom on preventing offense, while Timonen wants to create more offense - and we are sure to see them clash more often in the future as they continue to gain experience and skill in the SHL.

Code:
1418 words + data gathering and chart work, ready for grading

***luke*** · 08-07-2020, 06:40 PM

Obviously Timonen is the clear winner

juke · 08-07-2020, 06:43 PM

Two future studs <3

Great write up!

*Leppish* · 08-07-2020, 07:09 PM

Timonen ez

***TheSparkyDee*** · 08-08-2020, 12:53 PM

Magnus Liljestrom is best with.... "FLYING" COLORS

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