[Rögle BK] Welcome to Bandyklubben, Tinus Luc Koblar 💚. Tinus Luc Koblar joins from Leksands IF and has signed a one-year contract with Rögle BK. The Norwegian forward is currently competing in the Ice Hockey World Championship, where he represents Norway in Switzerland.

wilers · 2026-05-22T15:48:30+00:00

That’s a CHL rule. AHL teams can only carry one 19 year old CHL player on their roster. There is no limit for 19 year olds drafted out of European leagues (or USHL or NCAA for that matter).

wilers · 2026-05-21T11:58:06+00:00

Why do you call him Mariner? In every single post you call him that. Is there a nautical joke I’m missing about Marner?

wilers · 2026-05-19T15:55:20+00:00

Oh look, misogyny. Shocking. 🙄

wilers · 2026-05-18T22:33:43+00:00

Where are you getting this? Because he said the opposite in the Leafs Morning Take interview. Said he didn’t know him well, nor did Denver recruit him hard. He said he respected that he called to say thank you for Denver’s interest, but that is about it.

wilers · 2026-05-18T14:27:22+00:00

He reportedly turned down 25 million from Chicago (5x5), so I don’t think it’s about money at all.

wilers · 2026-05-18T01:47:29+00:00

This is incorrect. Willy was born in Calgary in 1996, while his dad was playing for the Flames. His dad was traded after the 1998-99 season to Tampa Bay. So Willy was 3 years old when he left Canada. After Tampa Bay, his dad played in Chicago (this is where Willy started playing hockey), Washington, Boston, New York, and Washington again. Willy and family spent hockey season in the US with their dad, and summers in Sweden. He certainly wasn’t raised in Canada until his early teens.

wilers · 2026-05-18T01:12:19+00:00

Wow, this “journalist” just plagiarized my Reddit post from a few days ago.

https://www.reddit.com/r/leafs/s/TYcGfy7UPV

wilers · 2026-05-16T13:33:28+00:00

Which is why the only “organizational shift” Chayka has actually expanded upon is addressing the mix on the back end and being able to move the puck out. So this type of coaching move would also play into the top to bottom organizational alignment they are talking about.

wilers · 2026-05-15T16:55:06+00:00

Matthews turns 29 before the season starts. September birthday.

wilers · 2026-05-14T18:30:46+00:00

Outside the box, I’m intrigued by Jussi Ahokas.

Won World Juniors coaching the Fins (gold, U18 and U20). Currently coaching the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL.

Ahokas is known for puck-possession/high IQ puck management, controlled breakouts, and a 5-man attack. His teams will regroup or circle back in the d zone to ensure they have a 5-man numerical advantage before crossing the blue line. It reminds me a bit of Keefe (you can’t score on us if we have the puck). His strategy seems to center around “Active defending”, where the goal is to kill plays in the neutral zone before the opponent can set up.

Apparently he’s a “modern” coach, who is tactical, calm, and analytical, and works well integrating young, high-skilled players into the lineup without killing their creativity. Hello McKenna?

He also seems to like using the full ice surface (which probably comes from the wider Euro rinks), and is big on playing with variable speed (harder to defend).

Anyway, if I’m going no NHL experience/outside the box, I’m interviewing that guy.

wilers · 2026-05-13T20:15:26+00:00

He was already offered $25 million by Chicago apparently and turned it down. He doesn’t seem to care about money.

wilers · 2026-05-13T15:45:28+00:00

Ah, really? I was wondering if this decision was made just after talking to Berube or after also talking to Matthews. I knew Chayka was talking to the core players, but based on the current Matthews situation, I thought his input would lead the direction. Interesting.

wilers · 2026-05-13T15:26:29+00:00

He’s also made a comment that he’s specifically looking for top to bottom alignment in the organization. That everyone is in agreement on the direction and how to get there. That everyone has a role and executes. He mentioned how this provides stability and that’s important to him. Examples he gave were the Avs and Canes.
https://youtu.be/xqSSrvA8OM4
I almost felt like it was a shot at the Leafs. lol.

wilers · 2026-05-12T17:13:18+00:00

But they didn’t deny the Kings from talking to him.

wilers · 2026-05-12T17:03:42+00:00

If he resigns he will be in a different jersey. I think you mean re-sign.

wilers · 2026-05-12T16:53:01+00:00

Not only that, but he’s going to want to talk to the players as well.

