C Rasmus Kupari - Karpat, Liiga (2018, 20th, LAK)

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Kaako Kappo

Kaako Kappo
Oct 12, 2016
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How many Liiga games have you seen this year? The kids IQ is getting trashed on, and at this point it's just because it's cool. He is a smart enough player to play at a really high level in the NHL.

I think it's pretty funny when some NA people comment on Euro players that they have no clue about..
I don't think he's the smartest player but calling his IQ low is just laughable, yup.

A lot of what could be thought of as low IQ is also just immaturity. He's really young, he'll be 19 for almost all of next season.
 

Hokinaittii

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Aug 15, 2015
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He was total garbage at the WJC showing very low IQ.
By your standards I guess half of the team Finland's players were total garbage in WJC? Kupari had solid tournament and only minus in his resume was the fact he wasn't main playmaker in his line (Heponiemi was).

Also people underrate Kupari's IQ way too much here. Yeah, it's not high by NHL level standards but it's definately average and with his skating, hands and potentially a shot, he should be able to have a long career in top-6 role in NHL.
 

Goldenhands

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By your standards I guess half of the team Finland's players were total garbage in WJC? Kupari had solid tournament and only minus in his resume was the fact he wasn't main playmaker in his line (Heponiemi was).

Also people underrate Kupari's IQ way too much here. Yeah, it's not high by NHL level standards but it's definately average and with his skating, hands and potentially a shot, he should be able to have a long career in top-6 role in NHL.
The Finns' first line was not clicking at all, only Heponiemi was a constant threat in this tournament on that line, Kupari showed some skills but low IQ while Tolvainen proved to the world he was one of the most overhyped prospects ever... The Finns won that tournament mainly because of their fowards depth, solid blueline and red hot and highly promising goaltender Luukkonen...
 

ijuka

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May 14, 2016
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By your standards I guess half of the team Finland's players were total garbage in WJC? Kupari had solid tournament and only minus in his resume was the fact he wasn't main playmaker in his line (Heponiemi was).

Also people underrate Kupari's IQ way too much here. Yeah, it's not high by NHL level standards but it's definately average and with his skating, hands and potentially a shot, he should be able to have a long career in top-6 role in NHL.
Honestly, the reason we "underrate" Kupari's IQ is because of how ineffective he is. With his skating, hands and skill he should not be scoring 5 points at WJC, he should be dominating. When a player produces much less than the eye test indicates they should, that's usually a sign of poor hockey IQ. Of course, that's not always the case and you need to look at his play to verify it yourself. But that's been my opinion on him and it's not exactly changed.

Still, his skill makes him a potential 40-50p player in any case. But hockey IQ isn't great... At this point in time.
The Finns' first line was not clicking at all, only Heponiemi was a constant threat in this tournament on that line, Kupari showed some skills but low IQ while Tolvainen proved to the world he was one of the most overhyped prospects ever... The Finns won that tournament mainly because of their fowards depth, solid blueline and red hot and highly promising goaltender Luukkonen...
What on earth happened to him, you have to wonder. He looked amazing early in the 17-18 season with Jokerit. Not just in scoring, but he was all over the place, making constant fantastic plays. Then he started playing terribly towards the end of the season, played terribly with Nashville, has played terribly in AHL. I'm certain that he was a much better hockey player 1 and a half years ago than he is right now, which is bizarre to say the least.
 

LoveHateLeafs

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Jul 7, 2009
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One of the things about Kupari that concerns me is his low shot totals, both in the Liiga and World Juniors. He has the speed and strength that he should be able to get in shooting position more and when I have seen him shoot, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with his shot. And yet he barely shoots, and when he does it's often from low-danger positions. I'd have to imagine his coaches have tried to improve this. The opposing players never have to defend against the shot if they know he's always going to pass.
 

Goldenhands

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Honestly, the reason we "underrate" Kupari's IQ is because of how ineffective he is. With his skating, hands and skill he should not be scoring 5 points at WJC, he should be dominating. When a player produces much less than the eye test indicates they should, that's usually a sign of poor hockey IQ. Of course, that's not always the case and you need to look at his play to verify it yourself. But that's been my opinion on him and it's not exactly changed.

Still, his skill makes him a potential 40-50p player in any case. But hockey IQ isn't great... At this point in time.

