Teravainens progress can draw comparisons to fellow Fins
Granlund and
Pulkkinen, Granlund 5'10 185 (1-9th overall) and Pulkkinen 5'10 198 (4-111th overall) both with similar size as Teuvo, both drafted in 2010. All posted strong international stats but progress from Finland > AHL > NHL is mixed.
"Strong international stats" can ofcourse mean a multitude of things. But maybe you shouldn't stack Granlund, Pulkkinen and Teräväinen all together like this. When Mikael Granlund was 19, he was excelling in the men's world championships, a tournament where the competition is way tougher than in the WJC. Teemu Pulkkinen has never even made the Finnish team for that tournament, even though he stayed in Finland till he was 21. Teräväinen didn't make the team either last spring. So looking at the achievements of these guys at the international level, at their draft numbers (and at the fact that Granlund was way better than Pulkkinen in the Finnish league), it was to be expected that Granlund would break into the NHL faster than Pulkkinen.
Also, I wouldn't say that Pulkkinen and Teräväinen are "of similar size". Even as a 20-year-old Pulkkinen was way bulkier than Teräväinen is now. That's probably why Pulkkinen's shot is his main asset as a hockey player, while Granlund and Teräväinen are play-makers.
Good post. I would say MN rushed Granlund because they had nothing else. We have the luxury of making sure TT is ready. Looks like Detroit is doing the same as we are.
Granlund also made the Finnish men's national team faster than Pulkkinen did. This wasn't because the national team was "rushing him in", it was because he was a better player than Pulkkinen. Actually, as a goal-scorer Pulkkinen is exactly the type of player who Finland sorely needs, cause we haven't produced a prolific goal-scorer since Selänne, but with all his baby fat and motivational problems he just wasn't ready to face European elite competition.
