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Following Ryan Tverberg's first AHL season, he's ended up higher than he ever has been in the Top 25 Under 25. Let's take a look at the 22-year-old right winger (and occasional centre) signed to an ELC in the Leafs system.
| Ryan Tverberg | Vitals |
|---|---|
| Age as of July 1 | 22.42 |
| Position | C |
| Height | 5'11" |
| Weight (lbs) | 187 |
| Shoots | R |
| Draft Year | 2020 |
| Draft Number | 213 |
The Player
Tverberg had an interesting two halves of his first season. In the first half he was on fire, amassing 26 points in his first 26 games and getting an A+ from Marlies expert Mark Rackham of MLHS. He was in the tier with Kieffer Bellows and Pontus Holmberg, scoring eight goals and 18 assists in the first half of his year.
Mark Rackham
But in his remaining 20 games, he only scored one goal and five assists, a massive drop off from his hot start. Tverberg had a couple upper body injuries in October and again in March, missing the playoffs, a first round exit, as a result.
Looking into his stats a bit more deeply, a couple things stand out:
Firstly, his goals. Six of Tverberg's nine goals came on the power play. Overall on the season, he was 15th on the Marlies in shots, but shot 14% (largely thanks to said power play).
Secondly, three of his power play goals came in the night-of-his-life against the Belleville Senators where he scored four in a single period in a 8-0 win! Tverberg was the triggerman on the right side on the Marlies power play, using his quick hands and shot to take advantage of passing plays. It might be safe to say the Senators gave him lots of opportunities to wind up. Yeesh, that defense.
In terms of lineup position, Tverberg played most of the season at right wing, oscillating between the fourth line, third line with Gambrell, and first line with Shaw. He also played about a dozen games at centre in a pinch.
Watching his game, I don't think he's going to be a centre long term here or in the NHL. His positioning is a bit wild, making up for it with tenacity and quick feet. It reminds me a lot of Robertson, though Tverberg doesn't have the explosiveness on the rush or the shot of Robertson. Tverberg can hold his own against an individual player and take advantage of mistakes, but on a system level he doesn't make decisions faster than the play happens, especially offensively. He's a decent enough winger, but his ceiling is limited by these factors.
The Votes
Overall, I can't say I was overly impressed by Tverberg's rookie season. He had his moments, and started off hot, but his points weren't necessarily a result of strong offensive talent. He had his moments of flash, but rather than being the difference-maker, he was a good support player for his line. In my experience, from Hyman to Robertson, you have to be a driver of your line in the AHL if you're going to have a shot at the NHL.
Here's what the voters thought about Tverberg. For me, his proximity to a call up is why he was ranked where I had him. I couldn't find much talent further back.
| Voter | Vote |
|---|---|
| Cathy | NA |
| Brian | 14 |
| Species | 18 |
| Adam | 25 |
| Hardev | 16 |
| dhammm | 12 |
| Cameron S | 11 |
| Hound Line | 12 |
| brysplace | 11 |
| Catch-67 | 11 |
| Sclodiggity | 15 |
| shinson93 | 23 |
| The Bag | 11 |
| Zone Entry | 16 |
| Weighted Average | 15.79 |
| Highest Vote | 11 |
| Lowest Vote | 25 |
The Opinions
dhammm: Cromulent AHL debut season. Didn't blow the barn down, but it seemed he fit in. Tverberg still has an outside chance at becoming a bottom-six NHL forward someday.
Sclodiggity: Seventh round picks almost have an opposite effect from 1st round picks. Instead of assuming they’ll be good and then writing them off after one bad year, 7th rounders are written off but then one good year and they’re on everyone’s underdog cheer list. Tverberg had a good but not amazing showing in college and last year with the Marlies was unspectacular but great for a 7th round pick. He’s not next in line for a call up but could get there with a little more growth. Doesn’t seem to justify some of the hype he gets but the low (but not zero) likelihood of contributing at the NHL level puts him in this range for the T25 list.
Brigstew: Tverberg’s path to the NHL has been the same since he was drafted: skate fast, work hard, provide energy and some checking utility along with a sprinkling of offensive skill. If he makes the NHL, which has been a long shot, it will be as a fourth line energy guy who kills penalties and pitches in now and then. He’s honestly done a surprising job getting as close to that level as he has, but he needs to take another step still to a) get a call up, and b) get more than a couple of games in his career.
shinson93: Tverberg has already outperformed expectations as a 7th rounder. He showed he can hang in the AHL, but his biggest issue is consistency. I probably ranked him too low, but there was something about watching him just disappear for long stretches last year that kept me from moving him further up.
Cameron S: I think I’m higher on Tverberg than most, but I found that whenever I watched he never stood out in a bad way. He wasn’t always producing constantly, but when he was, he produced in big ways. If he can be more consistent, I have no doubt he can make the NHL at least as a 4th liner/13F.
The Bag: The reason to have Tverberg as high as I do is that he has already done what guys like Quillan and Webber haven’t, which is have pro success after some good NCAA seasons. He probably needs to take another step forward with the Marlies this year but he has fewer hurdles to clear to make it to the NHL than a lot of other names on this list.
Let the debate continue, what do you think of Tverberg?
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