Prospect Info: At 24th Overall the Jets Select Kristian Vesalainen

[HannuJ]

There really shouldn't be any rush with the kid. Give him one year in the AHL to acclimatize himself to North America. It also allows his ELC to slide a year giving the Jets 3 seasons of him cost controlled from age 20 to 23 during a period where the Jets will be even tighter against the cap.

while i don't think you're wrong, we didn't give Laine a year in the AHL to acclimatize himself to the NA game. yes, they're two different players, but we also don't know if part of getting Vesa to jump to Wpg would be an NHL promise. otherwise, he could be tempted to play in europe for another year

 

[surixon]

while i don't think you're wrong, we didn't give Laine a year in the AHL to acclimatize himself to the NA game. yes, they're two different players, but we also don't know if part of getting Vesa to jump to Wpg would be an NHL promise. otherwise, he could be tempted to play in europe for another year

If that is his stance you leave him in Europe. The elc years are more important for us now then they where when Laine made the jump. The team is also much deeper now and as a result I have a a hard time seeing him beat out a top 9 incombant next season.

 

[HannuJ]

If that is his stance you leave him in Europe. The elc years are more important for us now then they where when Laine made the jump. The team is also much deeper now and as a result I have a a hard time seeing him beat out a top 9 incombant next season.

i'd happily replace Armia or 2017-18 Frenchie with him.

 

[surixon]

i'd happily replace Armia or 2017-18 Frenchie with him.

Armia is likely on the 4th line or traded and Roslovic replaces him. I have no interest in bringing him over to play on the 4th line. See Pulie in Edmonton for how not to develop young players. I also think its a tad optimistic to think he would come close to replacing Perrault right now.

We are a cup contender now, we shouldn't be bringing in youth at the expense of experienced good players until said player forces the incombant out or the cap forces us to move on.

 

[HannuJ]

Armia is likely on the 4th line or traded and Roslovic replaces him. I have no interest in bringing him over to play on the 4th line. See Pulie in Edmonton for how not to develop young players. I also think its a tad optimistic to think he would come close to replacing Perrault right now.

We are a cup contender now, we shouldn't be bringing in youth at the expense of experienced good players until said player forces the incombant out or the cap forces us to move on.

you're not wrong.
it remains to be determined if Vesa is an improvement over an aging Frenchie or Armia. but his pedigree's pretty darn high and you need a contingency plan to have him in the Jets' lineup sooner vs later.
he's also more affordable than Frenchie and we need some money for Morrissey and Trouba

 

[surixon]

you're not wrong.
it remains to be determined if Vesa is an improvement over an aging Frenchie or Armia. but his pedigree's pretty darn high and you need a contingency plan to have him in the Jets' lineup sooner vs later.
he's also more affordable than Frenchie and we need some money for Morrissey and Trouba

Absolutely he's more affordable and that we will need to have a plug in play replacement but I think we should be ok to keep Perrault around for next season before we need to move him out.

Edit: also if your Vasalinen do you really turn down the opportunity to play on the Moose. Look at the job the org has done developing players especially young forwards. His representatives likely realize that getting him over will fast track his path to the big team. A year to a year and a half and he's likely pushng his way into a big role a contending team.

 

[HannuJ]

Absolutely he's more affordable and that we will need to have a plug in play replacement but I think we should be ok to keep Perrault around for next season before we need to move him out.

Edit: also if your Vasalinen do you really turn down the opportunity to play on the Moose. Look at the job the org has done developing players especially young forwards. His representatives likely realize that getting him over will fast track his path to the big team. A year to a year and a half and he's likely pushng his way into a big role a contending team.

debatable.
you go to the Moose and you may be making AHL money. you may be buried on the depth chart.
you are riding the bus in the minors.
or...you stay overseas, likely make better money and play in your native country and dominate that league, and move to the NHL the following season.

 

[surixon]

debatable.
you go to the Moose and you may be making AHL money. you may be buried on the depth chart.
you are riding the bus in the minors.
or...you stay overseas, likely make better money and play in your native country and dominate that league, and move to the NHL the following season.

Would he be making more money? 90K signing bonus plus 70 to 80 k in the minors. Injuries are always a possibility so there is also the chance of a call up.

All in all there are pros and cons to everything. He will ultimately do what he feels is in his own best interest. I am personally not all that concerned about it. The Jets won't play him until they deem him ready no matter what path he chooses.

 

[nobody important]

debatable.
you go to the Moose and you may be making AHL money. you may be buried on the depth chart.
you are riding the bus in the minors.
or...you stay overseas, likely make better money and play in your native country and dominate that league, and move to the NHL the following season.

I just don't see this organization plunking him right into the Jets lineup. Dominating inferior players on a different size rink to me is a wasted year. I think the A will better prepare him for the NHL. I mean, come on. He's no Eeli Tolvanen.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

you're not wrong.
it remains to be determined if Vesa is an improvement over an aging Frenchie or Armia. but his pedigree's pretty darn high and you need a contingency plan to have him in the Jets' lineup sooner vs later.
he's also more affordable than Frenchie and we need some money for Morrissey and Trouba

We have the money for Morrissey and Trouba next year. It is the year after when Connor's and Laine's raises kick in that we will need the money. In terms of cap management it would be better to delay Vesa's ELC another year.

That said, this off-season may be the time to move Frenchie for the best return.

I don't see Armia as part of this equation at all. He is a RHS, KV is a LHS. Armia is primarily a checker. KV's role looks like it will be primarily scoring. Armia's contract will not make a difference in cap management. Or rather, it will be a positive effect on cap management.