What on earth happened to him, you have to wonder. He looked amazing early in the 17-18 season with Jokerit. Not just in scoring, but he was all over the place, making constant fantastic plays. Then he started playing terribly towards the end of the season, played terribly with Nashville, has played terribly in AHL. I'm certain that he was a much better hockey player 1 and a half years ago than he is right now, which is bizarre to say the least.
TBH, I didnt know much of Tolvainen before this year outside the fact he was ranked as a top 3 prospect on about every lists, maybe the adjustment to NA playing style and culture has been tougher than expected and that shook his confidence, but from what I saw at the WJC, a kid like Ylonen has outperformed him big time...
 
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Ippenator

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Jan 6, 2016
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Honestly, the reason we "underrate" Kupari's IQ is because of how ineffective he is. With his skating, hands and skill he should not be scoring 5 points at WJC, he should be dominating. When a player produces much less than the eye test indicates they should, that's usually a sign of poor hockey IQ. Of course, that's not always the case and you need to look at his play to verify it yourself. But that's been my opinion on him and it's not exactly changed.

Still, his skill makes him a potential 40-50p player in any case. But hockey IQ isn't great... At this point in time.

What on earth happened to him, you have to wonder. He looked amazing early in the 17-18 season with Jokerit. Not just in scoring, but he was all over the place, making constant fantastic plays. Then he started playing terribly towards the end of the season, played terribly with Nashville, has played terribly in AHL. I'm certain that he was a much better hockey player 1 and a half years ago than he is right now, which is bizarre to say the least.
Spot on with your analysis on Kupari and Tolvanen both. I agree 100% with everything you wrote here.
 

Ippenator

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TBH, I didnt know much of Tolvainen before this year outside the fact he was ranked as a top 3 prospect on about every lists, maybe the adjustment to NA playing style and culture has been tougher than expected and that shook his confidence, but from what I saw at the WJC, a kid like Ylonen has outperformed him big time...
Tolvanen’s slide and bad play started really already at the end of last season before he played in North America. He has looked since that almost like a completely different player. The skating and the passion is not there, and it’s really looking quite bad for his NHL career at the moment. You never know, as he has shown some real class play for some substantial time at the end of 2017, but since that he has really looked and anemic.
 

57special

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Your argument would be sound if you would actually follow the prospect like I do. He plays in my favorite team and I catch most games. There aren't many similarities with Barzal yet. The defenders in Liiga aren't exactly top notch..
As opposed to the defenders in the WHL?
 

blindpass

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May 7, 2010
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I find it interesting when there is a dedicated group of detractors like this. Maybe you are all seeing the same thing and he is deficient, or maybe you all have the same bias (not sure why that would be). Either way the thread gets tedious when it is the same voices repeating the same opinions over and over.
 

LAKings88

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As a Kings fan I’m hoping he can step in to the lineup in 19-20.

Kings needed Vilardi, his absence, puts that much more spotlight on Kupari.

At this point Kupari reminds me a bit of Kempe. Both are fast slick stick handlers drafted later in the first.
 

Svedu

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Apr 23, 2019
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I think Kupari would benefit of staying one extra year with Kärpät before moving overseas. I really do believe he first should become a leader in Liiga and that would be better for his development than the AHL. Stay one extra year like Pettersson, Klingberg, Heponiemi etc.
After one more year without injuries would help him become a stabile top 6 in the NHL. He needs more confidence, strength and some help with decision making. I really hopes he stays one more year. Kings should agree on this. He has potential but has not been dominating.
Peukut Kotkan pojalle!
 
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losangeleskings

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May 14, 2019
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I think Kupari would benefit of staying one extra year with Kärpät before moving overseas. I really do believe he first should become a leader in Liiga and that would be better for his development than the AHL. Stay one extra year like Pettersson, Klingberg, Heponiemi etc.
After one more year without injuries would help him become a stabile top 6 in the NHL. He needs more confidence, strength and some help with decision making. I really hopes he stays one more year. Kings should agree on this. He has potential but has not been dominating.
Peukut Kotkan pojalle!
Didn't Pettersson come over after only one year in SHL? Maybe not. I think Kupari could benefit from another year in Finland too, I don't see any reason to rush him.
 
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Mats26

Vet Movement - What's the Maatta?
Sep 16, 2005
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Sucks for sure. Probably be out 6+ months. Hopefully ready for September.
 
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