Prospect Info: #73 OA - Defenseman Vili Saarijarvi, USHL (Signed to ELC, Post 136)

[Sami]

I mean how many NHL players have come out of Rovaniemi?

And be as good as Orr!

 

[Frk It]

Don't know much about this kid and have never seen him play. If he can play, I have no issues with his size. Size is overrarted in today's game.

Looking forward to following this kids development.
Interesting Vande Sompel was still on the board though. Another smallish, skilled puck moving defenseman with a lot more fan fare. I really liked Vande Sompel and since he is from my hometown I won't be able to help but compare these two players as they advance.

At least we got the right handed guy though

 

[GBFP]

3-on-3 overtime hockey is coming, skating/vision will be at an absolute premium in those situations.

 

[Henkka]

Right-handed "joe hicketts" ?

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Kid seems to be a legitimate elite skater with offensive skill. Whether he's 5'9 or 5'10 we need that kind of skating ability on our blueline, as we have next to nothing in the pipeline and completely lack elite skating d-men on the big club....and no, Brendan Smith does not have top tier skating ability.

He might not make it, but Nick Jensen is one of the best skating D-man in the world. Not the AHL or NHL, big picture he ranks somewhere in the top 20 skaters on the back--end when looking at every league. So part of that isn't true, we certainly have an elite skating D-man in our organization. I hope he does make the big club as a smooth skating stay at home D-man.

 

[detredWINgs]

Love the pick. Not sure why everyone is fresking out about suze. Torey Krug, Sami Vatanen, and Jared Spurgeon think this is a great pick.

Seriously though. The key to being effective as a small defensemsn is speed and agility. You can't get plastered when you can evade 90% of the guys you're up against.

 

[detredWINgs]

Right-handed "joe hicketts" ?

Or just another Sami Vatanen.

 

[TheRatPoisoner]

Faster than Helm? 0.o

That stuck out to me too. That'd make him one of the faster guys in the league if true...

 

[InjuredChoker]

Love the pick. Not sure why everyone is fresking out about suze. Torey Krug, Sami Vatanen, and Jared Spurgeon think this is a great pick.

Seriously though. The key to being effective as a small defensemsn is speed and agility. You can't get plastered when you can evade 90% of the guys you're up against.

and smarts.

 

[Boomhower]

Huge upside if he can grow a little and put on some weight. Great skater and puckhandler, PP QB, was super impressive at the U18s.

He will return to Kärpät next season and I'm guessing could have a decent role on arguably the best team in the Liiga.

His skating makes him qutie different from Almqvist, likes to carry the puck more. I think he's really similar to Vatanen.

Very confusing. He is already over here.

I would like to see him transition to the CHL and develop playing in an offensive league, since he is an offensive player.
The highest scoring D man on Karpat last year was 35 years old and had 23 points in 42 games.

Like the pick though.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Size is still very much relevant defensively. Bigger D-men can block more shots and find it easier to clean up in front of the goal.

This kid's offensive upside needs to be enormous for this guy to be a relevant NHL player rather than just some star in the SM-Liiga or KHL down the road.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Size is still very much relevant defensively. Bigger D-men can block more shots and find it easier to clean up in front of the goal.

This kid's offensive upside needs to be enormous for this guy to be a relevant NHL player rather than just some star in the SM-Liiga or KHL down the road.

The Wings have all the defensive defensemen they could ever need. What they needed was a puckmover with a shot. You can't always get it all in one guy.

 

[myrsky]

Very confusing. He is already over here.

I would like to see him transition to the CHL and develop playing in an offensive league, since he is an offensive player.
The highest scoring D man on Karpat last year was 35 years old and had 23 points in 42 games.

Like the pick though.

He made a 3-year contract with Kärpät last year and they knew that he would play the first year of the contract in the USHL and then come back to Kärpät. It was all planned beforehand.

 

[sarcastro]

One good way to fix your lack of right handed and offensive defensemen is to draft right handed offensive defensemen. I don't have a problem with this pick. Hopefully he gets stronger and pans out.

 

[detredWINgs]

Size is still very much relevant defensively. Bigger D-men can block more shots and find it easier to clean up in front of the goal.

This kid's offensive upside needs to be enormous for this guy to be a relevant NHL player rather than just some star in the SM-Liiga or KHL down the road.

