Prospect Info: #191, Otto Kivenmaki

[Hinterland]

I agree with you.

Keep in mind, tolvanen played in the USHL, lit it up then went over to the KHL with Jokerit. But I definitely think your right.

With that being said, do you think Hughes is still #1?

I definitely do but when you go on most of the pages here(Jack Hughes, Kakko or the Jack HughesVSKappo Kakko) they are tearing into Hughes because of where he plays. which doesn’t make sense. The USHL is not far behind the CHL. I definitely think he would tear up the CHL had he decided to play with Mississauga in the O.

Oh. You're correct. Tolvanen only played juniors in Finland and that's where he scored like crazy. So not directly related to Liiga. Bad example by myself. Must have confused something.
I'm really not much of a draft expert so I can't tell you much about it or NA leagues.

 

[JustJokinenAround]

I agree with you.

Keep in mind, tolvanen played in the USHL, lit it up then went over to the KHL with Jokerit. But I definitely think your right.

With that being said, do you think Hughes is still #1?

I definitely do but when you go on most of the pages here(Jack Hughes, Kakko or the Jack HughesVSKappo Kakko) they are tearing into Hughes because of where he plays. which doesn’t make sense. The USHL is not far behind the CHL. I definitely think he would tear up the CHL had he decided to play with Mississauga in the O.

yes hughes will go first. hughes really had nothing to gain at the start of season everyone already slotted him at #1 so everyone was going to knitpick his game all year long. hughes is definitely not as good as auston matthews but he is certainly better than hischier. i think its just a case of hughes having nothing to gain and kakko having everything to gain during the year and draft process.

theres a reason everyone has pegged hughes to be number one since about late 2017 early 2018

 

[Hockey Know it all]

yes hughes will go first. hughes really had nothing to gain at the start of season everyone already slotted him at #1 so everyone was going to knitpick his game all year long. hughes is definitely not as good as auston matthews but he is certainly better than hischier. i think its just a case of hughes having nothing to gain and kakko having everything to gain during the year and draft process.

theres a reason everyone has pegged hughes to be number one since about late 2017 early 2018

I agree. Everyone and there mom seems to diss Hughes regardless of what page it is on hockeysfuture. Most of them are trolls but some of them(mostly Finnish posters) say how much better Kakko is than Hughes.

I still have Hughes first. If 10/10 scouts have Hughes first still, you know damn well he’s going first.

 

[Voodoo Glow Skulls]

Took me a while, but I finally have his rookie card.


View media item 4401

 

[JustJokinenAround]

I agree. Everyone and there mom seems to diss Hughes regardless of what page it is on hockeysfuture. Most of them are trolls but some of them(mostly Finnish posters) say how much better Kakko is than Hughes.

I still have Hughes first. If 10/10 scouts have Hughes first still, you know damn well he’s going first.

i mean i get it, if you are watching kakko everyday you will form a strong opinion one way or another. where people may confuse kakko for being better than hughes is kakko is more NHL ready than hughes, but that doesn't mean he is a better prospect.

 

[Hockey Know it all]

i mean i get it, if you are watching kakko everyday you will form a strong opinion one way or another. where people may confuse kakko for being better than hughes is kakko is more NHL ready than hughes, but that doesn't mean he is a better prospect.

I definitely think Kakko is probably more NHL ready but like you said, that doesn’t insinuate he’s better.
Really, we won’t know who better till 2024 at the earliest.

 

[Henkka]

Only thing why I would pick Hughes first is American team using him on marketing purposes. Finnish guy wont sell that well, than next american superstar. If Canadian team wins the lottery, I would go after Kakko.

 

[Lovonov]

Only thing why I would pick Hughes first is American team using him on marketing purposes. Finnish guy wont sell that well, than next american superstar. If Canadian team wins the lottery, I would go after Kakko.

Thats a silly way of choosing first overall

 

[Leibinger6]

Encouraging to see his stats in Liiga this season. If they re-drafted this past class he would probably go a few rounds earlier... AT THE VERY LEAST. He’s by no means lighting the league on fire but close to 0.5 PPG in his first professional season.. which compares to other Fins taken in rounds 2-3 of the same class. Hakan Andersson putting in work.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Only thing why I would pick Hughes first is American team using him on marketing purposes. Finnish guy wont sell that well, than next american superstar. If Canadian team wins the lottery, I would go after Kakko.

