C/W Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Ässät, Liiga (2018, 3rd, MTL)

[FinPanda]

He looks like he is the best 2000 born Finn at the moment, at least for the 2018 Draft. He has played with Ãssät A-juniors this season and he has 13 points (4+9) in 16 games.

I don't think any other 2000 born Finn have played in the U20 league yet, so it's nice to see him produce also so well. Maybe he is the next best center coming from Finland after Barkov.

At the same age Barkov had 17 points in 25 games, so he has been good.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi

I haven't had a chance to see Ässät in recent months but yesterday I saw Kotkaniemi. He doesn't seem out of place in A-juniors which itself is already a good sign. He does not have any spectacular strengths in his game unlike Laine at his age but he seems interesting prospect nevertheless.

He is very mobile player with good work ethic. Pretty good hands too even though not astonishing. I also like his positioning since he is mostly in a place where you can pass the puck to him easily.

To me he does not seem like definite first rounder but he does seems to be very interesting prospect who at this point looks like fairly early draft pick.

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[HockeyHistorian]

Ässät seems to be a more high-scoring team than Barkov's Tappara was at the time, so Kotkaniemi's offensive numbers are perhaps a bit inflated. Intriguing prospect nonetheless.

 

[Stavros]

his team seems to have quite stacked offence, he has been playing as 3rd line winger 10-12min/game. Very exciting numbers as there are only handful of players matching his stats including Laine, Pulju, Saarela and Barkov.

 

[Jack DiBiase]

Mikael's kid?

 

[JJTT]

Mikael's kid?

Yes.

 

[Eyelanders]

Kotkaniemi has more than held his own in the U20 league. In fact, he appears to be a very smart player in that he makes himself constantly available for passes and makes really smart plays - no difficult passes to put his teammates in a bad position. Pretty sharp without the puck, doesn't take shifts off, applies pressure on opponents. Skating is pretty good for his age - may not have high-level acceleration but plays with good pace and is able to make plays at varying speeds.

 

[FinPanda]

http://overtheboards.net/prospect-reports-from-u20-tournament-in-espoo-finland/

Something about Kotkaniemi too.

 

[FinPanda]

At the youth olympics he had 3+4 in 6 games. Only 0+2 vs Norway.

 

[Tube Skates]

Anybody out there know what is up with Jesperi? I can't find any numbers for him so far for the 2016/17 season

 

[Quethas]

He was in surgery at summer and hasn't returned yet. I think he is back in training but he is wearing non-contact jersey.

Too bad that he has missed about a half of season but he should return to play in one month or so.

 

[FinPanda]

He'll play tonight, finally.

 

[jalperi]

Kotkaniemi has 1 goal and 4 assist on 6 games.

 

[JJTT]

Anybody know if he is planning on staying with Ässät or moving to North America for his draft season?

 

[Loffer]

Mikael was an okay player; hopefully the kin only gets better down the road.

 

[Tube Skates]

Thanks for the update

 

[JJTT]

Played for the U18 national team this week. Scored 8 points in 4 games.

http://www.tilastopalvelu.fi/ih/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36&stgid=3470

 

[Tube Skates]

Looks like a pretty nice stat line for missing almost the entire season so far. Anybody catch him live?

 

[Quethas]

Looks like a pretty nice stat line for missing almost the entire season so far. Anybody catch him live?

I did today. This is what I wrote for finnprospects.com:

Kotkaniemi is a mobile forward with excellent work ethic. He has grown a lot during the last year even though he is still somewhat lightweight. Forward could also improve his top speed and acceleration but these aspects will probably improve when he matures.

Offensively Kotkaniemi is very gifted. He already gives excellent and precise passes, protects the puck well in tight spaces, and he was already one of the most skilled players on the ice in one-on-ones. Forward also has a quick, yet slightly inaccurate shot. He could simplify his game however as he tried to do too much on his own. He also seemed to shy away from the physical battles and relied solely on his stick in those situations.

Even though he is offensively gifted player, he seems to think about defense all the time. He doesn’t take too many unnecessary risks and Kotkaniemi was almost always the first forward from his line to help defenders. He also shows his great work ethic when he constantly tries to find open ice and made himself available to defensemen for passes. Overall his game looked really well-rounded for a player of his age.

 

[Gsus]

Scored a hattrick tonight at his (first?) u20 playoff game:

 

[wings5]

He's actually pretty tall, for some reason I thought he was much shorter. I must have had him and Heponiemi confused.

 

[Tube Skates]

Excuse my ignorance but is it common for an U-18 guy to play U-20 and be producing well?

 

[JJTT]

Excuse my ignorance but is it common for an U-18 guy to play U-20 and be producing well?

Kotkaniemi is U17, so for player that young it's not that common.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/leagu...amname=&nation=&nationname=&age=u17&order=PPG

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

This kid is very good. I think he could be a top 15 pick.

 

[wings5]

Hows his skating? ( Agility, acceleration etc )

 

[teravaineSAROS]

Next M.Koivu/Barkov?