This is not what offensive defenseman do, nor is it what they are asked to do. This is like complaining about Datsyuk not being big because he can't go in and establish a forecheck while mucking it up in the corners (although there were probably people complaining that Datsyuk wouldn't be able to do that when he was drafted, either). That's not his role and shot blocking/crease clearing will not be Saarijarvi's role.

Torey Krug. Ryan Ellis. Jared Spurgeon. Toby Enstrom. Sami Vatanen. Tyson Barrie. Et al. All of those guys are small, offensively inclined, and none play the role you are talking about.

 

[sarcastro]

This is not what offensive defenseman do, nor is it what they are asked to do. This is like complaining about Datsyuk not being big because he can't go in and establish a forecheck while mucking it up in the corners (although there were probably people complaining that Datsyuk wouldn't be able to do that when he was drafted, either). That's not his role and shot blocking/crease clearing will not be Saarijarvi's role.

Torey Krug. Ryan Ellis. Jared Spurgeon. Toby Enstrom. Sami Vatanen. Tyson Barrie. Et al. All of those guys are small, offensively inclined, and none play the role you are talking about.

Offensive defensemen that are also big and fast and who have shown anything whatsoever are gone in the first fifteen picks. In the third round, this is what you get, and you hope he ends up like Enstrom or Krug or Rafalski.

 

[Frk It]

Love the pick. Not sure why everyone is fresking out about suze. Torey Krug, Sami Vatanen, and Jared Spurgeon think this is a great pick.

Hardly a ringing endorsement, considering there are 4 defenseman in the NHL under 5'10". Out of 307 total. Those are pretty terrible odds.

I am hoping he is actually 5'10" (have seen both listed) or that he is still growing (I think Datsyuk was around 5'9 and 160-something when drafted).

I don't hate the pick, but I can't act like I love drafting a 5'9" defenseman either.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

This is not what offensive defenseman do, nor is it what they are asked to do. This is like complaining about Datsyuk not being big because he can't go in and establish a forecheck while mucking it up in the corners (although there were probably people complaining that Datsyuk wouldn't be able to do that when he was drafted, either). That's not his role and shot blocking/crease clearing will not be Saarijarvi's role.

Torey Krug. Ryan Ellis. Jared Spurgeon. Toby Enstrom. Sami Vatanen. Tyson Barrie. Et al. All of those guys are small, offensively inclined, and none play the role you are talking about.

An offensive D-man is still one of the 5 guys on the ice and believe it or not, there is no *purely* offensive role for a D-man in the league. Even Paul Coffey had to play defense and I doubt this kid is Paul Coffey.

 

[Boomhower]

He made a 3-year contract with Kärpät last year and they knew that he would play the first year of the contract in the USHL and then come back to Kärpät. It was all planned beforehand.

That is unfortunate. So next year we can hope he scores 19 point in roughly 45 games.

Yikes he better have a good U20 WJC tourney or people will have the pitchforks out. He simply won't put up impressive numbers at Karpat.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

http://video.redwings.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=831153

For a guy who claims he didn't speak any English before he came over, he's pretty darn good at it.

 

[Blue Liner]

Personally, love the pick for you guys. Saw him a lot the past season and think he's an excellent prospect.

Lacks size, but has the speed, evasiveness, and intelligence to counteract that at the NHL level, in my opinion. Super slippery and anticipates and reads the play exceptionally well.

Think you got a good one.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

https://vimeo.com/125394616

shot on full display here.

edit:

and again! that shot. https://vimeo.com/125394622

First goal here: https://vimeo.com/125639657

 

[ChadS]

https://vimeo.com/125394616

shot on full display here.

That blueline play at 3:05 was pretty sweet too. He's really smart with the puck.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

That blueline play at 3:05 was pretty sweet too. He's pretty smart with the puck.

Yeah, absolutely. I'm sold on his ability to QB the power play. He seems to have very good instincts/hockey sense. His shot isn't even that hard yet, but he seems to have good accuracy and a quick release.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Hardly a ringing endorsement, considering there are 4 defenseman in the NHL under 5'10". Out of 307 total. Those are pretty terrible odds.

I am hoping he is actually 5'10" (have seen both listed) or that he is still growing (I think Datsyuk was around 5'9 and 160-something when drafted).

I don't hate the pick, but I can't act like I love drafting a 5'9" defenseman either.

Yep, I like the skill set and skating but the odds of a 5'9" d-man being good enough to play in the NHL are incredibly long. I am pulling for him with the realization that the odds are not in his favor. He'll get plenty of time to develop as we all know how the Wings operate.