Gator Mike
Registered User
I'm not sure he'll ever be a considered a star, but he's going to play in this league for a long, long time.
Prospect Info: 18th Overall (Round 1) - Urho Vaakanainen (D)
- Thread starter Fenway
- Start date
Played very well in a shutdown role. I don't believe he saw a second of PP time.
ON3M4N
Ignores/60 = Elite
I think he actually has some offensive upside and could be a good PP QB. Soft hands, great vision and can skate. Maybe not the offensive skill of Krug, but I think he could be a surprise offensive guy because of his breakout passing.
Blowfish
Count down ...
Son of Donegal
Stay-at-home defenseman with zero upside.
He would be the perfect fit alongside a kid like Charlie. Vaakanainen’s positioning, puck retrieval and passing from the D zone is highly advanced. Having him back there, you can let Charlie push the neutral zone a bit more. I would strongly prefer the Bruins not trade Vaakanainen...but he may be starter asking price for some of the guys that have been linked to the B’s.
ODAAT
Registered User
I`m horrific at comps but if I were to say whose game he most reminds me of at this stage it`s Hjalmarsson. Moves well, distributes well but doesn`t necessarily translate into big numbers offensively
False Start
Registered User
- May 8, 2018
- 709
- 699
No I love that comp, it's not too out of the realm of possibility. He's a solid player and I feel like I can definitely see his game traject to that of Hjalmarsson
Man, we have an embarrassment of riches. It's becoming even more evident as this potential trade for Schenn heats up. Even if we give up some real pieces, we'll be okay in the long run thanks to Donnie's drafting lately
ODAAT
Registered User
smart drafting is the key, won`t always hit home runs with such an inexact science and sometimes you get a bit lucky as a kid in late rounds surprises while one`s picked sooner don`t reach expectations but it was merely a few years ago where the prospect cupboard for this team was literally bare, not the case any longer
Smitty93
Registered User
- Dec 6, 2012
- 8,204
- 9,368
Vaakanainen is similar to Carlo for me in that you play both of them as a steady defensive defenseman paired with a more offensive minded defenseman. They're also likely to come at a lower cost, since they don't put up many points. As others have said, I think Vaakanainen is a good long-term pairing with McAvoy.
The don godfather
Registered User
Imagine vak Carlo mcavoy lauzon all playing at the same time. Could be the best 4 dman in the nhl for years.
KnightofBoston
Registered User
LouJersey
Registered User
That’s a pretty good comp to me. He looks bigger than him with a better stride but Brodin is a very good NHL defensemen. We would be fortunate
Tazz
Registered User
- Oct 4, 2017
- 108
- 133
Add GRZELCYK being just 25, ANDERSSON and ZBORIL into the mix and the future D group look pretty solid.
rocketdan9
Registered User
- Feb 5, 2009
- 20,411
- 13,210
rocketdan9
Registered User
- Feb 5, 2009
- 20,411
- 13,210
Alberta_OReilly_Fan
Bruin fan since 1975
Good to see you kicking around tazz... but schocked you have a 2017 join date and so little activity. The board has been a poorer place with your abscence
Alberta_OReilly_Fan
Bruin fan since 1975
I thought the same then I saw the capitalization of all the names... trademark of our original.
theres quite a few posting legends from the past that I cant remember seeing for years sometimes. I had reason to remember shane walsh here with this recent murphy talk going on. shane was the moderator for the forum when I first came and the guy who asked me to become the writer so I remember shane fondly. but his name never comes up when talking about old time favorites. I do often wonder why he disappeared and never resurfaced
I wont dredge up a ton of names here other than to say I always think its cool when an old timer resurfaces.
Mick Riddleton
“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.”
I loved his game, ice in his veins but would like to see him speed things up sometimes. He can get closed in when forechecked, otherwise he plays like a 10 year vet
RussellmaniaKW
Registered User
- Sep 15, 2004
- 19,698
- 21,801
lol you are terrible at player comparisons. Brodin isn't half the skater Vaakanainen is.
GloryDaze4877
Barely Irrelevant
I’m hoping that UV is closer to Ekholm than Brodin (he’s a better skater than Ekholm also). I say that because Ekholm was a guy who didn’t show a lot of offense earlier in his career, but now puts up pretty good numbers.
From what I have seen of UV, he has all the skills necessary to have decent offensive numbers. Hoping as he grows as a player and becomes more comfortable in his role, he starts jumping into the play more.
