Prospect Info: Aleksi Heponiemi (2017, #40 overall), Kärpät (Liiga)

FrolikFan67

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Apr 29, 2012
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I'll tell you what, I'll take Steenbergen straight up in a trade for Hepo right now. This is no knock on Heponiemi but an endorsement of the kind of player Steenbergen is and what he would bring to the Cats. He is already close to 190, fast, soft hands, laser shot, and is not afraid to go to the dirty areas. His downside is defense but that is coachable. Most scouts had him topping out in the bottom 6 after a successful season last year with 51 goals but the Yotes took a flyer on an overager in the 5th round this past draft and they will be handsomely rewarded IMO. 21 goals in 11 games, are you kidding me?

http://www.dobberprospects.com/tyler-steenbergen/

That being said, it's not like we are stuck with a bum. Hepo has all the attributes to be a top 6 phenom. I'm not worried about his size as the scouts think his hockey IQ, speed, skill, 200' game and ability to protect the puck will serve him well for an undersized NHL player. They already say he is excellent in the FO circle, so I definitely see him as a C with the Cats as the new FO rules are benefiting smaller players. With our abundance of C's at this point, someone will likely be traded down the line. Nice problem to have. :)

you make a compelling argument, i dont know the kid but id listen. not like hepo is untouchable or anything. regardless, sounds like we got a solid pickup there. i think he'll project past where malgin is. love his skill. if borgstrom were to shift to lw then its posible hepo could be our 3rd center in a couple years. im not thinking that far ahead obviously, borg's the next in line for that spot, but its nice to have talent and options in the pipeline.
 

Jakeybonz2

Registered User
Feb 19, 2017
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ho hum. another 3 point night for hepo. kid just continues to absolutely obliterate the whl and noone talks about him. held scoreless only once in 16 games...meh. +/- a million....who needs it :) he's basically one of the top 2 players in the entire chl and he's just 18 and a midget. if he stays in the whl next season which he pretty much has to cause I don't see him adding 30 pounds of muscle in a year, he could have a historic season there. he'll get 150+ points this year which is just absurd and at his rate of progression he could have one of the highest scoring seasons in whl history next year if not even this year. shame he's positively tiny at 150 lbs. if he was even 6'0 175 he would've gone 3rd overall. and based on his trajectory this season would've been a good 1st overall pick if he had the size. nolan and nico r nothing. it was a pretty terrible draft. hepo may just come out the scoring leader of it all in 20 yrs
 
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Chaos2k7

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Aug 10, 2003
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ho hum. another 3 point night for hepo. kid just continues to absolutely obliterate the whl and noone talks about him. held scoreless only once in 16 games...meh. +/- a million....who needs it :) he's basically one of the top 2 players in the entire chl and he's just 18 and a midget. if he stays in the whl next season which he pretty much has to cause I don't see him adding 30 pounds of muscle in a year, he could have a historic season there. he'll get 150+ points this year which is just absurd and at his rate of progression he could have one of the highest scoring seasons in whl history next year if not even this year. shame he's positively tiny at 150 lbs. if he was even 6'0 175 he would've gone 3rd overall. and based on his trajectory this season would've been a good 1st overall pick if he had the size. nolan and nico r nothing. it was a pretty terrible draft. hepo may just come out the scoring leader of it all in 20 yrs

He would too young to play in the AHL, and since he took the WHL route would be left with either playing in the NHL or leaving to Europe as his only options for next season. If they want him to leave yet.

A season as THE GUY, next year without his current linemates, may have some value.
 

Jakeybonz2

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Feb 19, 2017
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He would too young to play in the AHL, and since he took the WHL route would be left with either playing in the NHL or leaving to Europe as his only options for next season. If they want him to leave yet.

A season as THE GUY, next year without his current linemates, may have some value.
he will almost certainly be THE GUY next season as I see him captaining swift current and then making the panthers the next year. hard to keep a 2.5 p/g player out of the nhl but he's just crazy small. he'd be snapped in half.
 

BB88

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Jan 19, 2015
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he will almost certainly be THE GUY next season as I see him captaining swift current and then making the panthers the next year. hard to keep a 2.5 p/g player out of the nhl but he's just crazy small. he'd be snapped in half.

Like with Borgstom I don't see how another year in juniors develops him if he's dominating like this.
It's more likely a step back in development.
 

