With Pick #64, the Leafs select Tinus Luc Koblar

The Maple Leafs selected Tinus Luc Koblar with the 64th pick, the final pick of the second round. I am personally ecstatic with this pick, but surprised by how HIGH they took him.

Koblar is a big centre from Norway who was teammates with Victor Johansson on Leksands in the J20 Nationell in Sweden this year. He didn't have a lot of points, but the team was stacked and he worked his way up to being one of their top all situations centres. He was fantastic at the World U18s as well for Norway, as one of their top centres/players.

As a quick reminder, here's what I wrote about him earlier in the week:

And here's a full scouting report video from Will Scouch.

Koblar is definitely a surprise pick, but Toronto has made something of a habit of that in recent years. I think he could be considered a reach only because almost no-one had him ranked, so I think you could have waited until the third round. But, if Toronto likes him that much then I don't hate taking him when you know you can, if he was who they had at the top of the board.

Here is who had him ranked:

Will Scouch - 50th
Tony Ferrari (Hockey News) - 55th
Dobber Prospects - 64th
McKeen's Hockey - 120th
Corey Pronman - 144th in his full mock draft
NHL Central Scouting - 56th among European skaters

Scouting Reports

Here are what various scouting outlets said about him:

Elite Prospects' Draft Guide:

Together with Mikkel Eriksen, Tinus Luc Koblar represents the best chance for a Norwegian to get picked in June. The 6-foot-3 centre made the jump to the Leksands organization two years ago, and spent his draft year putting together a decent campaign at the J20 level, slightly improving his scoring pace during the second half of the season. He was also a regular fit for Norway internationally at both at the U18 and U20 levels.

Our staff could see Luc Koblar’s profile drawing some NHL attention. He’s a big-bodied centre with a rather projectable mechanical base. He employs a deep, steady skating stride and can be deceivingly fast, which he used to generate value both in transition as a puck carrier and through an imposing forechecking presence. There were some exciting handling moments, occasionally dazzling with flashy dekes at higher speeds off the rush. His size was a strength at the net front, too, scoring most of his goals from that area by being in the right place at the right time.

While Luc Koblar could leverage his physicality, mechanical proficiency and size into a career in the professional ranks, our staff was left pondering how much offensive upside he has. His overall ability to read the game, make the right plays with the puck, and create consistent offence in translatable ways were noted as potential weak points. Even if he didn’t get all of the offensive opportunities on his team, only adding 21 points in 43 games is a piece of concrete evidence for our concerns.

Given he’s relatively young for this draft and only has two seasons under his belt in Sweden, Luc Koblar might have more developmental runaway compared to your average prospect in a similar situation. There are some good building blocks already in place, too, in addition to the exciting flashes he was occasionally able to provide. Realistically, though, we see him more as a potential contributor for the European professional ranks rather than having legitimate NHL upside.

From McKeen's Hockey:

The point totals won’t jump out at you, but Koblar was a versatile two-way force down the stretch for Leksands J20 on a line with two one-dimensional players in Melvin Novotny and Jonas Lagerberg Hoen. His greatest strength is his hockey sense. He makes astute reads and positions himself well off-puck. He can be physical when he has to be, despite needing to add some muscle to his frame. Koblar uses his size to insulate pucks from forecheckers and win body positioning along the walls. He’s got great vision and a creative, reliable passing touch. The quality of his shot isn’t anything special, but his shot selection is quite good. His weak point is definitely his skating. He has a hard time accelerating quickly and his foot work needs improvement. That being said, skating can be improved. If an NHL team is willing to invest some time and energy into him, Koblar could be a long-term bet for a mid-six forward. He’s already got a great two-way game and he’s poised to breakout offensively next season.

From Dobber Prospects:

Tinus Luc Koblar’s package of tools is very enticing. The tall and lanky center combines sharp agility with very quick handles to exploit strong defenses. He also has moments of physicality that should only become more frequent and violent as he gets stronger.

I'll have a full profile up on him later this weekend/next week!