Luukas Lilja - Scout report

[Retuperkele 21]

Lacklustering Luukas Lilja landed in Houston Bulls in the S75 VHLM draft as 47th overall pick. Drafting him was obviously a risky move since he had not shown any improvement during his time in the Saskatoon Wild during season 74 of VHLM. Speaking of which he played in 34 games with the Wild, zero points all around. No goals, no assists, no points, no nothing. One lousy +1 on his side with 6 shots on goal and 3 hits in regular season shows the fact. On his playoff period he played in 5 games with no points to nobodys wonder, having 2 shots on goal and 2 hits. Thats it, all his statistics are pathetic and meaningless. Yet, the Houston Bulls decided to draft him. Why?

First of all, Luukas Lilja shows a well-rounded game throughout the ice. His offensive quantities are as promising as his defensive quantities, despite having little to no proof of it. Houston scouts clearly have done their job well, if he blows up big this season and the one after. His most promising talents are his puckhandling and passing. Being a natural playmaker with a heart for defense, he looks to make goals happen rather than he looks to score them himself, which the Houston scouts look to appreciate more. They have also listed down his strengths and weaknesses in order to gain a better view about the player and his plan of improvement.

 

Weaknesses:
First of all, discipline. His lack of discipline is infuriating in the eyes of the Bulls coaching staff. Luukas has a temper, given the fact that he is a hockey player in the end, but its showing too much on the ice. He gets frustrated too much and needs to improve his professionalism
Second, his faceoffs. If you cant win faceoffs, you cant gain pressure and threshold of the enemy team. Especially if he gets his bad mood on, he is going to have lesser impact on the ice. Definitely going to need some stuff done there
Third and final, his scoring, which is weak with a capital W. He cant get open, and he cant shoot, and if he manages to shoot, nobody knows where its going to land

 

Strengths:
Lilja’s first strength is his puckhandling. He rarely loses puck and therefore is being able to gain pressure on the ice.
Second, his passing. His style of play has given him insane pass tendency, and therefore the ability to land passes more easily. He forces the game to the place where he wants it to be, with boldness and creativity.
Third, his strength. He is a massive ’’6’2ft 216lb guy who has quads for days. He rarely loses a 1-on-1 situation with anyone
Last but not least, his two-way game. This guy has massive work rate and is willing to give his all whether its in the defensive zone to prevent opponents from doing anything on the blueline or in the offensive zone where he is moving where he needs to be to be able to open up space for his team.
 

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