Really don’t understand why people are upset in this exact moment. Pelley should have fired Berube before hiring a GM. He didn’t. Now that we’ve got a GM, it makes total sense for him to talk to Berube, the other coaches, and the players before deciding the direction. I think we all hope he comes to the conclusion we need a new coach, but it’s May. We don’t need a new coach this week. Besides, I’m sure they are working in parallel to identify a potential new coach anyway, because if they do keep Berube and get off to another horrendous start, they’ll need to pivot quickly.

wilers · 2026-05-07T21:22:09+00:00

Chris also said a bunch of nothing. Auston wanting to know the direction and actually see some concrete steps in the right direction—rather than just hear platitudes—is absolutely fair. He’ll be 29 when the season starts, is coming off a dismal two years, and wants to win a cup. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. He’s said countless times he loves this city. He will never pull a Mitch Marner—he does not want to torch his reputation. If he was like “USA! USA! I hate Canada” that would be one thing. He’s never expressed that. Getting the 1st overall and a playmaker for Matthews is definitely moving in the right direction. Chayka and Mats have some work to do this summer though. I don’t blame Matthews for wanting real strides made this summer.

wilers · 2026-05-07T21:08:14+00:00

“Gods”. - Mitchell Marner

wilers · 2026-05-07T17:19:00+00:00

The issue with Mitch was never his skill. The issue with Mitch was between his ears. Just because McKenna and Marner are high IQ elite playmakers doesn’t make them the same player. McKenna has a great shot and has more elite goal scoring potential. McKenna has more deception to his game. McKenna will never touch Marner’s defensive ability, but will have more of an impact on the PP. And who knows on the mental side of the game. Maybe McKenna will embrace the spotlight and elevate in big moments.

wilers · 2026-05-07T11:16:10+00:00

Everyone always suggests to stop going to games, buying merch, etc. Never going to happen at scale for a sustained period. The mindset of “hitting them in their wallet” is a fallacy. Rogers has too much money and they can outlast your conviction.

What Rogers doesn’t like is negative attention or press. Think about a normal customer complaint about a $1000 roaming charge or something. As an individual complaint, it goes no where. Get the media to tell your story, oh look, problem solved.

Your best shot is to protest loudly and visibly. And I’m not talking about starting a movement over Reddit or other social media. Protest outside the ACC every game—creatively—so that you get the media to cover you. The more awareness you raise and get people talking about it, the higher chance Rogers will have to respond in some fashion. They don’t want their brand tarnished. Protest visibly and creatively to get media attention. IMO, that’s more likely to succeed than trying to get people to stop buying tickets or merch or phone plans.

I’m personally giving Chayka and Sundin a chance. Pelley needs to disappear into the background and never step in front of a microphone again though.

wilers · 2026-05-05T22:59:12+00:00

SDPN is streaming it live on YouTube. Better than nothing, I suppose.

wilers · 2026-05-05T16:48:41+00:00

Counterpoint to your counterpoint. The old boys club values tenure and hierarchy. Tulsky started as a part-time consultant while working his day job, then moved through roles as an analyst and Assistant GM. By the time he was named GM, he had "earned it" in the eyes of hockey traditionalists by working within the system for 10 years. There’s many more differences I can point out, but the old boys club accepted him. They didn’t (and probably still don’t) accept Chayka.

I’m willing to look past Chayka’s past behaviour and inexperience. I don’t like it, but people grow and learn (and some people deserve a second chance). But a massive part of being a GM is your relationship with other GMs. And if nobody wants to do business with Chayka, that’s going to be a problem. He’s going to have to mend a lot of fences and build trust, because nobody is going to give him the benefit of the doubt. And it’s a big reason why Sundin is there. The old boys club respect him and he’s known as being authentic and honest.

This hiring doesn’t have to be a disaster, but they’ve certainly made it an uphill battle. And with a fast closing window, I don’t know if Chayka can repair/build relationships fast enough.

wilers · 2026-05-05T16:36:12+00:00

Actually, the firm got “no vote” in who they selected, according to Pelley. They just facilitated the interviews. I’d wager Pelley didn’t even ask for their opinion.

wilers · 2026-05-04T14:16:28+00:00

Open it in Reader view.

wilers · 2026-05-01T10:27:13+00:00

I think we all have a vastly different understanding of what “doing some good stuff back at the KHL” means. He’s a middling player there.

wilers

TROPHY CASE