AHL Stock Watch: Liam Öhgren instant adaptation has him nearing NHL-readiness

AHL scoring leaders are emerging among prospects. 

Frank Nazar sits in the top ten of the league’s leaderboard with 24 points in 21 games. The Chicago Blackhawks probably planned to leave him in Rockford for a few months, but his early season play has earned him a call-up.

With the Cleveland Monsters, Denton Mateychuk is proving his top prospect status, controlling every facet of the play, while also scoring at close to a point-per-game rate. He currently leads the league in scoring from the backend. Columbus may have traded their top defensive prospects in David Jiříček, but now they have another one of similar calibre waiting in the wings in Mateychuk. 

Stock Rising 📈

Liam Öhgren, LW, Iowa Wild (Minnesota Wild) 

There are prospects whose game is much more suited to the North American style of play than the SHL. Liam Öhgren is one of them. Already in his first few games in the NHL last season, he looked comfortable, knowing where to skate, at what speed, and how to connect with teammates. 

Öhgren’s routes in the AHL have been just as precise this season. He supports teammates well, entering open spots just as they look for an option, and he makes the best next play. He pushes his team’s transition game and forechecks like a veteran, winning more than his share of battles and retrieving and moving pucks at a high rate. What he lacks in pure speed, he compensates with effort. His motor never stops, and his hockey sense shines most shifts. 

Öhgren hasn’t earned enough NHL ice time to score regularly in the league, but his AHL play makes us even more confident in his projection. In his prime, he should become a reliable, middle-six contributor for Minnesota, a player the team could rely upon in every facet of the game. 

Nate Danielson, C, Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit Red Wings)

In his draft year, we projected that Nate Danielson would fill a third-line role in the NHL and his subsequent seasons in the WHL only reinforced that projection. Danielson’s tools continued to shine against the junior competition, but he wasn’t scoring at the level you expect from a ninth-overall pick. But his play in the AHL over the past weeks makes us more optimistic about his projection.

In a more structured environment, Danielson’s playmaking seems to be progressing. He’s reading lanes, finding the best plays, and executing passes instantly, showing more anticipation than previously. With give-and-goes and tic-tac-toe plays, he’s pushing the offence and creating regular scoring chances. 

Danielson also plays a sound two-way game, pressuring opponents at the right angles, supporting defencemen with the right spacing, and making safe and quick breakout plays. He also found a role on the penalty kill. 

Add this improved playmaking and supporting game to his many above-average NHL tools, and he’s starting to look like a future middle-six center. He has all the elements necessary to complement a skilled, deceptive playmaker and feed off such a talent. 

Stock Steady ↔️

Matthew Poitras, C, Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)

If Matthew Poitras continues to play at the same level in the AHL, he won’t stay there for long. He looks totally in control with the Providence Bruins, making every little play from the defensive zone to the offensive end, and in the process, he’s also flashing a higher level of skill than in the NHL. 

He’s toe-dragging around defensive sticks and completing difficult stretch passes. And he looks like a true orchestrator in the offensive zone, leveraging good scoring chances into great ones with precise positioning and deception. The off-puck game continues to shine, too, defensively and offensively. 

In terms of vision and the tactical side of the offensive game, it’s clear that he’s a level above most AHL players and one of the very best under-21 prospects in the league. This season in the NHL, he seemed a step behind in terms of skating and pace of play, however. His time in the AHL may help him regain the fire that helped him win an early spot with the Bruins last season. 

Tristan Luneau, RD, San Diego Gulls (Anaheim Ducks) 

No matter where he plays, the AHL or the NHL, Tristan Luneau is engaged in every facet of the play. He takes his opportunities to carry the puck up the ice and to jump down from the blue line. He defends fiercely, using his frame to keep attackers to the outside. His motor and desire to influence the play are his biggest qualities. He’s always in movement and always looking for openings. 

To earn a full-time role with Anaheim, Luneau will have to hone the details of his game. He’s learning to balance defence and offence, manage the puck better, and recognize defensive rotations ahead of time. After losing almost a full season of development in 2023-24, the progress he’s making with the Gulls is encouraging.

The Ducks are well-known for their ability to develop defencemen. They have already helped Luneau evolve from a high-event, offensively-inclined defenceman into a much more projectable two-way player. He just needs some time to mature. In his prime, he could fill a role on the second or bottom-pairing pair. 

Stock Falling 📉

Šimon Nemec, RD, Utica Comets (New Jersey Devils) 

At his core, Šimon Nemec is an offensive defenceman. Foreseeing gaps in the opposing coverage, he moves up from his position, breaks free, and gets the puck in stride, pushing the offence ahead. He’s a constant threat to score in the offensive zone. Teammates can find him sneaking past opponents at the far post or the high slot. 

These plays made him one of the most exciting defencemen to watch last season, but under Sheldon Keefe, Nemec’s effectiveness dropped. 

Here’s what I wrote in a mid-term evaluation of Nemec’s play last year in the NHL:

“The biggest risk in his development is that a change of coaching and system exposes his weaknesses and limits his ability to use his main strength: his ability to activate into the play. That’s the element that the Devils have to protect at all costs, even through potential organizational changes.” 

Playing in a more rigid system and down the lineup, Nemec’s flaws were magnified. He looked more like a mistake-prone rookie than a promising offensive quarterback. 

While he can defend the rush and cut passing lanes with his stick, Nemec struggles to contain and stop opponents one-on-one along the walls and the net, even with Utica. But it’s his breakouts that need the most work. Nemec rims the puck on his first touch, sometimes directly to the other team. His inability to handle and make plays against the forecheck extends his defensive zone time. 

Nemec still has top-four potential. To earn more NHL minutes, however, he will have to hone both his shutdown and breakout game. Coming from Slovakia’s pro league, where defences contain instead of engaging and where there’s lighter forechecking pressure, he hasn’t honed these aspects of his game as much.