Timothy Liljegren has a hill to climb before he gets to the draft. He was selected to play for Team Sweden at the U18 World Championship in Slovakia, and the tournament gave him a stage to show off his skills ahead of the draft. But an underwhelming performance last season spawned reports that he was sliding in rankings — will his credible showing in Slovakia manage to stop the slide?
In seven games played in the tournament, Liljegren had two assists and four PIM, about what you'd expect for a young defenseman. But he also had 28 shots on goal (second-most for Team Sweden's defensemen, the first being Erik Brannstrom at 37), which averages to four per game, showing that he is definitely an offensive-minded defenseman.