I see you and several of your countrymen have had trouble learning lessons from the Laine and Matthews debate... Fear not another lesson is at hand...

Now back to the more appropriate topic at hand, I am really happy with Otto's progress this year. This is a choice to emphasize skill and take on a serious project, I am glad we are taking a chance on him. I like the early returns this year.

 

[Lil Bert]

Kivenmaki finished the season with 2-14-16 in 34 games. I didn't realize how bad his team was though. They finished with a record of 9-38-13 (W/L/OT) and only had 117 goals in sixty games! This kid looks like he can be a player down the line.

Only 5'8"

 

[Killerjas]

Is he injured? Only played 1 game so far

 

[Henkka]

Is he injured? Only played 1 game so far

Been wondering this too, and seems that he is not injured. Asked this from Finnish board and they said that Ässät is just using some center rotation. Many guys are sure he'll play on the next game on saturday.

 

[Killerjas]

Just 1 point in 7 games... What is going on?

 

[ChadS]

Just 1 point in 7 games... What is going on?

I think it's at least partly due to playing center. He's not ready to be a top-6 center and perform well two-way. Since he has to focus so much on defense as it's his weakness (at least compared to offense), much of his focus and energy goes to that and it hurts his offense.

Two ways to fix it, either keep him at C and wait for things to improve or move him to the wing. Tough decision for the coach as the latter is the easy option but sticking to C could benefit the team a lot later on in the season as well as Otto as a player.

 

[Gniwder]

I think it's at least partly due to playing center. He's not ready to be a top-6 center and perform well two-way. Since he has to focus so much on defense as it's his weakness (at least compared to offense), much of his focus and energy goes to that and it hurts his offense.

Two ways to fix it, either keep him at C and wait for things to improve or move him to the wing. Tough decision for the coach as the latter is the easy option but sticking to C could benefit the team a lot later on in the season as well as Otto as a player.

He's too small to play center in AHL and NHL, they should just use him as a winger.

Are there smaller centers in European leagues?

 

[Hockeyfannnn91]

He’s playing top 6 still? New linemates ?

 

[Henkka]

Got hit pretty bad on the head today....

David Nemecek jäähy 20 minuuttia

 

[Voodoo Glow Skulls]

Got hit pretty bad on the head today....

David Nemecek jäähy 20 minuuttia

My god that was hard to watch. Looks like his head hit the ice hard enough to split it.

I hope he's ok, and not just from a fans perspective.

 

[Killerjas]

Any news? It looked like a career ending injury

 

[Qurpiz]

Any news? It looked like a career ending injury

The news are as they would be in a situation like this.

He's in the hospital, for now.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

Any news? It looked like a career ending injury

Nothing new yet.
That hit was ugly so only what we ( hockey fans ) can do now is wish best.

Kivenmäki has at least a concussion but he can have other injuries too.
But as i said lets wait new updates and information.

 

[saska sault]

Horrible to watch that happen to any player.. Regardless if it's a Wings prospect. Hope he recovers, always root for a underdog type kid like him.. He's very undersized, he got caught in a bad spot, by a bad hit.. I will say I don't think the defender was completely out head hunting. It just was a bad turn of events.

 

[Bearr]

Any news? It looked like a career ending injury

His mother posted on social media that considering the events he is in decent condition and that this season is over for him, regardless.

 

[ChadS]

Full translation of Otto's mother's post from last night:

Thank you for all your messages on behalf of both Otto and me. I can't respond to them all personally, but they have all been very heart warming. The young man is doing fairly well considering the circumstances, he's in the hospital under monitoring and even laughing already. He has no memory at the moment and has a big cut in his head. Tomorrow will tell more. The future will tell the rest. In any case, his season (and at worst his hockey career) is over and his high school finals have been forgotten.

A big thank you to Ässät's team doctor for his exemplary action on the ice, in the locker room and afterwards, as well as to all of you who understand that this isn't a question of one young man's hockey career but at worst the entire life of a loved family member and an important friend to many.