Vainio is a tall guy, but he's not a strong player. He's soft and rather weak in battle situations. Having him that high might end up costing some scout his job.
The reward potential is there, but the chances of him turning out to be a complete bust are high considering all the problems surrounding his game.
Tuulola's father was a defenseman, not a forward like the article suggests.
Heljanko has been pretty good in Jr.A on most nights, but his results with the U18 national team are poor:
- Hlinka: 2-gp, 3,56-gaa, 80,56-S%
- 4-Nations in Sweden: 1-gp, 5,57-gaa, 82,35-S%
- 5-Nations in Switzerland: 2-gp, 2,87-gaa, 85,00-S%
For the upcoming 5-nations in Czech Republic Heljanko has lost his spot to Nico Viksten.
Vehviläinen had two shutouts at 5-Nations in Switzerland, so he's had some success with the U18 NT-team lately. Those 51 shots he faced at 4-nations became against US-NTDP, Russia didn't even participate to this tournament.
Niku is not a tiny defenseman, he has enough height. He's not particularly aggressive and needs more strenght, that's true. As far as his development goes, I wouldn't be too worried, he's shown good progress from last year.
Heljanko and Moberg are players I wouldn't even have in my top-20, so that's where I disagree the most with this ranking. Väliharju is an interesting find.