Building Blue: Tom Willander’s Sophomore Surge at Boston University

Tom Willander has been a consistent force for the Boston University Terriers this season.

When you ask Willander what he wants to improve in his game, his answer is simple: everything. That’s always been his mindset.

Since his first year at BU, Willander has taken strides in his development. He is leading the Terriers’ defensive corps with nine points (2-7-9) in 11 games, Willander’s growth is seen in his offensive contributions and being a consistent defensive presence.

His defence has been his strength for years, and the 19-year-old is currently seeing the biggest gains in his game from his puck-moving abilities.

“I think the biggest stride in my game has been my play with the puck,” Willander said. “Pretty much all over the ice, whether that be skating with the puck from the defensive zone or anything in the neutral zone and creating in the offensive zone.”

He stresses how important the last year has been in his development and given way to his success so far this season. With former BU defenceman, Lane Hutson now with the Montreal Canadiens, Willander has stepped into a top-pairing role for BU alongside freshman Sascha Boumedienne.

Last season, Willander finished his freshman year with 25 points (4-21-25). At just a month and a half into his second season, he’s achieved nearly half of that point total with another four months remaining.

“I think I've been blessed to play with good people around me. I think me and my d-partner, Sascha and I have been playing really good now in the opening games of the season,” Willander explained. “That together with tweaking a little bit on strategies in the game and how I play to make it work, I think that's been a big part of it.”

Canucks’ player development coach, Mike Komisarek has been working with Willander since he was drafted in 2023 and talked about Willander’s meticulous offseason work and his drive to improve as big factors in his point production this season.

“He has such an advantage when he uses his mobility and his skating, and using that with the puck to escape pressure, find passing lanes, get in open ice, and get involved offensively. He's got such a heavy wrister too and he doesn’t need a lot of space to get it off. He tries hard to keep it accurate, and low. He’s finding ways to use that and it’s paying off,” said Komisarek.

“Week-to-week, his consistency has been improving, and he's been that calm, steady, in-your-face, puck-moving D.”

Willander is being rewarded for the work he puts into the game, averaging nearly 25 minutes per game, and is trusted in different situations on the ice.

The root of Willander’s offensive success is derived from his insatiable thirst for knowledge and being a solid defender.

“He's getting more opportunities, but it always stems from the back end out. It’s from puck retrievals, on their zone entries, defending off the rush, which I think he's really making strides in all those areas,” Komisarek said.

Defensively, Willander sees the leaps he’s made in his game in the rearview mirror but says it’s a culmination of small steps he takes every day that make a difference in the long run.

“That mainly comes with experience and seeing these situations unfold time after time, and learning how things work,” Willander said. “We do a lot of video with our D coach (Kim Brandvold) just kind of go through these different types of things, where you position yourself, how you put your stick, and really get down to the details which also helps.”

In addition to the growth in Willander’s two-way play, Komisarek sees evolution in the Swedish defenceman’s leadership this season, who’s been helping guide the 17-year-old Boumedienne, and maturing as a leader for the group.

“He's really embraced that leadership role within the pair, helping usher Boumedienne and get acclimated and comfortable in college hockey, but then he's also emerging as a leader on the team,” Komisarek said.

Dialed into the details, Willander is focusing on continued improvement in every facet of his game. His goal is consistency, sustaining a high level of play every shift and maintaining and even-keel perspective and using every practice, game and video session as a learning opportunity.

“I think what we got going on here [at BU] is very good. I think the coaching staff gives me good opportunities to really work on my game and get better, so I hope to keep it going and hope to be a better version of myself after every game,” he said.

Willander’s growth has been marked by solid situational play, excelling in all areas of the ice. His relentless work ethic and commitment to development have him poised to continue evolving into a well-rounded, impactful defenceman.

“He's always searching for details to improve, trying to find those little areas of his game and build, and he's taking big strides. It's been really impressive from last year to this year,” Komisarek said.

Insider Extra

The final rosters for the World Juniors haven’t been finalized, but the Stockholm, Sweden native hopes to be representing his country at the World Juniors this year. Every year there’s excited anticipation around the tournament and if he’s selected, it would be Willander’s second time.

“I think it's always a good time to play with the national team. It's fun games, you get to represent your country, play against good players, play with good players, and you get to meet a lot of the guys that you've grown up playing with that you don't usually meet,” Willander said.