Aho highlight reel

[Ippenator]

He sure is a very special talent. I think still most people here underestimate him though. Some people here probably know that I'm a big fan of Aho and Laine, but the reason why I'm so much impressed with both of them is that they just really have so special talents and very, very special attitude towards hockey, and they both are really smart.

Outside of Laine the last Finnish player that impressed me as much as Aho as a young player, was Teemu Selänne. No other player after Selänne has impressed me as much. Well, Saku Koivu did with his attitude pretty much, but his NHL career was hindered too much with injuries and illness.

Anyway Granlund, Barkov, Rantanen or Puljujärvi don't in my opinion have the special mentality combined with special talents that Aho and also Laine have. I just see really the sky as the limit for Aho. To me he looks like practically a carbon copy of Henrik Zetterberg as a player. Just with the exception that Aho is in fact at the moment clearly better than Zetterberg was when he was still 19. Of course it's not a sure thing that Aho will develop as well as Zetterberg did after all. But knowing exactly the very special attitude and even leadership skills that Aho has, I am in fact pretty confident that he can become the same caliber player that prime Zetterberg was.

Nice to have such a rising Finnish star in exactly the Canes, which has long time already been one of my favorite teams in the NHL. Canes and the Jets are definitely my favorite teams. Liked also always Penguins, Oilers and the Wild.

 

[Lempo]

He's a baller, er.... pucker.

Well. Doesn't this make for some awkward rhymes for Skee-Lo's new version of I Wish.

 

[SeaBasstian]

This is pretty dang awesome!! Sure gets me pumped for the upcoming season! Even more, it reminds me just how amazing Aho looked last season.

 

[boyko10]

Serious question, how would you all describe him as a player? Nothing really stands out but still.. Ok slapper, decent wrister, good passer, not the worst skater. The only word that I feel nails it is 'maturity'.

Whether its scoring a goal or defensive play he, just always wants to do the 'right thing', and this is great because half the time I didnt even know what that right thing was until he showed me.

Really don't like throwing 'ainecs' out there all the time but the only guy I remember having an equal processor/versatility/consistency at the same age was this Peltonen guy.. Who btw became my all time fav in the end

 

[Ippenator]

Serious question, how would you all describe him as a player? Nothing really stands out but still.. Ok slapper, decent wrister, good passer, not the worst skater. The only word that I feel nails it is 'maturity'.

Whether its scoring a goal or defensive play he, just always wants to do the 'right thing', and this is great because half the time I didnt even know what that right thing was until he showed me.

Really don't like throwing 'ainecs' out there all the time but the only guy I remember having an equal processor/versatility/consistency at the same age was this Peltonen guy.. Who btw became my all time fav in the end

In my opinion Aho is already as a player better with most of his abilities than Peltonen ever was. Sure as a leader Aho has still a long way to what Peltonen was, but otherwise Aho already beats Peltonen in most areas.

To me Aho reminds exactly Henrik Zetterberg. He is even the exact height that Zetterberg is. And their playstyles and abilities match really well. Btw, Aho is a very good skater. He skates with very strong and long strides compared to his size. He can also turn on a dime. You don't often see him skate with his full speed though, as that is a part of his smart game. He does not skate constantly like a madman, which probably also helps him read the offensive and defensive plays better.

But when it's really needed, he can sure burst into very high speed and very quickly. Just check the highlight video (8:14) in the beginning of this thread how he leaves Ristolainen and Eichel to the dust to get an easy empty netter. I also saw him use exceptional speed and acceleration in his last FEL season. He just did it quite rarely then and still does.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

he used to draw a lot of comparisons to igor larionov also

 

[Joe McGrath]

Watching this again, I didn't realize how many breakaway goals he had. I know he had that breakaway winner in SM Liga game 7 as well. He's a sneaky little ****er.

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

Yeah, he does basically everything at a very high, but not elite level. What surprised me most was his ability to turn and burn with the puck (see the one goal against Philly), and his slap shot/one timer. I haven't seen a guy his size slapping pucks that hard since Jeff Hamilton (who also played for Karpat, fun fact).

And it's a testament to his intelligence that he doesn't 'need' to skate full tilt all the time. But boy he can fly if he wants to (see the eng against Buffalo where he out skates Eichel, and kinda just goes around Ristolainen to score.)

 

[the halleJOKEL]

the play right after the EN goal against buffalo is a great example of a beauty of a Slavin outlet pass for the record

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

The most impressive thing to me is how quickly he processes information and how he can make decisions while playing at a fast pace. It's pretty remarkable for a guy his age. Some guys prefer to (or have to) slow it down so they can see plays develop. TT is a little like that, but Aho, and Slavin to an extent, process information so quickly that even though they can slow it down when called for, they don't need to. Combine that with good skating, good hands, good skills, a good shot, and a strong compete level and you have what we see in Aho.

 

[NotOpie]

The most impressive thing to me is how quickly he processes information and how he can make decisions while playing at a fast pace. It's pretty remarkable for a guy his age. Some guys prefer to (or have to) slow it down so they can see plays develop. TT is a little like that, but Aho, and Slavin to an extent, process information so quickly that even though they can slow it down when called for, they don't need to. Combine that with good skating, good hands, good skills, a good shot, and a strong compete level and you have what we see in Aho.

That is likely his most elite talent (Slavin's too, for that matter). Speed and thinking in the context of the moment.

 

[boyko10]

Yeah, he does basically everything at a very high, but not elite level. What surprised me most was his ability to turn and burn with the puck (see the one goal against Philly), and his slap shot/one timer. I haven't seen a guy his size slapping pucks that hard since Jeff Hamilton (who also played for Karpat, fun fact).

And it's a testament to his intelligence that he doesn't 'need' to skate full tilt all the time. But boy he can fly if he wants to (see the eng against Buffalo where he out skates Eichel, and kinda just goes around Ristolainen to score.)

Hamilton also won a championship for my team (HIFK), but only played a handful of games and was out for the playoffs. Was acquired as a pp specialist and I did get to witness that slapper, cant say it was bad.

edit: I knew he was injured but just looked it up and seems that 2011 championship season was the last the last he ever played. :sadface:

 

[Svechhammer]

Its crazy, but I keep forgetting that he was just a rookie last year. Watching him on the ice, there were times where you'd think he was a 5 year vet who had settled into his established role on the team. I've poo-pood the thought of him at Center for this very reason.

But he was a rookie.

Depending on how quickly guys like Gauthier and Necas are able to come up, we could have a sneaky good offense within a few years if we just stay the course.