This could have been a haiku:Good skill.
Anemic stats at pretty much every level.
Smallish stature to be a 200 ft Center.
Position has changed.
Winger maybe.
Not a top 20 pick.
Another Finn hater?Just the facts
He was almost PPG last year in U-20 league and would probably be PPG in Mestis if he continued to play there this year. Also, I bet his point total in Liiga would see an increase with him getting some PP time. His stats aren't that horrible although not the most impressive ones out there considering his hype. But as we all know, it's not always about the stats.What hate? Get the emotion out of it.
Good player
Good skills
But......
No stats in any year.
Not a true C at NHL level
First rounder-yes
Top 20-no
He was almost PPG last year in U-20 league and would probably be PPG in Mestis if he continued to play there this year. Also, I bet his point total in Liiga would see an increase with him getting some PP time. His stats aren't that horrible although not the most impressive ones out there considering his hype. But as we all know, it's not always about the stats.
I don't think you can say the kid can't play C in NHL at this point. Gotta remember we have guys like Trochek playing C in the NHL. You don't have to be 6'2 anymore to play C in NHL. Also, Kupari seems to do quite well in faceoffs since his average FO% is 63,1 in Liiga, something you don't see very often for a player that young.
I was bored and put quickly something together from his two games after returning from WJC.
I don't get the hate for this kid, other than him being the one who dethroned Kotkaniemi from the WJC squad. I feel like the hate only increased after that.
Well, if you want to look at it simply from the production aspect, the problem with him is simply that he has not produced at a top level way against his peers, and that is a pretty big problem after all, as it has been going on already for many seasons. One pretty good production in a Hlinka-tournament will not change much in this, especially as most of the points came in one game against a weaker opponentThought he was still in Mestis so missed both the games. That drive at the net and then nearly finishing the play with the wrap around was nasty but it was his back-checking and willingness to engage on the boards that impressed me the most. His skating is on another level and I don't remember when was the last time I saw someone this young with this kind of speed in the league. Makes everyone around him look slow. Not only is he fast but he's agile and can execute plays at high speed. I don't get all the critique towards this kid at all. He's only 17, hasn't got the best possible opportunity to thrive in the FEL due to playing in a stacked team and yet is still doing quite well. Also 5"11 isn't exactly small and do we even have any data pointing out towards stalled growth?
I'm still half-mad at Ahokas for not giving him a proper chance at the WJC. Some games/minutes here and there instead of using him at the top six (or elsewhere) Ahokas was instead rotating the two top six centers where one could score goals around the net, but didn't do much else and the other being outright anemic from the start until the very last missed SO.
Now that he's back I'll tune in for the next Kärpät game no doubt about it. He's going to be at another level come U18 WJHC. Top 15 pick at this point I'd say with room to climb up.
Well, if you want to look at it simply from the production aspect, the problem with him is simply that he has not produced in a top level way against his peers, and that is a pretty big problem after all, as it has been going on already for many seasons. One pretty good production in a Hlinka-tournament will not change much in this, especially as most of the points came in one game against a weaker opponent
But even without any statswatching I at least don’t see him having even close to the top level hockey IQ. He just doesn’t seem to make plays with his passing. For me it is really low class hockey IQ, if you just buzz around with your skating and can’t create great chances to your teammates with it. All that speed is pretty much wasted if you can’t really use it effectively for real playmaking, which I’m expecting especially from him, as he is supposed to be a center.
I’m pretty tired of watching this kind of players, as I have been now watching in every game for already last two season a speedster like Ehlers in the Jets play like that. They are immensely frustrating to watch, when they can very well bring the puck up to the offensive zone, but then they just run around there with their speed until the play dies in their stick or through a bad pass, because they are unable to pass well when speedskating all the time.
Ehlers at least has a pretty good shot and a knack for scoring goals, but I don’t unfortunately see Kupari having even that. And if you compare Kupari to Ehlers at the same age, Kupari is not even close to the production that Ehlers has had. Ehlers was a first rounder and a similar speedskater, although not a center, but I still see a point in comparing them at least for some parts. Kupari is just so far from Ehlers’s class that it isn’t even funny. And as many might know, I don’t much really like Ehlers, because of his clear inability in playmaking, and the blinders that he has on when he is constantly speedskating.
This exactly underlines perfectly what I have been talking about. And this also does not confirm the jump in Kupari's play for this season, which was claimed by kelsier to have happened. He just does not produce well, and that is in my opinion due to his average hockey IQ, especially average for making good and smart plays at the speed that he is skating at.Kupari versus the best of his own age in juniors:
2017/18
U20 under-18 PPG
1.44 N. Nordgren
1.37 K. Kakko
1.12 L. Killinen
...
0.64 R. Kupari
2016/17
U20 under-17 PPG
0.98 N. Nordgren
0.88 J. Kotkaniemi
0.85 H. Nikkanen
...
