Prospect Info: 18th Overall (Round 1) - Urho Vaakanainen (D)

[missingchicklet]

Not expecting alot from this prospect

Brodin sounds like a decent comparison. Or Tomas Kaberle without half the offensive skills

If UV ends up being as good as Brodin then it's a great pick at that position in a draft class with not a ton of high-end talent.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Not expecting alot from this prospect

Brodin sounds like a decent comparison. Or Tomas Kaberle without half the offensive skills

Does this mean

Jonas Brodin = Tomas Kaberle without half the offensive skills

?

 

[JoeIsAStud]

Not expecting alot from this prospect

Brodin sounds like a decent comparison. Or Tomas Kaberle without half the offensive skills

Thomas Kaberle without half the offensive skills doesn't play in the league, he was one of those guys whose value was entirely tied to his offense. Seems like a terrible comparison for Urho. Brodin seems a very reasonable comparison

 

[ORR2Sanderson2ORR]

Not expecting alot from this prospect

Brodin sounds like a decent comparison. Or Tomas Kaberle without half the offensive skills

Vaakanainen lives up to skating reputation in first camp with Bruins

http://www.csnne.com/boston-bruins/v...st-camp-bruins

Id have to say I like his upside,if he can skate the way they say he can and he develops some offensive skill.

 

[BostonBob]

Not expecting alot from this prospect

Brodin sounds like a decent comparison.

I would think Boston management ( not to mention most of us here ) would be thrilled if he turns out to like Brodin. To me - that is expecting a lot.

 

[vjcsmoke]

I'd like to see him crack the roster in 18-19. Or at least play AHL. Too often these guys go back home and get comfortable playing in these leagues only to lose the motivation and drive that got them drafted in the first place. See Alexandrov, Yuri; Koko, Alex

For the millionth time, he is NOT RUSSIAN. Those are freaking lazy comparisons. Get out of here with these Alexandrov and Koko comps!

 

[s3antana5757]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4-rCglyZXg

Go to about the 2:10 mark of this video, and tell me he doesn't have offensive skills.

 

[joujou]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4-rCglyZXg

Go to about the 2:10 mark of this video, and tell me he doesn't have offensive skills.

Not saying anything about his offensive skills, but that's not UV in that video from 2.10-2.23. He has never played in Tappara or Ässät.

 

[Dellstrom]

Not expecting alot from this prospect

Brodin sounds like a decent comparison. Or Tomas Kaberle without half the offensive skills

I mean... Brodin is really good...

A mid round pick in a weak draft isn't getting you a Karlsson or Weber, sorry. I'd be thrilled if he turned out to be comparable to Brodin.

 

[Tim Vezina Thomas]

Not expecting alot from this prospect

Brodin sounds like a decent comparison. Or Tomas Kaberle without half the offensive skills

Lol what? I'd be thrilled with Brodin.

 

[rocketdan9]

I mean... Brodin is really good...

A mid round pick in a weak draft isn't getting you a Karlsson or Weber, sorry. I'd be thrilled if he turned out to be comparable to Brodin.

umm Karlsson went mid 1st and Weber in the 2nd round

Carlo early 2nd

Yes you can find a more than decent D in these ranges these days

Brodin is a smart D... so we will have to see if UV has this quality as well

yes he looks like a smooth skater, but without the IQ ... he won't be anything much more than a 3rd D pairing D.... Hopefully this is not the case

 

[BB88]

Not expecting alot from this prospect

Brodin sounds like a decent comparison. Or Tomas Kaberle without half the offensive skills

Brodin would be great, he's been a trade target for me for few years.

Urho can really skate& play defense, he could surprise a few at the end of year if he can play 1st pair minutes in Liiga next year.

 

[DitClapper]

Does anybody know the situation in which resulted in 29 PIMS in 3 games played?
Because I like that.

 

[Dellstrom]

umm Karlsson went mid 1st and Weber in the 2nd round

Carlo early 2nd

Yes you can find a more than decent D in these ranges these days

Brodin is a smart D... so we will have to see if UV has this quality as well

yes he looks like a smooth skater, but without the IQ ... he won't be anything much more than a 3rd D pairing D.... Hopefully this is not the case

You CAN, but in all likelihood, you won't. If someone had their potential they'd go 1st overall. Who knows, maybe Urho will be the next Weber/Karlsson? It's way too early in his and anyone else's development to see how good they'll be. But in the middle of the 1st round in a weak draft, you're not getting a player with that much high end potential. They might exceed their present day potential like Weber/Karlsson did but there's no way you could know that now.

 

[ODAAT]

I can`t really comment on Brodin with any definitive opinion as I`ve probably seen him play 6-7 times, I liked what I saw but I just haven`t watched him enough.

As for the kid this thread is about, same thing only I`ve seen him play 0 times and have watched only his highlights. I like what I`ve read about his skill set and potential upside but that`s all I can comment on. Seems like a potentially solid prospect to keep an eye on

 

[LouJersey]

umm Karlsson went mid 1st and Weber in the 2nd round

Carlo early 2nd

Yes you can find a more than decent D in these ranges these days

Brodin is a smart D... so we will have to see if UV has this quality as well

yes he looks like a smooth skater, but without the IQ ... he won't be anything much more than a 3rd D pairing D.... Hopefully this is not the case

Even if his ceiling is a better skating Hammer then I'll be happy. I see an in his prime Seidenberg that skates better with a much bigger o upside because of the way he likes to carry the puck.

