C/W Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Ässät, Liiga (2018, 3rd, MTL)
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Conspiracy Theorist
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FinPanda
Team Finland 2022 WHC champions
Well I don't think it is very likely. I remember only Aho doing it recently as an U19 player.
The sheer fact that Finland is getting another projected top-6 C is great. We're in need of quality C's.
WingsMJN2965
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Am I missing something on why he's rising? Seems like the general opinion is that he's a 2C.
... Don't really understand Detroit's interest. Doesn't seem he's any more likely a #1C than Larkin and they have Rasmussen for 2C. Go for a defender.
... Don't really understand Detroit's interest. Doesn't seem he's any more likely a #1C than Larkin and they have Rasmussen for 2C. Go for a defender.
He had a great U18s for starters as for what he is I would say if he reaches his peak he would be at that Ryan Johansen level of player(ie technically a #1 center if you listed the top 31 centers, but probably a guy who would be better served being part of a good 1-2 punch)
As for Detroit my feeling is Rasmussen will play LW in the NHL
You can't just ignore a kid with so many skills similar to Zetterberg. Especially when you are in a position to pick said player. The cupboard of Detroit future d crop is not as empty as most think so you may want to draft for the next Zetterberg and have a great chance at drafting a sure fire 3-5 d prospect in the second. There's only one guaranteed top defenceman in this draft and we're not gonna get him. That's my take
WingsMJN2965
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You can when you've already got Larkin who very much resembles Zetterberg.
I'm not trying to downplay Kotkaniemi or say that having another top 6 center option wouldn't be nice, but we need a top defender wayyyyy more than that. Our cupboards aren't bare on D, as you said, but they're bare on top D. Hronek and Cholo are pretty much all we have. Either of them busts and we're in bad shape, and even then, neither are expected to be top pairing.
Point is, any one of Boqvist/Hughes/Bouchard/Dobson immediately becomes our best U25 defender. Kotkaniemi wouldn't surpass Larkin.
On the flip side chances are you can find a better defenseman at 30 + 36 then a forward
I understand what you are saying and agree that top defenceman may not come from the current crop. However I think that there are going to be 3-4 d prospects in the second round this year that will give your four examples a run in the future. They may need an extra year development. I watch the q league mostly but have seen a number of Kotkaniemi games. Personally other than Svechnikov I think Kotkaniemi is going to be the best forward from the 2018 class. Sticking with Q players I would rather have Kotkaniemi and McIssac going forward than say Dobson and Khavanov. I really hope that Dobson goes to Montreal and Zadina to Ottawa. If Detroit goes back to back dmen I hope they start with Bouchard and then one of Tychonick McIssac Durzi Stastney. Then grab Gabriel Fortier late.
WingsMJN2965
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Top pairing defender in the 2nd round is a total crap shoot though.
But I do wonder if, with 30/31, 33, and 36, if Detroit will swing on Merkley and hope he gets his s*** together.
- Jun 24, 2012
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Can someone expand on that? Why is the general opinion that he's a potential 2C?
lawrence
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from lots of scouting reports I've personally seen, which is the exact same thing most of us have access too, suggests he is a 2nd line 2 way 200 foot player.
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If anyone has those reports handy, or links to them, would be greatly appreciated.
He is Rising for No Reason. Only Because thre are no Other Good C choice.
- Jun 24, 2012
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This is exactly the part that bothers me. He was ranked 10thOA in Bobby Mac's last available ranking. Several posters on this site are putting him in the conversation as a BPA in the 3OA spot.
Aren't there issues with his skating? Also, didn't he play mostly as a winger and only has a handful of games as a center? We know for a fact that Zadina is going to be a winger down the line. What is Kotkaniemi? What if his skating relegates him to becoming an eventual winger? How much value would he have then?
Kaako Kappo
Kaako Kappo
Teams dont make picks based on hfboards hype. I think he will go in top 15
BB88
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Don't know if I'm answering the question but probably they see it as a safe guess with his current skating.
If he can make improvements in his skating that guess needs to get raised to a new tier.
He went to dinner with 3 teams, and they are top10 teams.
He won't get into 11+.
Kraken Jokes
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He's a C. He played W this year because he was a 17 year old rookie in a men's pro league and there were veteran C's already there. He was a top C for Finland at the U18's. His skating needs work but it's correctable. He keeps rising because he keeps proving himself time and time again.
Anyway, does anyone know which 3 teams took him out to dinner?
Anyway, does anyone know which 3 teams took him out to dinner?
rt
The Kinder, Gentler Version
Just like in the NHL where a lot of rookie centers break in on the wing, Kotkaniemi played wing in his country’s top men’s league. In his own age group, he’s played center. That’s pretty common among very young players in men’s leagues.
“Skating” is such a broad term that it’s really very meaningless. He’s not slow of foot. He actually gets around the ice pretty well, despite some very poor mechanics. He skates hunched over, and has a scoot to his stride. Even with those very correctable issues, he’s really quite mobile and is able to get around the ice effectively.
Now imagine what happens when an nhl skating coach works with him on his mechanics and gets a lot of that stuff corrected? How good is he then? It’s about upside and development. He’s already very good and has a lot of room to grow.
Same story with his size. He’s a string bean but already quite strong and tested very well at the combine despite being thin and lean. How powerful can he be when he’s able to work with nhl strength and conditioning and nutrition folks? When he’s able to add lean mass to his lanky frame, how does that improve his game?
He’s got some easily correctable things that could really elevate his game. That has to be very intriguing to NHL teams. They have the resources to take this prospect and mold him into something so much better. That’s exciting.
BB88
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Earlier it was said Montreal/Detroit/Chicago, but then yesterday
I also believe someone tweeted earlier that his Liiga team is planning to play him at C.
newfy
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I didnt see the tweet or whatever it was, but since then Mackenzie has apparently said Kotkaniemi could go as high as 3rd. Thats with a U18 in there. So its possible people werent sure about him playing wing in Finland, but go to see him at center against the best of his age group and it shot his stock up?
With not a lot of competition at center, and a big u18 at center, maybe that was enough to rise him up from 10th,to even say 6 or 7 on an average board. But if he was 10th on Mackenzies rankings, that means some of those scouts already had him higher than 10th as well and thats before the U18s. So some teams could have had him at 6 or 7 already and that bumped him up to 3 or 4 or 5.
Thats just me kinda spitballing but I think the logic there makes sense. It doesnt seem like its just HF where hes rising
Kraken Jokes
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Saxon
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I doubt anyone that watched him towards the end of the year would say he had skating issues. Didn't look like it when he was head to head with Jack Hughes at the u18s.... He started at wing in a professional league because he was barley seventeen, assat have already announced that he will have a centre position next year. He was also third leading scorer on his liiga team as a seventeen year old, over ppg against his age group at the u 18s as a number one centre. I assume the biggest reason for his jump in the rankings because everyone saw first hand at the u18s that his skating had drastically improved over the last year, and really his entire game had been going in an upward trajectory pretty much all year and has'nt shown any signs of stopping. With Kotkaniemi I think it's a bit more about projection than some others in the top of the draft because he's very young, but I don't care who's the best player today, teams are looking for who will be the best player in five years.
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