0.64 R. Kupari
U18 under-17 PPG
1.67 N. Nordgren
1.55 L. Aaltonen
1.44 M. Maccelli
...
0.81 R. Kupari
2015/16
U18 under-16 PPG
1.00 N. Nordgren
0.95 R. Kupari
0.92 A. Nevasaari
U16 under-16 PPG
2.59 L. Aaltonen
2.23 A. Haatanen
2.18 K. Hirvonen
...
0.75 R. Kupari
Maybe actually try seeing him play instead of stat watching? I don't think he would be ranked as first rounder in every list if he was another Sampo Ranta.
Honestly, I've watched him quite a bit this season (Liiga, 4 nations, and WJC) and his ranking mystifies me. McKeen's, Future Considerations, Hockey Prospect and ISS all have him as the top Finnish prospect and his rank has barely decreased this year despite him not doing a whole lot of, well, anything.
I love the tools but he's gotta do something with them to convince me to draft him as high as he's being ranked.
But do we actually know what real NHL scouts think about him?
ISS can have him as a high 1st rounder, but what does that really mean and do they even have a scout watching games in Finland this season? It's good to remember that ISS had Otto Mäkinen ranked as a 1st rounder for 2016 draft after a productive Hlinka Cup. It's also good to remember that they didn't rank Miro Heiskanen as 1st rounder until April/May last year. Some of the public scouting agencies may do a better job than ISS, but as far as I know none of them have full time staff in Europe apart from Central Scouting and that probably impacts the end result quite a bit.
Not a carbon copy, but Kupari reminds me of Roope Hintz in both good and bad. Great speed and skating, good skill level, but maybe a bit soft in some aspects and doesn't necessarily stand out with his hockey sense. It's wrong to judge Kupari just based on his play in Liiga due to limited ice time, but from what I've seen his play in Jr.A hasn't been particularly great or uplifting either. Kupari can easily go in the 1st round, but he's such an enigmatic prospect that it wouldn't surprise me much if several NHL organizations rank him outside the top-31 come draft day.
Tolvanen was the one doing everything except shooting really well. No, Kupari stickhandled the puck to the zone quite nicely a few times but Tolvanen did everything in the offensive end. It's ridiculous that a player that scored 0+0 in 3 games is even suggested to have played better than eg. Tolvanen.Kupari looked really good on WJC. He was surprise to me. He is the one name in team that actually was doing really well, the team just didint get it going. You can tell that his skating is really good and other skills are too. Outperformed Heiskanen and Tolvanen
I don't think his speed is making anyone blind, it's just a plain fact that if you as good skater as Kupari, you are able to do so much more in the rink because most of the times you are the first to reach the puck. Skating has come even bigger asset than it was previously when the game wasn't as fast paced as it is now.But honestly in Kupari's case speed is clearly making people blind. I really dislike the way how hockey has turned into overvalueing skating way too much over the much more important skills like smart play, great passing and shooting and efficient goalscoring. Of course these skills are even now important, but skating has become still much more important than the other attributes, and it is leading to darn ugly and dull hockey (much more dump and chase and speedy low hockey IQ grinders than ever before) in my opinion. This does not mean that I don't appreciate good skaters in hockey, just that I need them to have all these other attributes already in very good condition for me to appreciate the great skating too.
I agree. Kind of reminds you of Laine in his draft year. So much unnecessary dangling with bad results. It took him sometime to drop it and now you hardly see him pulling any unnecessary stuff in NHL.His tools are undeniably great. The amount of times he backchecked and created a turnover on that video is amazing. He also has great hands, kind of reminds me of William Nylander in the way he stickhandles. However, I think it's also warranted to criticise his decisionmaking. As seen on that video, he can look amazing dangling between players, but it tends to result in the opponent outmanning him and taking the puck. In his defense, it could just be that he hasn't fully translated his game to the pro level, as his style has worked well against juniors. The way I see it, it should be doable for him to tune his tendencies towards a more straightforward style. Instead of taking on 3 defenders all alone, just dump the puck in.
I don't think his speed is making anyone blind, it's just a plain fact that if you as good skater as Kupari, you are able to do so much more in the rink because most of the times you are the first to reach the puck. Skating has come even bigger asset than it was previously when the game wasn't as fast paced as it is now.
Take Laine for example, guy has all the skill in the world but most of the times he looks mediocre because he isn't getting to the places fast enough and that makes him chase the game/puck. Not much his size can help him there.
Kupari is a fine example of player what teams are looking for: fast, skilled and competes hard. Even his shot is solid. Maybe hockey IQ isn't his best asset since he tends to dangle sometimes too much and hog the puck but there are bunch of great players in NHL with solid tools who aren't known for their flawless decision making either.
Maybe Kupari wouldn't be top-20 pick 10 years ago but I feel like he is now because teams are valuing more players like him and he would most likely fit any teams playstyle well.