Jakeybonz2

Registered User
Feb 19, 2017
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Like with Borgstom I don't see how another year in juniors develops him if he's dominating like this.
It's more likely a step back in development.

u may be right but logical things dont happen to the panthers org. if he does do the logical thing, then yea he'll go to europe.
 

RainingRats

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Dec 28, 2008
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If he continues this pace he needs to get out of the WHL. He'll need to learn to play against bigger and stronger competition. AHL would be perfect, imo.

Who is his nhl comparable? Gaudreau?
 

Jakeybonz2

Registered User
Feb 19, 2017
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That's weak. Hopefully he can step it up a bit for the rest of the game.

well he got another assist so i guess he heard u. and they also added two assists to his previous game so thats 9 pts in his last 2 games and 46!!! points in 17 games? insanity. on pace for 195 over the full 72 games. if he breaks 200 we gotta throw a party because we'll basically be team finland up in here. anything short of the whl assist record is now a huge disappointment for him. hes on pace to tie it but age adjusted blow it away. if he gets 195 points itll be 3rd best in whl history. also best ever age adjusted. just nuts. we should probably trade tippett for steenbergen. that chemistry is crazy.
 
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Jakeybonz2

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Feb 19, 2017
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eh, 3 more points. an 18 game point streak. at this point hungry hungry hepo is just trolling the WHL. his numbers are just monstrous. I guarantee by the end of the season he'll have a minimum of 170 points. the whl hasn't had a season like this in decades. just incredible. he's the best player in the whole chl right now and its not even close.
 

letsgrowcactus

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Jan 21, 2017
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His point totals are definitely boosted by Steenbergen and Gawdin (same as he's boosting their point totals). Still looks fantastic though.
 

Jakeybonz2

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Feb 19, 2017
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His point totals are definitely boosted by Steenbergen and Gawdin (same as he's boosting their point totals). Still looks fantastic though.
yea but any time u have dudes boosting each other its always helpful to see which of the 3 has the most points to really know who's the driving force behind it and he's ahead by a decent margin. gawdin is not a great player and woul have 1/3 of the points he does without the other two. its mostly steen and hepos insane chemistry but if u watch the highlights its really hepo driving most of the plays. steen is still a goal scoring beast though. he'll get ~80 goals which is absolutely unheard of if they all stay healthy. but hepo will finish with more points. historic seasons for both are clearly in store. good for gawdin that anaheim signed him. he really should thank the other 2 pistols. they literally gave him an nhl contract :)
 

GermanPanther

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Dec 21, 2015
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yea but any time u have dudes boosting each other its always helpful to see which of the 3 has the most points to really know who's the driving force behind it and he's ahead by a decent margin. gawdin is not a great player and woul have 1/3 of the points he does without the other two. its mostly steen and hepos insane chemistry but if u watch the highlights its really hepo driving most of the plays. steen is still a goal scoring beast though. he'll get ~80 goals which is absolutely unheard of if they all stay healthy. but hepo will finish with more points. historic seasons for both are clearly in store. good for gawdin that anaheim signed him. he really should thank the other 2 pistols. they literally gave him an nhl contract :)

Got a Point there, i would include to your Post. Not only the Points, also what kind of Points. are the Equale or more Goals then Assists or more Assists. that show you also what kind of role he played in the Line.
 

batting1k

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Mar 3, 2013
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yea but any time u have dudes boosting each other its always helpful to see which of the 3 has the most points to really know who's the driving force behind it and he's ahead by a decent margin. gawdin is not a great player and woul have 1/3 of the points he does without the other two. its mostly steen and hepos insane chemistry but if u watch the highlights its really hepo driving most of the plays. steen is still a goal scoring beast though. he'll get ~80 goals which is absolutely unheard of if they all stay healthy. but hepo will finish with more points. historic seasons for both are clearly in store. good for gawdin that anaheim signed him. he really should thank the other 2 pistols. they literally gave him an nhl contract :)

Calgary signed Gawdin. He's 7 points behind his total from last year in 26 fewer games.

Heponiemi is in his 2nd season, Steenbergen and Gawdin are in their 4th seasons. That says all you need to know. It's absolutely Heponiemi driving that line, no question about it.
 

FrolikFan67

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Apr 29, 2012
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Left wing mostly. Gawdin at C and Steenbergen at RW.
thats really good to hear! that hes having that much success on the wing. Heponiemi-Borgstrom together at some point sounds fun :) i really want Kupari in the draft, have that all finnish line.
 

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