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At 20th Overall the Kings Select Rasmus Kupari

Sol

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Whoever said he needs work on his shot doesn't know anything about him
 
Statto

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Sol said:
Whoever said he needs work on his shot doesn't know anything about him
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Agreed. I watched a bunch of footage last night and he has a great release. I think maybe he could do with more power in his shot, which is where I think this comes from. However as he gets stronger so will his shot, as technically it looks great. It’s only when playing against men his shot looks a little light. Against his own age group it was at least above average power wise. His one timer looks pretty good also.

I love this pick. We always complain that we don’t have draft picks that turn into high skilled top six scorers. This is exactly the sort of player that MIGHT do just that.
 
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KingsHockey24

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In a lot of the video's I've watched of him he scores from quite a ways out. Great speed, pretty nifty moves, and a good shot.
 
Quethas

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FinnProspects naturally had multiple looks of Kupari during the season:
Rasmus Kupari | FinnProspects.com

I think Kupari has fine skill-set. He is really quick and his stickhandling is sublime. He hasn't been able to produce as much as his skill would allow him to but I think his his problems with hockey sense are criminally overrated. I think he is doing off the puck just fine and his game with the puck simplified already during the season when he started to adjust to pro game.

I personally think this is a fine pick and Kupari has a lot of unused potential.
 
Pandaman11

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Not sure how I feel about this pick. According to reports, this sounds to me like a player who was high on lists because he scored against kids, but as the season went along, scouts started thinking "oh, he's not that great after all". What concerns me most is that some are saying he lacks hockey sense.

Then again, what do I know compared to our scouts. I trust them, so welcome to the organization, Rasmus!
 
Frolov 6'3

Frolov 6'3

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Lets face it, the one he is compared to: Adrian Kempe lacks hockey sense too and he is still a productive player that was picked 30th overall.

You cant expect the complete package at 20th overall.
 
regulate

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“Calling him an elite skater might be an understatement,” he said. “He’s a top 5 skater in this draft.”

“We got a really good player,” he added. “Kupari brings all of these elements that we need, but more importantly, elements that are succeeding in the NHL right now. You see the tools he has, which translate well to successful players, difference makers, in the NHL. Then you see the way he uses those tools and he uses the way players in the NHL who are finding success use them. You get excited about a player like that.”

Yanetti indicated that it’s not just Kupari’s speed that was attractive to the Kings.

“He’s got an excellent release,” he noted. “He’s got the ability to shoot in stride, to shoot at pace. A lot of players have to slow down to do a lot of things. One of the biggest problems with fast players is that they’re faster without the puck than they are with the puck. But Kupari’s speed does not change. His ability to execute does not change based on pace. His best asset is not limited by other elements of his game.” “Then you look at how he creates offense,” he added. “He’s an attack-oriented player. He attacks the grid where the majority of the goals in the NHL—60 percent—are scored from, a very defined and finite area. He has the speed to get there. He has the will to get there and he has the framework of a game to get there, yet he’s still at the very infancy of his game.”

2018 NHL Draft: One-on-One With LA Kings Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Yanetti – Part 1
 
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After watching some of Kuparis' highlights I thought he had a little Barzal in him. Then I told myself to not be crazy. Later read Kupari thread on the Draft Board and a couple of poster wrote the same thing. Kid has some potential with his speed and puck handling skills.
 
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tny760

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deceptively heavy shot imo, looks like he made a huge leap from juniors to the liiga, some of those liiga clips he looks like a whole different player. can see why they say he's not NHL ready but the instincts appear visible
 
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Peter James Bond II

Peter James Bond II

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He did not turn 18 until March 15. Very few 17 year olds play in Liiga, SHL, and KHL...and if they do, they are not tearing it up...every year, there are 1-3 freaks of nature like Rasmus Dahlin, that excel at 17. Dahlin turned 18 in April.
Consider Kupari was 5'11" 163 a year ago and also grew to 6'1" 183 the last year (and now 6'1.5" 188) That's a huge growth spurt and probably not necessarily added a ton of strength.
6 goals and 8 assists are not terrible numbers, for the icetime he got and he was good enough defensively to play a defensive center role on Karpat, which won the championship.
This will be a big year for him. Will be interesting to see if Karpat uses him as wing or center...and how he will perform at WJC.
 
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Legionnaire

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regulate said:
“Calling him an elite skater might be an understatement,” he said. “He’s a top 5 skater in this draft.”

“We got a really good player,” he added. “Kupari brings all of these elements that we need, but more importantly, elements that are succeeding in the NHL right now. You see the tools he has, which translate well to successful players, difference makers, in the NHL. Then you see the way he uses those tools and he uses the way players in the NHL who are finding success use them. You get excited about a player like that.”

Yanetti indicated that it’s not just Kupari’s speed that was attractive to the Kings.

“He’s got an excellent release,” he noted. “He’s got the ability to shoot in stride, to shoot at pace. A lot of players have to slow down to do a lot of things. One of the biggest problems with fast players is that they’re faster without the puck than they are with the puck. But Kupari’s speed does not change. His ability to execute does not change based on pace. His best asset is not limited by other elements of his game.” “Then you look at how he creates offense,” he added. “He’s an attack-oriented player. He attacks the grid where the majority of the goals in the NHL—60 percent—are scored from, a very defined and finite area. He has the speed to get there. He has the will to get there and he has the framework of a game to get there, yet he’s still at the very infancy of his game.”

2018 NHL Draft: One-on-One With LA Kings Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Yanetti – Part 1
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Thanks for this post.

My only issue is whether or not we drafted Craig Johnson.
 
saska sault

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Any word on where Kupari is playing next season? His CHL rights are owned by the Greyhounds.. and over the years there seems to be a strong connection between the Kings and Hounds in terms of prospects. I know he is signed to play overseas.. maybe the Kings ask him to develop in North America?
 
LAKings88

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saska sault said:
Any word on where Kupari is playing next season? His CHL rights are owned by the Greyhounds.. and over the years there seems to be a strong connection between the Kings and Hounds in terms of prospects. I know he is signed to play overseas.. maybe the Kings ask him to develop in North America?
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I think he’ll stay overseas.
 
regulate

regulate

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saska sault said:
Any word on where Kupari is playing next season? His CHL rights are owned by the Greyhounds.. and over the years there seems to be a strong connection between the Kings and Hounds in terms of prospects. I know he is signed to play overseas.. maybe the Kings ask him to develop in North America?
Click to expand...

All indications are the Kings have agreed to let him play in the Finnish men's league this season.
 
Kingsfan1

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I’ve always been an advocate to let the kids drafted overseas to develop overseas . I think we made a mistake bringing Moverare over and that was Deans fault . He always wanted to bring kids over . I have looked it up and done research almost all the time the players who developed overseas have been much better
 
kingsboy11

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Kingsfan1 said:
I’ve always been an advocate to let the kids drafted overseas to develop overseas . I think we made a mistake bringing Moverare over and that was Deans fault . He always wanted to bring kids over . I have looked it up and done research almost all the time the players who developed overseas have been much better
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Well I think it depends. I think in Moverare's case he was supposed to be like the 7th defenseman for his team. So the question becomes if its better to develop overseas where you'll get playing time or be the 7th defensemen playing against men in your home country? In Kupari's case I have no issue with staying in Finland another year because he's likely to get an elevated role with his team.
 
KopitarFAN

KopitarFAN

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Does this mean he may be coming over to play Juniors? I know he doesn't have to be signed to do that, but guys certainly don't sign very often just to stay over there.
 
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