 

[Aavco Cup]

debatable.
you go to the Moose and you may be making AHL money. you may be buried on the depth chart.
you are riding the bus in the minors.
or...you stay overseas, likely make better money and play in your native country and dominate that league, and move to the NHL the following season.

$162.5K would be the minimum. I also would expect him to make the trip to Finland so at a nimimum gets a week of NHL pay.

The Moose fly out of Winnipeg. Not on a charter. They fly on commercial airlines.They do ride busses on road trips between stops that are close enough, but never on the initial leg out of Winnipeg and never on the return.

Also hasn't K-Ves stated he will be in Winnipeg next year?

 

[Whileee]

Not surprised that there was little talk after yesterday's game as the boards tend to flame only when there's points at the table. Anyway, watched the game up until there was around 10 minutes left in the clock and this could have been the best performance I've seen of him so far. Vesalainen was everywhere and creating something nearly every time he was on the ice. He set up a team mate for an empty net tap in (Leskinen I think) during one of the powerplays who just missed the puck entirely. Also had some good looks for himself but no luck this time.

Really impressed the way he can move on the ice (overall skating ability), fast for his age/size, has smooth hands, very good at covering the puck and has no trouble working along the boards. Displays a physical edge - a mean streak even - in the game and not at all afraid of using his big frame against grown ups which is not that common for a 18 year old. Has bit of Laine and bit of Rantanen in the game. Also he seems excellent at the right wall on the powerplay (same spot Wheelers plays). Consistently moving and looking for open lanes while showing patience with the puck. Really dangerous player due to the ability to rip the puck in the net even from a distance if there's no better plays to be made.

Vesalainen has been absolutely terrific in the playoffs, better than I even expected. There are no easy games yet he's looked like one of the best players game in game out. Been having a real close eye on him for the past weeks and there are no glaring weaknesses in the game. Perhaps sometimes trying to over do things like trying to dangle three guys and break trough traffic when there's no space. This young man should be NHL ready come 18-19, but whether there's space on the lineup is another story. Had Tolvanen ahead of him earlier but right now seems like a coin toss. Cannot emphasize this is enough, but what a robbery @ draft.

Thanks for the detailed report.

I agree that he was an excellent pick.

Combining him with Samberg in round 2 and the Jets did very well with their first two picks in 2017.

 

[10Ducky10]

How does Vaselines career compare with Armia's before they hit North America?

 

[Whileee]

How does Vaselines career compare with Armia's before they hit North America?

Armia was stronger in his draft year (in a different league), but Vesalainen has been considerably stronger in his D+1 season.

D:

Armia (Liiga)... 0.60 points/game
Vesalainen (SHL / Liiga)... 0.20 points/game

D+1:

Armia (Liiga): 0.70 points/game
Vesalainen (Liiga): 0.88 points/game

My take is that Vesalainen is a higher end prospect at this point than Armia was at the same stage.

 

[10Ducky10]

.70 to .88 isn't that huge, is it?

 

[powder88]

Bigger than it looks...It's almost 25% more productive

 

[Calendal]

Vesalainen should be playing on the 1st line today from what I read. But ofc it’s all relative when top 9 got all scrambled.

 

[Kratti]

I just don't see this organization plunking him right into the Jets lineup. Dominating inferior players on a different size rink to me is a wasted year. I think the A will better prepare him for the NHL. I mean, come on. He's no Eeli Tolvanen.

to the bolded, if you think the quality of players in Liiga is inferior to that in the AHL you clearly don't know much about hockey outside of north america. Top end quality is much higher in Liiga and the game in general is much more "mature", for lack of a better word, more tactical is probably closest to what I mean here. It's not a bad place to develop for Vesalainen or any other prospect by any means.

 

[Trilliann]

It's actually really hard to compare the seasons without any context, some of these kids are put into the best possible position to succeed right away and some are called up just in case, because the team is running out of healthy bodies and they have to claw their way up.

 

[QuietContrarian]

His size and skill combined could be very well suited for PO in the future - Id not dare suit him up this year, due to chemistry and such.

Plus, from the little I have seen, he looks like he is very capable along the wall and is strong infront of the net. Pretty much standard ingredients if you want to be succesful as a player in PO.

 

[nobody important]

to the bolded, if you think the quality of players in Liiga is inferior to that in the AHL you clearly don't know much about hockey outside of north america. Top end quality is much higher in Liiga and the game in general is much more "mature", for lack of a better word, more tactical is probably closest to what I mean here. It's not a bad place to develop for Vesalainen or any other prospect by any means.

OK, after a little investigating I'll take back the inferior tag. But I still think the AHL better prepares him for playing in the NHL.

 

[10Ducky10]

Chevy has already said that he is coming to North America next fall.

 

[pictman]

He will be on the Jets when he forces his way on there,offensively and defensively. Or you bring something completely different like Laine. Anyone who hasn't done that goes down or sits.

 

[JetsUK]

OK, after a little investigating I'll take back the inferior tag. But I still think the AHL better prepares him for playing in the NHL.

I'd say that playing for the Moose, who run the same systems as the Jets, and share other (training, teaching, coaching, nutritional etc.) resources also, likely is the main difference here in terms of KV's development. He'll also get used to the ice size, speed and aggression and travel, I suppose. And he'll be able to make out the names on jerseys without having to peer through the layers of adverts...

 

[Calendal]

Chevy has already said that he is coming to North America next fall.

While I assume this means that he is coming and staying, all we really know is that he’s coming over. I think Liiga has given him what he needs. Now he’ll come to AHL and probably gets ar least some NHL games.