 

[Tim Vezina Thomas]

umm Karlsson went mid 1st and Weber in the 2nd round

Carlo early 2nd

Yes you can find a more than decent D in these ranges these days

Brodin is a smart D... so we will have to see if UV has this quality as well

yes he looks like a smooth skater, but without the IQ ... he won't be anything much more than a 3rd D pairing D.... Hopefully this is not the case

I find it hard to believe you've seen enough of him to make that determination, I know I haven't. I'll trust Sweeney and co. until i've seen enough of him to form my own opinion.

Also, for every Karlsson there are about 200 Matt Lashoffs.

 

[Tim Vezina Thomas]

Even if his ceiling is a better skating Hammer then I'll be happy. I see an in his prime Seidenberg that skates better with a much bigger o upside because of the way he likes to carry the puck.

If you told me Urho would turn into Brodin or Hammer, sign me up. At #18 that is an absolute great draft pick.

 

[mikelvl]

umm Karlsson went mid 1st and Weber in the 2nd round

Carlo early 2nd

Yes you can find a more than decent D in these ranges these days

Brodin is a smart D... so we will have to see if UV has this quality as well

yes he looks like a smooth skater, but without the IQ ... he won't be anything much more than a 3rd D pairing D.... Hopefully this is not the case

How about we give the kid a couple of years instead of a couple of weeks prior to writing him off?? And like other have mentioned, I'm pretty sure you've never seen him play one full game. Correct?

 

[DominicT]

I think it's unfair to UV to have his skating compared to Coffey and Niedermayer.

Coffey was the closest thing there has been to a Bobby Orr in terms of a generational skater able to dominate in the skating department. Niedermayer may just be the best technically sound skater the NHL has ever had. You would be hard pressed to find someone who worked his edges like him and as light on his skates as him, but he also possessed an explosive first step and very good top end speed.

With the Bruins having set expectations at that level, I think it's setting us up for disappointment.

 

[yazmybaby]

I think it's unfair to UV to have his skating compared to Coffey and Niedermayer.

Coffey was the closest thing there has been to a Bobby Orr in terms of a generational skater able to dominate in the skating department. Niedermayer may just be the best technically sound skater the NHL has ever had. You would be hard pressed to find someone who worked his edges like him and as light on his skates as him, but he also possessed an explosive first step and very good top end speed.

With the Bruins having set expectations at that level, I think it's setting us up for disappointment.

I have watched a tremendous amount of hockey since the mid 70's and would like to include three more exceptional skaters to Orr /Coffey and Scott Niedermayer. Denis Savard was one of the most explosive and shifty skaters with the puck that I ever saw. No one could catch him / play the body on him. Mike Gartner was probably the most explosive straight ahead skater I ever saw play and last, Mike Modano was awesome to watch. At 6'3 and 200 lbs he could glide on the ice and explode into seams and in a blink of an eye be gone. Extremely fast and skilled player. Too bad his hockey " IQ" was not exceptional or he could have had many 100 point season.

 

[DominicT]

I have watched a tremendous amount of hockey since the mid 70's and would like to include three more exceptional skaters to Orr /Coffey and Scott Niedermayer. Denis Savard was one of the most explosive and shifty skaters with the puck that I ever saw. No one could catch him / play the body on him. Mike Gartner was probably the most explosive straight ahead skater I ever saw play and last, Mike Modano was awesome to watch. At 6'3 and 200 lbs he could glide on the ice and explode into seams and in a blink of an eye be gone. Extremely fast and skilled player. Too bad his hockey " IQ" was not exceptional or he could have had many 100 point season.

You could add Gilbert Perreault and the roadrunner as well. But I was only talking defencemen and the two UV was compared too.

 

[DKH]

I have watched a tremendous amount of hockey since the mid 70's and would like to include three more exceptional skaters to Orr /Coffey and Scott Niedermayer. Denis Savard was one of the most explosive and shifty skaters with the puck that I ever saw. No one could catch him / play the body on him. Mike Gartner was probably the most explosive straight ahead skater I ever saw play and last, Mike Modano was awesome to watch. At 6'3 and 200 lbs he could glide on the ice and explode into seams and in a blink of an eye be gone. Extremely fast and skilled player. Too bad his hockey " IQ" was not exceptional or he could have had many 100 point season.

how about Mark Messier, He could skate the the wind and bring a hurricane with him.

I still cant believe the Oilers had Gretzky and Messier as their top two centers in their prime

also, Brian Leetch could really skate a bit behind Coffey but more heavy- not a lot but enough to notice

 

[DKH]

You could add Gilbert Perreault and the roadrunner as well. But I was only talking defencemen and the two UV was compared too.

speaking of road runners Yvan Cournoyer

great call on Coffey to Orr

I would have loved to seen Orr in todays equipment skating after today's medical procedures on his knees

I cant even imagine how amazing he would be combining those two

 

[DKH]

You could add Gilbert Perreault and the roadrunner as well. But I was only talking defencemen and the two UV was compared too.

I would take the French Connection as one of the best skating lines I ever saw. Richard Martin was my favorite player back then

the single scariest line I ever saw other than Lemieux and whoever was

Andreychuk-LaFontaine-Mogilny

absolutely horrifying