IQ, Maturation, Sheer Skill: Lias Andersson Has All the Tools to Thrive with LA Kings

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Kings were a very busy team during the 2020 Draft. In total, they drafted nine players and while selecting the likes of Quinton Byfield and Helge Grans has them excited for the future, it was the club’s acquisition of a former first-rounder that has fans of the silver-and-black especially intrigued.

Approaching their pick at No. 60, the Kings decided to trade the pick to the New York Rangers in exchange for 22-year-old center Lias Andersson.

Drafted seventh overall by the Rangers in 2017, there is plenty of promise surrounding the Swedish youngster. As promising as Andersson and his future is, though, he has been tagged by an unfortunate incident nearly three years ago.

Captaining Team Sweden at the World Junior Championships in Buffalo, Andersson helped guide his team to the gold-medal game against Canada. Unfortunately for Andersson and company, Canada prevailed with a 3-1 victory, claiming gold. Then, shortly after receiving his silver medal, though, Andersson tossed it into the stands.

More on that in a bit, though, as there is plenty of upside in Andersson’s game to support why his assets overshadow the poor choice he made a few years ago.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with two of Andersson’s coaches: his former AHL coach, Keith McCambridge, as well as his current coach, HV71 Jonkoping’s Nicklas Rahm.

Practice, Game; To-may-to, To-mah-to

While former NBA superstar Allen Iverson once famously downplayed the purpose of practice, the sentiment is certainly not echoed by Lias Andersson.

Andersson has been known to wear his passion and determination on his sleeve during practices as if he were playing in a game.

“Lias is really a competitive player. In every practice, he tries to compete to win,” Rahm beamed. “Every loose puck, every rebound and every chance he has to score, he’ll try to score and compete. Competing against the goalies and competing against his teammates.

“It’s the same thing in the games: he brings to his teammates that kind of feeling and his rushing in the offensive game is impressive and has good character within the team. That’s what he has to include to improve on his defense but his offensive game and that third of the ice is good. If he wants to take the puck to the net, he can because he’s a very strong kid on the ice.”

Keith McCambridge, who coached Andersson with the Rangers’ AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, from 2017 to 2019, was a fan of the youngster right from the start.

“I liked Lias’s game a lot,” McCambridge said. “I liked him as a player, he was strong on pucks down low, he would play in the hard areas and had a physical edge to his game. Also, with the good awareness away from the puck, his hockey IQ was strong.”

Adjusting to the North American Game

Players from Europe can offer a plethora of excitement in their game. Part of that excitement is garnered by the amount of real estate these players have on the ice. However, since the North American ice surface is smaller, European-trained players need to adapt if they want to play in the NHL. Less room to cut around a defender or to make a highlight-reel play may pose a significant difference for some between winning and losing.

While that may be the case for some players, though, Andersson had a smoother transition to the smaller ice surface. This was thanks to a patient progression by the Wolf Pack bench boss.

“The adjustment to come over and play in North America, it was that you look at it in steps,” McCambridge shared. “You have a lot of players coming over who realize that there’s less room to move around on the ice. You have less space to make plays, less room to have that extra half-second to read the situations in front of you, but he adjusted well.”

As successful as his on-ice performance was, though, Andersson’s game got better through good communication with his coach.

“We spent a lot of time, one-on-one, not only talking about hockey and the adjustments playing in the North American style but also about the trials and tribulations of a player coming over,” continued McCambridge. “One of the things we talked about was that performance is not an outcome, performance is a behaviour. Lias had that every single day. I was really pleased with the trajectory that Lias was on when I left.”

Andersson’s Attitude

As previously mentioned, Andersson’s unpopular decision to toss his silver medal into the stands in January 2018 has posed a black cloud over the centerman’s head. While there may not be any reason to condone these actions, it is only rational to take into account the level of Andersson’s disappointment — heartbreak, even — along with the rest of his team in falling so short of a gold medal.

There may not be any disgrace in losing to a team of Canada’s caliber but the level of passion, intensity and will to win is no less rampant in Sweden.

Nicklas Rahm, a veteran player and now a veteran coach, understands this, giving Andersson the benefit of the doubt.

“He was a young guy and that was a decision at that time where he wasn’t thinking about the circumstances, Rahm admitted. “What people should think about is his at-that-moment feeling.”

Since then, though, the HV71 Jonkoping coach has seen Andersson make leaps and bounds in regards to his overall attitude.

“He’s grown up big time,” Rahm emphasized. “He was young then and now he’s a young adult. He’s taken responsibility for his actions and has really focused on his career and what he’s doing as a hockey player.”

McCambridge saw something similar in Andersson when the first-rounder joined the Rangers organization in 2017.

“I liked Lias’s attitude,” the former Wolf Pack coach noted. “He came in with an open mind, came over to North America to learn a little more about the North American style, the [AHL] to help him transition more seamlessly to the National Hockey League. But, he had a really good attitude when he was with us. One of the biggest things with Lias was that he had that competitiveness to him. For me, when a player has that eternal flame inside of him like Lias had, that’s a good thing. You can’t teach that as a coach and in my experience, when athletes have that, they have success.”

Advice for Andersson

For Andersson, last week’s trade to the Kings symbolized a fresh new chapter.

While the Rangers may not have been the best fit for him, the Smogen, Sweden, native is hoping for a new lease on life, if you will, as he takes his game to southern California to join a Kings team on the rise.

I asked both Rahm and McCambridge what advice they have for Andersson as he joins his new organization.

“Just to focus on his performance,” Rahm said. “To be ready for tough times to battle his way onto the team when he’s [in Los Angeles].”

Under Rahm, Andersson has enjoyed a solid tenure with HV71 Jonkoping.

In 2019-20, in just 15 games, the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder scored seven goals and five assists. So far this season, he has a goal and four points in four games.

“So, again, just to focus on his performance and leave everything else on the outside,” Rahm concluded.

Due to COVID-19, it’s unclear when Andersson will be in Los Angeles. Until then, there’s little to worry about as he’s doing quite well in Sweden.

From his former coach in Hartford, the advice is simple.

“For Lias, just being himself,” McCambridge said. “He was drafted in the first round for a reason. He has lots of really good qualities on and off the ice. It’s a fresh start with a new organization and just being himself, he’ll have great success with that. That would be my advice to Lias. Had some great qualities when I had him in [the AHL] and when I saw him play for the Rangers and I’m excited to see what he can do here with L.A.”

As promising as many of them are, we may not see the Kings’ recent draft picks suiting up in the NHL any time soon. Lias Andersson, meanwhile, we may see a lot sooner in California.

His poor decision to toss his silver medal may have hung over his head for a time but this should not define Lias Andersson. Over time, we mature and make better decisions. Andersson is no exception to this. Both Nicklas Rahm and Keith McCambridge can fully attest to this on behalf of the now-former Ranger.

It’s time to focus on the positives, and there are plenty in the 22-year-old’s game and his attitude. So, stay tuned. It’s going to be an exciting future for the Kings with Lias Andersson in tow.

 

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2 Comments

1. 

   Neil Macias

   October 16, 2020 at 7:29 am

   Great article but there’s a typo that was messing with me. Says “wold pack” when discussing attitude. Not complaining, just pointing it out 😀

   Go Kings!
   • 

     Ryan Cowley

     October 16, 2020 at 9:18 am

     Oh dear lol! Thanks for bringing that to my attention, Neil.
     Corrected 🙂
     Thanks for reading!